Author Archive | Michelle

Last weekend I had the privilege of going to the demilitarized zone and Joint Security Area between North and South Korea. It was one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve ever had. It took a while for me to process what I saw there –I’m not sure that I still fully understand how I feel […]

I can’t believe that my time here in Korea has gone by so fast! I’ve already taken one of my finals and things are starting to wind down during my last two weeks here. In this post I will tell you about some of the “Korean” things that my American friends and I do here […]

Before coming to study abroad in Korea, I did a lot of research about the culture and how the citizens view foreigners. Much of my research came to the same conclusion, that Koreans are generally curious and wary of foreigners, a sentiment that stems from their past. In the Joseon dynasty, there was a period […]

When most Americans first glance at Korean pop culture, most are confused. They see bright colors, interesting fashion and makeup, and top quality music videos complete with perfectly choreographed dances and story lines that oftentimes don’t make sense. There has often been a debate around the issue of whether or not Korean pop music could […]

October the tenth of the year two-thousand and fifteen: Quite possibly the best day of my life.. I was going to make this blog post about more cultural differences between South Korea and the United States and I was going to wait a couple more weeks until I published it… But then… October tenth happened. […]

South Korea is such a unique country with a culture like no other. In this post, I’ll tell you a little bit about what is acceptable in Korean culture and what is definitely not acceptable. I’ll start by teaching you how to dress, how to attend class/work, how to act on the subway, how to […]

If Study Abroad has taught me anything so far, it’s that a positive attitude makes a world of a difference. When I left home, I worried that travel might make me ill-humored. I was also terrified that the South Korea I imagined in my mind wouldn’t live up to the real country. Boy was I wrong. […]

Where to begin…? Seoul is.. Seoul is PERFECT.  When I finally sat down to write this post and I thought about everything that I experienced in my first week here in Seoul, I became overwhelmed. Where do I start? Well I guess the best way to introduce you to Seoul is by retelling my journey! […]

The dreaded question. It seems as though almost every time someone asks where I’m going abroad, and they hear the response “Korea” they always follow up with this question, “So… are you going to North or South Korea…?” At first when people started asking me this phrase, I thought they were trying to be funny […]

To most Americans when you mention Korea, they think of the Korean War, crazy communists, dishes containing dog meat, and Psy’s Gangnam Style. However, these stereotypes about Korea are just about as accurate as a foreigner saying that all Americans eat at McDonald’s each week, are fat, have dazzling white teeth, and are dumb. Korea […]