Jeju and Dreaded Midterms

Sorry if i sound anxious during this portion of my blog well that's because I am, I am currently battling several existential crisis as I write this blog entry and I am currently running off of dangerous amounts of caffeine and about 3 hours of sleep haha, but it's mid-term season here at Yonsei so would you expect anything else? Before I get into the nitty gritty details of my mid-term experience let's start off on a happier note as I just got back this past week from Korea's 2nd most frequented destination spot aside from Seoul, Jeju! So sit back and enjoy my caffeine fueled ramblings! :)

Jeju one of Korea's southernmost islands, known for its natural beauty, volcanic formations, pristine beaches, majestic waterfalls and its overall tropical paradise and prestige (sound familiar to any other tropical islands you've heard of?) was the location of my friends and I's next travel adventure during our study abroad here in Korea! With roundtrip flights as low as 50-60 USD, Jeju is the perfect tropical getaway if you ever want a slow escape from the fast paced city life that Seoul embodies. After doing a healthy amount of research on must see sights, must try foods and bucket list experiences we decided on spending 4 days and 5 nights as it seemed the most optimal amount of time to hit all the highlights Jeju had to offer in a fashion that wouldn't be too rushed nor slow paced! As Jeju island is known for its subpar lack of public transportation the itinerary we created split the island into 4 quadrants (north, south, east and west) with each day dedicated to a certain section of the island. Before I dive I do have some recommendations for you that I wish I knew beforehand! The biggest tip I can't stress enough is to acquire an international license back home in Hawaii before you depart for Korea! As I stated before public transportation is extremely scarce and comes at very limited intervals and the island is extremely spread out which means you'll be spending lots of time in transit or in a taxi (which can really rack up especially if you are traveling solo or in a small group). Having your own car will not only cut your time spent dedicated to travel but also ends up saving you money and allows much more flexibility since you have the convenience of controlling your transportation allowing you more time exploring Jeju rather than driving through it! But if you're like me and you find yourself without a license don't fear, meticulous planning and a tight schedule will still allow you to fully enjoy all the main Jeju attractions! To make it easier for you I'll list all the sights we decided to visit and all the recommended foods Jeju is known for to make your planning a little easier!

The sights we saw were:

- 9.81 Park (Go-kart racing)

- Aewol Cafe Street

- Arte Museum

- Cheonjiyeon Waterfall

- Dongmun Night Market

- Gwakji Beach

- Jeongbang Waterfall

- Jusangjeolli Cliff

- Osulloc Tea Museum

- Seongsan Canola Flower Field

- Seongsan Sunrise Peak

- Seopjikoji

- Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market

Must eat food:

- Haemul Dukbaegi (Seafood hotpot)

- Haenyeo Jip (Woman freediver’s house)

- Hallabong (Korean citrus)

- Hanchi Mulhwae (Raw cuttlefish water)

- Heuk Dwaeji (Black pork)

- Jeonbok juk (Abalone porridge)

- Kkwong (Pheasant)

- Kkwong Memil Kalguksu (Knife-cut buckwheat noodle soup with pheasant)

- Omegi Tteok (Omegi rice cake)

I would say the highlights were definitely Dongmun Night Market, 9.81 Park, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and Aewol Cafe Street! Food-wise heuk dwaeji was amazing wow the black pork was so incredibly meaty and fatty it was definitely the best samgyeopsal I've had so far in Korea, omegi tteok was reminiscent of my childhood Japanese wagashi/mochi, any guksu (noodles) since Jeju is one of the primary exporters of buckwheat the noodles are incredible fresh bouncy and oh so delicious and finally I would recommend abalone and hallabong as they are must try Jeju delicacies that can't be found quite the same anywhere else in the world! I might be jaded growing up in Hawaii and don't get me wrong the nature was beautiful but I feel like it lost some of its bravado since more picturesque nature is less than a stones throw away from me at home! There are definitely differences in the nature between Jeju and Hawaii and I would 10000% recommend everyone visit and take in the natural beauty that Jeju has to offer but I think the one of the main takeaways for me is how lucky I am to call a paradise like Hawaii home!

Sigh...and now it's midterm week, aka the third most dreaded week of the year for a college student behind only finals week and the last week of summer before university starts again. I count myself lucky as I managed to only have 2 midterm exams, 2 group projects and a single oral exam while some of my friends faced an onslaught of a multitude of midterms, papers, projects, presentations and speeches to top it all off yikes. The week leading up to exams I sequestered myself to various cafes and the Yonsei library to ready myself for the storm that was about to hit. If there was any upside to taking exams here in Korea it would be that I was able to visit lots of really cute cafes and lots of specialty coffee drinks that I would have otherwise left Korea without trying. I would say one of the hardest parts of exam week is finding a an open table and a place to study amongst the thousands of fellow university students cramming alongside you. I swear when you walk into a cafe or the library you can sense the anxiety, stress and tension emanating from every student in the place and the only noise is the clickity-clacking of keyboards, the rapid turning of pages and the occasional idle conversation. From students hopped up on caffeine totally locked into their studies to the student sleeping on their keyboard as they finally burn out the scene is a battlefield straight out of a movie!! Battling the sleep deprivation and the occasional migraine from looking at a screen for too long I slogged forward through midterm week doing my best to keep my spirits up and my best foot forward! At the end of a week what seemed like forever I would say I came out pf the other side feeling really happy with my performance on all my exams and projects! Of course there's still the anxiety of not knowing your grades but I can confidently say I did the best I could and that's all you can really ask for when it comes to exams! I'm not sure if I can write this in my blog but man do I need an alcoholic beverage...well maybe 2 or 3 actually haha please drink and celebrate responsibly and only if you're of age! XD

Signing off for now I have about 36 hours of sleep to catch up on and wow it's about halfway through the semester already, time really does fly when you're having fun! So much to do and so little time!! Time for another vacation I think, first to Tean to see one of the world's best tulip festivals and next to Busan, yes from that amazing movie I hope you've watched! Time to eat my fill of seafood! I can't wait! :) Bye guys!

<3

Derren