Lotte World

What do you do when you really want to go to Disneyland, but it’s all the way across and ocean? Go to a rip-off of course!

Lotte World is South Korea’s equivalent of Disneyland complete with a Magic Castle. Despite lacking the magic that Disneyland possesses, Lotte World makes a fair stand and is actually a pretty great place to go for the day.

My friends and I start the day off early, arriving at the amusement park at about 9:30 in the morning. The goal was to arrive early so that we may ride all the rides before it got too crowded.

Upon entering, we are instantly greeted with an amazing site of an indoor amusement park. In front of us, huge carnival style decorations litter the sidelines, above us, balloons with people inside float through the sky.

Of course, we are all taken with a frenzy to snap our cameras away, desperate to capture this new, magical land. Instantly, mascots run up to us, desperate to have the foreigners take pictures with them.

After the mascot bombardment, we make our way to the first of the rides, as swinging ship. By American standards, the ride is nothing extreme and nothing beyond your normal swinging ship, but by Korean standards, I realized that it could be quite terrifying. My Korean friends were genuinely terrified by the ride.

Afterwards, we decided the inside was too small and ventured out to the second half of the part—the outside. Beyond a glassed in walkway and frosted doors, we are welcome the site of a giant Disney-esque castle towering above. Excited to be in what we determine to be the actual theme park, we venture around exploring the different rides.

Eventually, 3:00 p.m. rolls around and what had been a relatively quiet park suddenly turned into a bustling mass of people. Trying to make our way onto rides soon proved to be hassle, often waiting for a ride for over an hour. During these rides, we entertained ourselves by looking for the names of popular K-Pop bands scribbled upon the walls.

After dealing with the frustrations of the lines, we made our way back inside to be treated by a parade…

And soon after, an amazing cultural performance.

To say that Lotte World is Disneyland would be overstating what it is, but in reality, Lotte World is wholly unique featuring an interactive indoor and outdoor amusement part that really goes above and beyond your typically amusement park when it comes to entertaining its guest. My recommendation is that if you ever go to Korea, go to Lotte World—it’s something that simply can’t be missed. Just make sure to go in the morning ;)

To Grow a Rock

There is a saying in Asia, “Watch the rock grow.” Knowing this saying is integral to understanding the culture. For many westerners, the saying may be confusing because, after all, a rock does not grow.

Watching a rock grow means learning patience, as well as finding peace. You will learn patience by watching something that will not change, and find peace by learning patience.

There are many frustrations when it comes to moving to another country. Firstly, you are displacing yourself from something that you have known your entire life. Secondly, many of the cultures around the world are different from the one that you are used to. This usually leads to culture shock.

Culture shock comes in many different forms and affects every person differently. As much as I try to say that I am immune to culture shock, I am not. For example, I often times find myself frustrated in certain situations, a common symptom of culture shock.

Korean culture can come as a great shock to many westerners. Everything is done very last minute, and rarely is anything ever set in stone. Plans are made the day before or day of, and deadlines of contracts are almost never met. For instance, as I mentioned earlier in this blog, I was informed 1 week before I came to Korea that I had nowhere to live. In the west, this delay of notification would be unacceptable, but in Korea, it’s the norm, there is nothing wrong with informing someone of something last minute, even if it’s as important as telling someone that they have nowhere to live.

Other frustrations come from the general lack of organization. I had great difficulty registering for classes because everything was full and they weren’t letting any exchange students (who are the last to register) into any full classes like they previously had. I realized that when I got upset over this, that things change—nothing will every stay the same.

I fully realized that when I had to go to the immigration office to apply for my alien registration card. Having been through the process once before, I made sure that I had all the proper forms with me, the exact same forms that I had brought with me the time before. After waiting in line for 2 ½ hours, I approached the desk only for the receptionist to tell me that one of my forms was wrong and that for a D-2 visa (student visa), a Certificate of Admission was no longer the proper form, and I now had to have a Certificate of Enrollment. “Sorry,” she said. “Just come back another time.” This meant that I would have to come back, miss my classes again, and wait in yet another long line. I wanted to cry, but one must learn patience to accept things as they are.

If something doesn’t happen in just the way you want it to, like you don’t get the classes that you want, or you’re frustrated that you have to walk everywhere. Stop. Take a moment. Find a rock and watch it grow.

Know that nothing will go as expected. Be prepared for what will or will not happen. Don’t get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. Learn to be fluid. Like a plant in a stream—bend with the current of the water.

Namsan Folk Village

넘산골 (‘Namsangol’, “Namsan Folk Village”), is a little piece of tradition in the heart of 서울 (‘Seoul’). Though small by the standards of the castles and folk villages outside of Seoul, it is wonderful little piece of history.

I join my friends in what I think is a desperate attempt at immersion (as only one of the Koreans who was with me spoke English). We walk a mile to the village all while talking in broken English and Korean, and upon arrival, we are greeted with the harsh smell street vendors and tour buses. The paths are crowded, flooded with Chinese and Japanese tourists, along with a few westerners and Koreans.

The beauty of the village, though, soon overcomes the smell. We are introduced to a large plaza and pond. It seems that the pond absorbed the stench for as soon as we passed, the smell was gone.

As we stumble down cobblestone paths, my Korean friends attempt to explain the history of the Folk Village to my friend and I, and all laugh my friend Nathalie or I correct them on their history.

We wander on gravel paths to the traditional buildings, all trying to get as close to inside as possible without actually entering the buildings. It becomes very clear though as we walk through the houses, just how tiny the Korean people used to be.

We marvel at the elaborate bedrooms,

And coo as we see a cute couple enjoying the view of the pond.

We laugh as we play traditional Korean games,

And goof off for pictures when we can

As the time approaches for the park to close, we pose together for one last picture together.

We all leave, hungry and tired, but excited from our trip into history. We smile and laugh, smelling tasty food as we pass restaurants. The trip was filled with excitement of traditional Korea, and we all vowed to come back together, and next time, with hopefully a little more knowledge of history.