K-pop. K-drama. Parasyte.
Those are typically the three words that pop up into people’s minds when they hear the phrase “Korean culture.” Commonly called hallyu––or the “Korean wave,” referring to the rapid international popularization of Korean culture––many tourists flock to Korea to experience what they’ve only seen on TV.
These past few weeks have been mainly filled with studying, café hopping, and restaurant tasting, but I hadn’t really touched on the Korean entertainment scene––until this week.
Gangneung is a city located on the east coast of South Korea, famous for its beaches and seafood markets. My friend and I ventured there, not necessarily just for those two places, but also to visit some iconic K-pop and K-drama sites: the BTS Bus Stop and the famous Goblin pier.
At a crisp 8:30 in the morning, my friend and I headed to board KTX, a high-speed rail system in Korea (comparable to Amtrak in America). After about a total of two hours and thirty minutes of transportation, we at last arrived at Gangneung station and were greeted with our good old friend: rain. And lots and lots of it.
The clear and fluffy-filled sky that we imagined was no longer as we waited for our bus stop in what seemed like a monsoon. But, we boarded the bus and headed over to our first item on the agenda: the BTS Bus Stop.
For those who don’t know who BTS is, BTS is a seven-member K-pop boy group and is also the first K-pop band to win a BBMA award and compete for a Grammy. The BTS Bus Stop is a bus stop that they pictured on the cover of their album “You Never Walk Alone.”
The bus stop is located right next to Jumunjin Beach, which makes it a perfect place to visit an iconic tourist attraction while also having an activity lined up immediately after visiting the site.
After standing in line to get our pictures taken at the stop, our time finally came. Thankfully, the rain had slimmed down to a light sprinkle, and we were able to have a successful photoshoot.
We would soon find out that the rain would become a common theme throughout the day. When we would arrive at our intended destination, the rain would stop, but our journey toward that destination would be filled with one of the heaviest rains that I’ve ever experienced. Everything perfectly aligned that day––which made it all the more memorable.
Our next stop on the itinerary was the Goblin pier. Goblin is a famous Korean drama about a goblin who meets a regular girl in modern day and––well––you can probably guess what the ending would be. One of the most iconic scenes in the 16-episode drama takes place at a stone pier surrounded by large pieces of dark gray rock. After the protagonist makes a wish, the goblin appears out of thin air and helps grant it.
About a 30-40 minute walk from the BTS Bus Stop, we arrived there with clear skies––very much contrasted with the storm-like rain that ripped my friend’s umbrella apart (literally). Visitors lined up to take pictures on the pier, reenacting the same movements as the characters in the show. We, of course, had to do the same, and tried our best to emulate characters Ji Eun-tak and Kim Shin.
To cool down, we headed over to an ice cream shop that we passed by on the way to the dock. The shop specialized in squid ink soft-serve ice cream, which consisted of vanilla ice cream mixed with squid ink. My favorite part of the ice cream? The squid-shaped bread that replaced the cone. Eating the cool, sweet ice cream with the savory bread made for a legendary combination that I still replay in my head to this day.
Shortly after eating ice cream, we stopped at the Danonuri Traditional Market, stacked with lines upon lines of street food. There was no place in sight that didn’t sell dak gangjeong, a deep-fried crispy chicken dish known best for its sweet-and-spicy sauce.
I’ve never been a huge fan of fried chicken marinated in sauce, which is also called yangnyum chicken in Korean––an extremely popular dish. I’ve always been one who was keen on texture, and sauce can sometimes make fried chicken soggy or not carry the same, crispy charm that fried chicken usually has.
However, this dish was different. The crispy exterior paired with the honey-like sauce made it the perfect food to eat on a rainy day. I recommend this dish to anyone who likes sauced chicken or who is even like me and is someone who typically struggles with craving marinated chicken.
We ended our day with one last meal at a hole-in-the-wall Korean-Chinese place, ordering haemul jjamppong (spicy seafood soup) and tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork).
I have a confession to make: I love spicy food––but I’m terrible at eating it. Jjamppong is one of my favorite dishes taste-wise, but I usually can’t stand the spice of it. Every restaurant I’ve been to that prepares it, especially in Korea, makes it extremely spicy. However, this restaurant created a perfect medium for my personal spice tolerance. Paired with their handmade noodles, this dish was an amazing end to the day––and of course––the tangsuyuk was a great off-set from eating spicy broth to eating a savory, crispy dish.
This week was the last week of my program at Yonsei University. I had an amazing time meeting new people, making memories, and learning about Korean history and psychology––the two classes I took at the university. It has truly been an enriching cultural experience, and the ending of the trip has been sentimental in the way that I know that I’ll never experience anything like this summer ever again. I hope to return to Korea sometime in the future and can’t wait to share my findings back in Boston.
