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Thursday, July 10, 2014

My Seoul Adventures

It may seem that I am on a hiatus, but it's only because I've made a new blog for the time being. I'm currently studying abroad in Seoul(!) so I've made an alternative blog, My Seoul Adventures, which is mostly about my Inspirit life in Seoul. Please bear with me as all of these blog posts are not properly arranged and how I constantly change my watermark.

Here is a table of contents of my blog posts:

Introduction: Studying Abroad in South Korea

Day 01: The Arrival

Day 02: Myungdong, Gangnam, Fish Market, Dongdaemun

Day 09: Hanbok!

Day 15: Infinite Hoya's Family Restaurant

Day 16: The Brilliant Motor Festival K-Pop Concert in Songdo Experience

Day 22: Infinite Dongwoo's Family Restaurant, Lotteria, and Not Attending Toheart's Sinchon Fansign Event

Day 23: SM Pop-Up Store and Not Attending Toheart's Myungdong Fansign Event

Day 20-25: Purchasing Infinite Concert Tickets

Day 25: Myungdong Station

Day 29: Infinite Sungyeol's Family Restaurant

Day 31: Grand Mart

Day 33: Music Korea Kpop Shop in Myungdong

Day 37: CNBlue Minhyuk's Family Restaurant

Day 37: Infinite Tree Forest

Day 38: Entertainment Headquarters and Infinite's Hair Salon

Day 39-42: M2U and Applying for Infinite's Fansign Event

Day 40: Infinite Woohyun's Family Restaurant

Day 43: Revisiting Minhyuk's Restaurant, Infinite Tree Forest, Infinite's Salon and Woohyun's Restaurant and Trying Cube Studio Cafe and Coffee Cojjee

Day 44: Namsan Tower, Duck Boats and Yeouido Hangang Park

Day 46: Cofioca and Box+

Day 47: Edae Shara Shara and Revisiting Woohyun's Restaurant

Day 48: Myungdong Shara Shara and Myungdong Station

Day 48: Box+ and Nana Piercing in Apgujeong

Day 48: Infinite's Favorite Restaurant and Old Dorm

Day 49-50: Infinite That Summer Concert 2 Venue and Camping for Merchandise

Day 51: Kim Hyun Joong's Restaurant

Day 52: Revisiting Dongwoo's Restaurant and Infinite's New Dorm, Old Dorm, Old Practice Room and Favorite Restaurant

Day 53: Failing to Reach Heaven and Reaching The Kingdom

Day 54: Infinite That Summer 2 Day 5 Concert Experience

Day 55: Infinite That Summer 2 Day 6 Concert Experience

Day 56: Revisiting Myungdong Station, Attaining Heaven and Resting at a Sauna

43 comments:

  1. Hi! I just found your blog and as an Inspirit myself and someone that wants to study abroad or at least visit Seoul. I was wondering if you would remember or be able to give me an estimate of how much it cost to study abroad there?

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    1. Hi!! I studied at Yonsei University last summer but it is partners with my home university (it was an exchange program), so I paid the typical summer quarter tuition directly to my home university. As for housing, I stayed at the Yonsei dorm for 7 weeks, and that cost 649,000KRW, which is under $650USD. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask! I love talking about Infinite, studying abroad, Seoul, anything^^

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    2. Oh I just looked at the universities Yonsei is partnered with and wow! A lot of the schools were actually schools I was considering to go to so that makes me feel better that I can take advantage of that and get to travel too if I do an exchange program! I have another question right now actually (: If someone were to study there and want to buy products (I'm talking about Infinite albums and merchandise obviously LOL) How much would you suggest that person beings with them to Seoul?

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    3. I'm so glad that many schools you were considering are partnered with Yonsei^^ Other universities in Seoul are great too, but Yonsei's location is convenient (and a few subway stops away from Infinite's dorm and Sungyeol's restaurant). HAHA that is such a hard question...of course budgeting is important, but when you're in Seoul and surrounded by Infinite merchandise...I would say bring a lot more than you would expect to bring, because there could be unannounced events like an Infinite concert or fanmeeting (buying a ticket and then all the merchandise at that event can be costly). I'm sorry I can't really say how much to bring, but just be prepared to spend a lot. Also many meals are cheap but if you go to those table barbecue places (Woohyun's restaurant) it could be pricier too. Sorry for being vague but I hope this gives you an idea!

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    4. I'm pretty sure budgeting will be futile once I see Infinite mercy hahaha xD and it's totally okay that it's vague! I have a small idea on how much I should bring now ^^ I was also wondering since when you travel to another country, you need to bring your passport and a visa right? Is there a certain visa you need and anything else you might need to bring along? And how much do you think plane tickets would cost?

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    5. Hehe no matter how frugal you may be now, that will all change once you're in Seoul! You definitely need to bring your passport, but for the visa it depends on how long you're staying in Seoul (and possibly what country you're from?). I'm from the US and I stayed in Korea for under 90 days, so I didn't need a visa. But if you study there during the school year, you'd need a visa since the stay would be over 90 days. I thinking the most important thing is bringing a passport and also packing a suitcase inside of a suitcase in case you buy a lot lol...I ended up having to buy another luggage because I convinced myself I didn't need to bring 2 suitcases in the first place but bought too much stuff. Just be realistic when packing. I'm not sure about plane tickets, but I'd expect closer to $1000...

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    6. Lol I'm not surprised that it'll change even though I'm not frugal to begin with xD Oh I'm from the US too! Ah I'll probably only go during the summer so I guess I won't need a visa then ^^ and okay this really helps! Thank you so much for answering all my questions! (:

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    7. Oh cool, another American Inspirit!! This is really perfect if you go in the summer, since Infinite's going to try and do their summer concert series every other year! So maybe you should try going in two summers^^ It's no problem at all, I'm just so happy if another American Inspirit can visit Seoul and see Infinite^^

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    8. Oh really? Ahh I can't wait then I guess I'll make myself wait since I actually wanted to go this summer. Actually you're the second Inspirit I met that went to Seoul! I'm not sure if my friend got to see Infinite back then tho :/ If I went I hope I'll see them a lot then when people ask me I can give them a specific amount of times I saw them and be like "Oh I saw Infinite at least 10 times while I was at Seoul!" or something hahaha xD Not to mention when I saw them twice for OGS in San Jose and the free kpop concert in LA last year ^^
      I accidentally posted this as a new comment instead of a reply LOL

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    9. LOL no worries about the replying thing. Aww that's cool you know someone else who's been to Seoul! Ahh an Inspirit going to Seoul and not seeing Infinite...that is the saddest thing ever if it's true! Hehe I know what you mean about saying the specific number of times you saw Infinite, I feel the same way! Oooh I'm so jealous you went to OGS SJ, that one seemed so amazing and Infinite seemed to really enjoy themselves! I went to OGS LA and the fans weren't as welcoming (like people didn't sing Happy Bday to Dongwoo or do fanchants). Aww and you saw them again at that other concert, that's soo cool!! I really hope you'll see them many times when you go to Seoul~

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    10. Yeah it is sad unless she wasn't into Infinite at the time or it was before they debuted (I don't know when she went so yeah xD) and it was! I made a lot of friends at OGS SJ and it was fun with the small adventure me and my friends went on to get food xD plus while we were walking around the campus we actually heard them rehearsing (I'm not shy to admit that I recorded it as a memoir even though all you see is the door xD) and really they didn't? I thought LA's one seemed cool from some fanaccs I heard and I was desperate to see them at the other one I was like "DAD IT'S FREE" until he finally gave in to let me go xD

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    11. Aww I'm glad you made a lot of friends at OGS SJ and it was super amazing^^ Ahhhhh that's soooo cool you got to hear them rehearse!!!! Haha I would have totally recorded that too! I went to the LA venue 5.5 hours earlier but I couldn't hear them rehearse. OGS LA was amazing, but I just wish the audience participated more! And no one cried...I heard people were teary eyed at OGS SJ (not that I want to make Infinite cry!). Hehe I'm glad your dad finally let you go!!!! You'd think seeing Infinite once would be enough since it's so rare, but then you just want to see them again, and again, and again...hehe.

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    12. Yeah I did! We actually have a group chat that we still use once in a while (: I was surprised that we heard them rehearse actually I was just like "Is this real??" and omg I went about 12 hours early? Hahaha I had nothing to do the whole day so I was like "Well I have pit and pit is a warfield so I guess I'll go as early as I can..." Yeah there were a lot of teary eyed people at OGS SJ (including me)! And it took me like a week to convince him but I was like "I NEED THIS TO CURE MY NOT SO POST CONCERT DEPRESSION" and it's true! Seeing them once will never be enough because you'll want to see more xD

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    13. That's so cool you guys still keep in contact! I don't really talk to the friends I made at OGS LA anymore sadly. Wow hearing them rehearse, that is sooo amazing and so different from what most Inspirits experience! Haha 12 hours early is long, but worth it for pit! Ahh post concert depression is the worst, so I'm glad you got to see them again^^

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    14. We keep in contact once in a while but since we still do I just recently found out she actually moved to Seoul! :D She even told me if I come to Seoul, I can stay with her so I might actually be able to go without worrying about saving enough money for somewhere to stay c: And I still have the video if you want to see it! (I posted it on youtube as private so that I can keep it to myself but I show it to all my Inspirit friends ^^) and yeah it is but since it's pit, it's reasonable especially if you want to be at the very front ^^

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    15. That's so cool she lives in Seoul now...the ultimate dream!! That'd be great if you could stay there too^^ I'd love to see the video, that'd be amazing!!! (you can email me the link if that's best? macedonia14@gmail.com is my personal email...such a stupid name lol). I really hope you got to be in the very front and stay there! LA was really nice since I didn't have to worry about the battle of being in pit lol.

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    16. Yeah it is ^^ I just sent the video! My email is viviansarang92@gmail.com and don't worry about the name of your email xD and I didn't reach the front but I was in the middle so I still saw most of it pretty well (: and aww lol you didn't buy pit for LA?

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    17. Thank you so much!!! I could not stop fangirling watching your video!!! Hehe I would have tried to peek through the door slit too XD Yay I'm glad you saw most of it pretty well. It was weird for LA, it was all seated, and "pit" was technically just the first 6 rows, but still seated. Yet everyone was standing the whole time, but it was a lot more tame than typical concerts since there were seats blocking everyone lol.

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    18. No problem! And who wouldn't fangirl? xD and really? That's surprising because there was this HUGE space for pit for us to stand in xD and it was crazy especially when Infinite walked around the audience!

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    19. That's so cool Infinite walked around the audience! Did they actually jump off stage and walk like along the borders of the pit areas? Was pit okay then, or was it still really tight with lots of people pushing forward? LA was really calm, and I was about 4 rows behind pit and near the side aisle so some of the members walked about 5-10 feet in front of me! I was so terrified of pit back then since I'm not aggressive, so I'm so relieved LA had assigned seats lol.

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    20. They didn't exactly jump off xD more like walked down the steps LOL but I heard Myungsoo actually tried to sneak into the pit! And it was okay and no one was pushing! A lot of inspirits were pretty friendly and let me go in the front since I'm pretty short (4'11)

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    21. LOL Myungsoo, that's sooo adorable!! Wow that's so nice of Inspirits to let you go closer up front! When I was in pit at TSC2 no one was nice at all lol, it really was like a battlefield.

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    22. It really was! And yeah I was really glad they let me go in the front or else I would've saw nothing :( Really? I'm not surprised actually because I went to KCON before and it really was a battlefield, I almost felt like I was going to get into a fight or something ><

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    23. Oh wow, I can't imagine how KCON is!! Just the stories and rumors about it really scare me. That's so cool you got to go to KCON though, despite the chaos!

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    24. KCON was terrible honestly, not even worth any of the money (except I bought an autographed BTS album but I didn't even know and thought they were all just like that LOL) and they say all these things like VIP can go in earlier but we didn't so you had people lining up really early just to go in the same time as everyone else

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    25. Wow, that seriously sucks that KCON was so terrible. Hehe it's a nice surprise to buy an autographed album though. Wow, so people with VIP didn't even get any benefits? How could they deceive people like that...

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    26. Yeah it really did :/ it was a surprise! But I was out of my BTS phase pretty quick after that and sold it then I went to LA another time and saw the same album and it wasn't autographed so I was like "wait it was autographed? omg I could've sold it for more" they really did! like for the high touch and red carpet almost everyone in the front got only G Dragon, Dynamic Duo and Crayon Pop while everyone in the back got EXO :/

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    27. Aww that really sucks you undersold your BTS album!!!! Whoa that's so unfair that not everyone could do high touch with all the artists and it was split up like that! I'd be so pissed if I were one of those artists' fans and was expecting a high five but couldn't get one!

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    28. I know I wish I realized it sooner so I could've made more money to buy Infinite merch :( and yeah when I got mines I was just like "I'm not going to even bother to go" since I didn't get the group I want

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    29. Lol the extra money would have been nice for more Infinite merch. Ugh that seriously sucks you got VIP and didn't even get to see the group you wanted to >.< If it were Infinite that I couldn't see, I would have been so crushed.

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    30. Yeah it would've but it's too late for that now >< and exactly thank god they weren't my favorite group but still one of the groups I went to see instead of the others. Exactly! If it was Infinite I would've been desperate to find a way to see them and devastated if I couldn't :(

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    31. Yah it just seems like a complete waste of a trip if you couldn't even get to see the group you purposely went there for! At least Infinite never went to KCON (so maybe they're never planning on going?) so you won't have to worry about it with Infinite

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    32. Right? I honestly hope they don't because it'll just disappoint the fans with how bad the venue handles things ><

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    33. Definitely! I really wouldn't want Infinite to go and be associated with an event that's dysfunctional lol. And then all the sad Inspirits, especially for people who travel far just to see them

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    34. Yeah :/ I went the 2nd year of KCON instead of the 1st but people told me the 2nd was even worst then the 1st (the people that went to both) and exactly! I traveled 6 hours from San Jose to LA to see the group I wanted that time and I couldn't see jack so I ended up having to waiting for the stream of it to see how the performance was ><

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    35. Wow I would have thought after the 1st year of KCON, the staff would have figured out how to make it better by now, instead of making it so much worse. That seriously sucks, traveling for 6 hours and you ended up just waiting for the stream! Arghhh this just really frustrates me, especially since it's so hard to actually see idols in the States, and it has to be like this when they actually do come :/

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    36. I would've thought so too but I guess some people just don't learn :/ And it frustrates me too! I'm glad that OGS and the free KPOP concert were so much more better

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    37. I'm so thankful that OGS was so successful for Infinite and Inspirits too^^ Definitely the ones we went to sound much much better than NY! And I'm so glad the free Kpop concert was much better too, since that one I could imagine that one having so much chaos since it's free, full of many different kpop fans, etc.

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    38. Me too, I actually felt really bad for Infinite and fans in NY :/ and it was surprisingly a lot better! I thought it wouldn't be but it was! I actually got to see Myungsoo from the gate actually because me and my friends came late and we had no idea where the entrance was so we saw this long line of fans and assumed it was to get in but they were there because the idols were behind the gate (at a far and safe distance from ear piercing screams) coming out of this place they were resting at(?)

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    39. I feel bad for Infinite and Inspirits at OGS NY too, but (this sounds weird) I'm glad Infinite still cried in NY hopefully because they were happy at the concert (and not because they were scared about what was going on). Wow, you're so lucky to have seen Myungsoo like that!!! After OGS LA I went out to the back of the venue where they'd be getting into their cars and Myungsoo came out for some fresh air and Hoya came out and waved at fans! I was in the first row but like across the street so it wasn't overwhelming for them, hopefully.

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    40. Same and I hope that's why they were crying and not because they were worried >< and yeah it really was lucky! I saw them after OGS SJ too behind a gate but the gate was boarded so I couldn't really see who was who plus I wasn't in the front row behind the gate, my height didn't really help me (5'0) so yeah

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    41. That's cool you kinda got to see them after the concert too!! Lol though you couldn't see them well, the experience still seems amazing^^

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