polarizing vacation

It's easy to forget that South Korea is still a country "at war" and that there are Koreans just across the border living life so differently in North Korea. One of the places that startlingly reminded me of the harsh truth was when I was at a resort on the north-east tip of the ROK called Sol Beach Resort in Yang Yang. The resort was on the coast, and while there was beach access in the daytime, there was also a large fence lining the shore which was locked up by 10 p.m. and patrolled by soldiers with AK-47s at night.

The juxtaposition was overwhelming. Paradise swiftly turned into locked wire fences with soldiers guarding the country. I was so close to the border yet so incredibly far from the country and its people - many of whom share the same ancestry as me.

I imagined this entry to be one of fun and laughter and excitedly sharing that I saw a member of Big Bang at the resort, but as soon as I posted the first photo, the whole entry turned a bit somber.

That is all.

resident alien

It's hard to document every day moments of a place you live in. It takes a visitor's point of view and most often times their point-and-shoot to gain a different perspective on the streets you commute on every day. To live in one place for 5 months is tricky. Long enough to get your own cell-phone, too short to make a new bank account, you still need a visa because it's longer than the allotted 90 days, and your stay is long enough to permanently memorize a new address. In addition to all these vacillations, you feel like a resident and a tourist all at the same time.

Here are some of the every day moments I was able to capture in Korea when I didn't overlook them.

Taking "strip mall" to a whole new level, this is a typical commercial block.

My aunt's apartment that my family has owned since my childhood bears my name! :)

Typical commuters on the subway either sleeping or watching TV on their phones.

Hey America, how about getting some bars on our phones on all subway lines?

Don't they look like friends?

Trying my best not to overlook things in Boston,

SK

National Treasures

Bulguksa is a Buddhist Temple up in the mountains in Gyeongju.

I'm just going to let the photos do the talking this time.

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However, note this - I have uncovered the secret to traveling with young children (in this case, my 4 year old cousin): bribery. It sounds horrible but honestly, without that yogurt ice cream in his hand I don't think my aunt and I could have made it to see the temple!

healthy endeavors

I went to church today and decided to walk home because it wasn't raining.

There were two options of walking home: 1) Boylston Street 2) Newbury Street

But it breaks down more like this: 1) get home in 30 minutes with all money intact 2) get home in 3 hours with shopping bags or lusting over unnecessary luxuries

I took route one but still managed to stop by Paper Source (yikes), and saw that there was a Health and Fitness Expo at Hynes and stopped by that as well. I was expecting to go home with some health tips and maybe some pamphlets on nutrition but the place was just a huge carnival of companies promoting their products, pharmaceutical companies offering pens and mugs, random "celebrity" appearances, and dozens of sweepstakes.

It was great that there were booths from organizations that promote awareness of serious diseases, and I also had a nice conversation with a woman from Shriner's Hospital, but I felt like those booths were overlooked by the masses. The longest lines were for the booths that were handing out food and beverage samples! You're at a health and fitness expo people! Sigh...

It made me wonder if the people attending this expo really believed that these companies cared about their health. Maybe I'm a little jaded as a business student, but the expo felt like a really long commercial to me.

In the end, the only person who can care about your health is yourself! Treat your body well!