Seoul World Cup Stadium Tour

Watching football is great. Especially when you watch it live at the football stadium. You can feel the euphoria and the energy from players and supporters there. If you come to Korea, there is a football stadium that I want to recommend to you if you want to experience watching football in Korea. Yes, it is Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as Sangam Stadium, which is located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. 

Seoul World Cup Stadium is the second largest Stadium in South Korea. This stadium has its historical value because it was first built for 2002 World Cup, which means a lot for South Korean People, especially because at that time the South Korean football team made it to the semifinal. Besides, as for the facilities, in my opinion, this stadium is really huge, very clean, and very organized. The seats are very comfortable and overall, the facilities are also well-maintained. 

If you are a football fan, you will be happy because this stadium is also a headquarter of FC Seoul, one of well-known football clubs in Korea. Some of FC Seoul matches are held in this stadium. As an international fans, you can buy the ticket directly at the stadium ticket counter or at fcseoul.com or interpark.com websites (you can see the price on that website). However, if there is no match at the time, you can still visit and have a tour around the stadium, just go buy ticket directly at the counter. The price of the entrance ticket for a tour around stadium was really cheap (only KRW 1.000 per person). Some of you who are not a fan of football may also visit this stadium for a Kpop concert. 

To go there, I think the easiest way is to go by subway, then you can get off at World Cup Stadium station. From there you can just walk to reach the stadium. 

I myself have two experiences going to this stadium. First, I went to visit and have a tour around the stadium, then the second experience is when I went here to watch the Dream Concert. Really sad because I never experienced watching football here. But I will surely come again to watch football match here and to meet our one and only Maknae Hyung, Lee Kang In :)

Here are some photos from my trip at Seoul World Cup Stadium:

How to Go to COEX Starfield Library

It's not difficult to find good library in Seoul. I believe you can find tons of amazing libraries in Seoul. Even when you go to university library, it is also great, comfortable, and instagrammable. Today in this episode of blog, I want to share about one of must-visit libraries in Seoul. Yep, it is Starfield Library which is located inside COEX Mall.

The easiest way to go here based on my experience is by taking subway. You guys can get on subway Line 2 (Green Line) and get off at Samseong Station Exit 6. From there, you guys can just easily enter Coex Mall. Then you will find the library inside the mall (it's not hard to find the library because the library is super big and it's like the center of the mall). 

Starfield Library is super beautiful and super comfortable. For you guys who want to read books or magazines here, it's definitely your place. I believe you will enjoy your time reading in library. However, most of books are in Korean, so maybe if you guys can understand Korean, that would be great to read here. I forgot whether there are books available in english or not. But as I remember, I thought I found one or two magazine in English. Anyway, just go there, I hope you guys can find an interesting book for you to read.

But, if you just have a short time to visit, don't worry, this place also open for you guys even if you don't read a book, you guys can just sit here and enjoy the ambiences. Or maybe for tourist like me who want to take pictures, you guys can also take pictures here because the place is super super super pretty and instagrammable. But don't be noisy, so you guys won't disturb other visitors^^. And the last but not least, sometimes there are events held in this library, so you can also attend the event took place there. 

Here are the photos of me having fun visiting COEX Starfield Library:

Super happy, I found magazine with Sungjae in its cover

Great article 

Happy expression, because of library and sungjae lol

Inside the magazine

Conclusion, amazing library :)

How to Watch Dream Concert in Korea (Dream Concert 2017, My First Ever Kpop Concert in Korea)

Dream Concert,

It is a very big Kpop Concert in Korea, with so many idols and artists. The performers are boy groups, girl groups, and solo singers. And with all that performers, you only have to pay cheap cheap cheap price. That's why I love watching concert in Korea because it's super cheap. If I compare it to watching Kpop concert in my country, of course the price of ticket is more expensive when you watch Kpop concert in your own country (because maybe they have to pay for the accommodation, they need to pay for like hotel, flight, and everything). 

So, this 2017 Dream Concert is the very first Kpop concert I've ever had in Korea. I watch with my friend, Mbak Risa, she is my friend in graduate school who also fond of  Kpop like me. I still remember we bought the ticket for only 50.000 KRW (It's actually considered cheap if you compare when you watch it in your own country). But you know, actually the real price is much much cheaper than that, only 10.000 KRW. We bought at that price because you know the competition of getting the concert ticket in Korea is super super super difficult. Just for a few seconds, and the the tickets are all sold out. At that time me and my friend actually already tried to buy the tickets by our self in their website. We even sat at the computer lab just to get the super fast access of wifi. But still we didn't get it. So yeah we bought it from the Korean seller who wants to sell their ticket at higher price (It's worth it though). 

I watched because of BTOB, gladly we got a seat in the area where Melody sat. Super super amazing experiences because I can sing and do the fanchant together with other Melody. 

But you know, other than BTOB, there are many more artists and idol groups performed at Dream concert. That's why I guarantee you that it's super worthy to watch a Dream Concert.

Me and my friend, the first dream concert for both of us

The venue, Seoul World Cup Stadium

We were queuing to enter the venue

The ticket

I didn't have official lightstick at that time,
so just bought this one

The situation on stage at afternoon

The situation on stage at night

Experiencing School Field Trip in Korea (Gyeongju - Ulsan - Andong Trip)

School field trip is always fun. I remember I enjoyed it so much when in high school. But have you ever imagined that you experience school field trip in your Master Degree School?

Well, in my school, anything is possible, even you are a master degree student, you can still enjoy school field trip like you were in high school. So, in my school, there is a program called KFRS (Korean Field Research Study). Many international students like to take this program as extra credit for the Summer Semester because the program is really good to get more knowledge about Korea (and of course for vacationnn ^^). Of course at the end of the trip you must write and turn in the paper about your trip, but that doesn't matter anyway. Because the overall program is fun and we enjoyed it so much for our summer memories.

We visited mostly three cities in Korea for this Field Trip. Those are Gyeongju, Ulsan, Andong. Besides visiting the tourist attractions, we also visited Korean corporations and Government office. Here I will tell you guys about the experience and the fun I had from the trip.

Gyeongju

Gyeongju is the historical city. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla. If you ever watched one of Saeguk Drama (Korean historical drama), you probably know about Silla Dynasty. Not only foreigners, but this city is often visited by the local tourists as well. If you notice, you will also find out that some korean dramas, movies, or variety shows are filmed in this city.   

Ulsan

Ulsan is located near the seaside. It's a port city as well as the industrial city. Hyundai Motor Company, also has its automobile assembly plant operated there. Ulsan is the region that contribute to the high GDP for Korea because of the industry. 

Andong

Andong is the city that is known for its culture and folk traditions. I think the most famous tourist attractions here is Andong Hahoe Folk Village, which is also one of the UNESCO World Heritages. You will be surprised when you visit this Folk Village because it's very wide and there are many things related to Korean culture and history, especially the culture that existed in the past. 

KFRS Day 1:

Korea Expressway Corporation

The food in their canteen is superb

Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, Gyeongju

Spending night in Hyundai Hotel (Our hotel in Gyeongju)

KFRS Day 2:

Seokguram and Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju

POSCO, Pohang

KFRS Day 3:

Daereungwon Tomb Complex, Gyeongju

Cheomseongdae Observatory, Gyeongju

Gyeongju National Museum, Gyeongju

Jangsaengpo Whale Museum, Ulsan

KFRS Day 4:

The Provincial Office of Gyeongsangbuk-do

Andong Hahoe Folk Village, Andong

Andong Local Private Academy, Andong