DAY 4: street food and Tony Moly

Pretty autumn-looking leaves

So... Today was pretty normal. We had Psych class from 9.30am-11ish.

Then, because there was a bit of time before Korean class started, Kelly came along with me to the Seodaemun Health Center to collect my TB report. We took the bus back to Yonsei Uni after and I submitted it to lady at the counter of the I-House lobby. I also paid that 10,000W (AUD$12) that was short from my accommodation payment due to Korean bank transfer fees. We then went for Korean class from 1.30pm-2.30pm. As expected of the beginner class, we were learning the alphabet and I just sorta sat there following along, though I was totally bored out of my mind.

That afternoon, I went to Sinchon with Cynthia for my first taste of street food! It was incredibly cold as we were walking around for a decent stall, so it was such a good feeling when we finally parked ourselves at one of the nondescript street carts and ordered our steaming hot food. The street stalls are usually manned by one or two people, and depending on the set-up/size, customers either stand around the stall and eat at the attached metal table of the cart itself, or you get to sit around the stall (still part of the cart) while the owner grabs you your food while making more of their snacks. Some have a little canopy/tent as well so it's extra cosy and comfy to enjoy your food. Each stall has a simple picture and Korean text above where you eat, so you can easily point and choose the item(s) you wanna get. I got some 되김 twigim (tempura-style vegetables) and 오뎅 odeng (boiled fish-cake on sticks).

Yummyyyyyy

As is customary of these stalls, the owner (usually a lady) will pour you some hot soup that has been boiling away into a small Styrofoam cup so you sip hot soup while you eat. IT'S SO GOOD. I could also slather my fried tempura-snack with some kind of sweet/salty tempura dip. All in all, it was such a great experience, I definitely felt like one of the locals haha. You also have no idea how satisfying it is to drink that delicious hot soup on a cold winter's day and breathe out hot steam (like a dragon, I might add).

That famous Yonsei building + the campus at golden hour ❤

Later that night, I went back to the shopping district in Sinchon with Kelly and spent 30,700W (~AUD$37) at Tony Moly, one of the big makeup/beauty brands with great packaging and great prices. It also happened to result in my one and only receipt that was eligible for a tax refund at the airport. Spoiler alert: I got about AUD$3 back.

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