Introduction

Picture I took outside of Namsan Tower in Seoul

안녕하세요 여러분! (Annyeonghaseyo yeorobun)Hello Everyone!

Me! In front of the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace

My name is Jocylin Binkier and I am so excited to start sharing my adventures in South Korea with you all. Have any of you been to Korea? What sort of things come to mind when you think about Korea?

Anyhow, let me begin with introducing myself to you! As I mentioned, my name is Jocylin and I am a senior at Portland State University. I study Anthropology, which basically means I am interested in learning about all sorts of cultures around the world. I also love to study different languages and have studied French, Korean, American Sign Language, and a little bit of Japanese. I think learning a different language is super fun. I heard you all learn and speak Spanish and English, so I am curious, what is your favorite part about being able to speak more than one language? For me, I love being able to talk with new people I would have never met if I didn't speak another language. 

While here, I am taking five classes, helping 7 students with their English, and participating as a teaching assistant for one of the English teachers here. I live in a special dormitory called the "Global Village". The Global Village brings together international students from all over the world to live together with Korean students. My suite consists of 5 international students and 7 Korean students.

In front of the Global Village!

Though I am busy with a lot of classes and activities, I still like to make time to explore the country and visit with friends. So far I have travelled to Seoul and Busan. This is also my third time travelling to Korea and have travelled to areas like Gwangju, in the past as well. 

Let me introduce a little about where I am staying. I am currently studying at Soonchunhyang University in Asan, South Korea. Asan is a smaller city about two hours away from the capital, Seoul. (See map) Did you know South Korea is smaller than Oregon? It's so small actually, that you could travel to any city in the whole country by car within 6-8 hours! 

South Korea is a small country but a LOT of people live here. In fact, over 50 million people live here! To put this into better perspective, Oregon is bigger than Korea but only has 4 million people. Crazy right? 

Korea is a beautiful country with lots of fun things to do.  One of my favorite things to do is travel to different cities and try new food. This past weekend I travelled to Busan (see map) and tried a spicy beef and vegetable soup. It was super delicious! 

Beef soup I bought at a traditional street market in Busan.

Now that I've introduced a little about myself and Korea I would love to hear from all of you! Introduce your  name, age , and one fun fact. Also, what sort of things are you curious about in Korea? Food, k-pop, language, or maybe just differences between Korea and the United States? I'd love to know and maybe next time I can make a post discussing one of these topics!! Lastly, do you have any questions about me or Korea? Let me know and I will try my best to answer! 

Until next time! 안녕 (annyeong)!

My friends and I at Haeundae beach in Busan!