Watching Dream Concert (May 22)

Okay, I feel so lame that I always post a long-gone event T_T
*blame all those assignments that made me crazy*

However, amidst those crazy weeks full of assignments, I still managed to entertain myself by watching concerts XD. Since last year, I always attend Dream Concert (DreamCon) in which many Korean popular singers performing, and also of which the ticket is cheap. Only 5,000 won (~ Rp 50.000). That's just freakin cheap, and me likes cheap things, hehehe... I also watch DreamCon especially to see my favorite K-pop group, Super Junior ^^. This May was their comeback and I really wanted to see them perform 미인아 (Bonamana) live.

Okay, so I went with my friend Atri and met two others at Sangam World Cup Stadium. It was raining, so we had to buy rain coats. I hate rain becoz it makes things look more difficult, but I knew I'd still enjoy the show^^

Me wearing the light blue.

At 7 PM, the show began. The MCs were Ok Taecyeon (2PM), Shin Saekyung (actress from K-drama High Kick), and Kim Heechul (Super Junior). IMO, both male MCs were very attractive but the female MC was still stiff, maybe because that was her first time doing MC.

Left-right: Kim Heechul - Shin Saekyung - Ok Taecyeon

There were 21 artists (solo singers and girl/boy groups) performing, named U-kiss, Rainbow, F.Cuz, Ze:a, f(x), davichi, MBLAQ, CN Blue, B2ST, SHINee, SS501, Rain, T-ara, 4minutes, After School, Kara, Wonder Girls, 2PM, SNSD, Lee Hyori, and Super Junior. They all performed with their own unique characteristics. The cute and energetic SHINee, the calm and mature SS501, the fresh CN Blue (and the only live band XD), the sexy Kara and After School, the cool Lee Hyori who brought a motorbike on the set, and of course the long awaited Wonder Girls and Super Junior! I was very entertained and I hope I can attend the next year's DreamCon.

CN Blue (but only Jungshin and Yonghwa in this picture)

SHINee

SS501

Rain (it seems his appearance was omitted in the televised version) T_T

Super Junior

The closing performance by all artists.

The crowd at the station after the show. Though we were all wet, but we're happy!! ^^

Seoul Friendship Fair 2010 (9-10 May)

This is a very late post because I'm very busy with my graduation report ^^;

Usually in spring there's a special event called Hi Seoul Festival. But this year, the annual festival was postponed due to the national mourning. Instead, Seoul held an event called Seoul Friendship Fair during 2 days in Seoul Plaza. In there, we could see international traditional cultural performances and take a look at international booths that sold various souvenirs. When I got there at about 1 PM, the venue had already become crowded^^
I saw a lot of traditional dances including the performances from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Azerbaijan, as well as other participating countries.

The gate. This fair took a whole street for its international food booths. It's very cool how we could walk through the street that's usually passed by cars, isn't it? ^^

 

I took a picture with Haechi, the mascot of Seoul city. Though it's cute, but in the legend Haechi is so fierce and is an ally of justice. Look at the children!^^ They playfully inserted their hands into Haechi's mouth^^

Indonesia's booth. Haha it stood out among the others because the booth used those Balinese ornaments.

Japan's traditional game and people wearing matsuri (festival) costume. Somehow I missed this view, because in Jakarta I often attended Japanese cultural events. Recently in Jakarta, Korean cultural events start to gain more popularity among youths thanks to Kpop and Kdrama.

People enjoying the foods at the gazebo built on a street. It was hot, but the event was so merry that we almost forgot the sunny weather.

Indonesia's food booth. Again the ornament made it stand out^^ 

The booth won the award for the Most Various Foods. Congrats!

The UK booth with lovely ladies wearing unique clothes. In other booths, we could also see the exhibitors wearing their own traditional clothes that are unique and exotic.

This Afghanistan's food was so delicious! No wonder that it became the winner for Best Food award.

Ah, the Friendship Fair was nice and enjoyable...I hope I can visit it again!

Thanks for reading ^_^

One Fine Spring Day (May 2, 2010)

As many of you may realize, this year, spring came late to Korea. Usually the weather would be getting warm started from March, but this year, it even snowed on late March! But aside of the late coming, spring is always nice. Chilly breeze combined with a not-so-bright sunshine, it's a perfect day to leave the hibernating period and step outside ^o^

So, that day, my friends and I went to go for a walk along Hangang Park in Yeouido. As we expected, it was so crowded with people (and pets actually^^). We rode the bicycles, played at the fountain, stared at the river, and sat on the grass enjoying the breeze.

It's refreshing and envying to see lovers rode the bicycle, hehehe...

 Look! Even there were some families building tents there^^

After cycling for an hour, we took break here...

Sitting on the stone floor and put our feet in the water while watching the scenery of Han River, so peaceful that I forgot about my assignments for a while^^

That dome-like building is a cafe and we also spent some time there. 

This kid was playing with the fountain beside the cafe.

The identical buildings at the foreground are Twin Building (Twin Tower), the headquarter of LG Electronics, one of the biggest electronic company in Korea and in the world...and also the company I used to work for before^^

The brown building at the background is 63 Building, a very famous building in Korea.

Side note:

I really, really hope that Jakarta will have the facility like Hangang Park, where people can relax and enjoy the scenery for free and safely. I know that we have some facilities, but most of them are not free and not so enjoyable, some are not clean enough. I think we have a lot of potentials to develop something like this if people and government join hands together to create a better environment for the city. Go go Indonesia!

World Students in Korea (WSK)

Good night^^

Okay, I think I haven't announced that I have been selected as a member of World Students in Korea (WSK)
*throws confetti*
WSK is an international students program run by the Presidential Council on Nation Branding (PCNB) since June 2009. You can take a look at the website in Koreabrand.

As the member of WSK, the students' main task is to run individual blogs to promote cultural exchange and to strengthen ties between Korea and our own home countries. As an exchange, the Council will provide us opportunities to visit Korea's cultural heritage sites, major industrial sites, and workshop.

Until now, there have been 2 batches of this program, and I'm the member of the 3rd batch. On May 4, 2010 we attended the kick-off ceremony for the 3rd batch and also closing ceremony for the 2nd batch. It was held at the National Museum of Korea. We had an awarding ceremony for best bloggers of the previous batch. After that, we had a free museum tour. It was so amazing tracing the history of Korea. However, because we didn't have much time, we finished the tour in short time. I think I'll visit the museum again to satisfy my curiosity to explore the whole museum^^

This is the pic of the kick-off & closing ceremony. Thanks Ms. Shin of WSK who sent me this pic^^

The building of National Museum of Korea. It was so grand, beautiful, and crowded!

I will blog about this place next time, so please keep on reading and commenting my blog^^ See you!

Watching Cherry Blossom (17-18 April 2010)

When I first came to Korea, I didn't know that Korea also have cherry blossom (sakura). In Korea, it's called   벚꽃(potkkot). So when I found out that Korea have it, I was really happy ^^. This year was the second time I went to see the cherry blossom. My friends and I went to Hangang Park Yeouido and around the National Assembly. As expected, it was soooo crowded! But I still enjoyed the view since it wouldn't last long :(
By the way, Korea's cherry blossom is white or pinkish white, different from Japan's.

I took this picture at Yeouido, near 63 Building. We had a walk along the street and enjoyed the view. I like how the trees made a formation like this^^

This was near the National Assembly. As usual, a lot of people came. This year the flowers were blooming late, so this event was a long-awaited one.

I like how the flowers took up the space and covered the street sign.

People: young, old, families, lovers, friends..All of them poured to the park enjoying the annual beautiful scenery.

The grand building of National Assembly across the line of cherry blossom trees. Double beauty.

There are also cherry blossom trees in my university. This was taken at Ewha Elementary School that is located behind my dorm. Beautiful, aren't they?

I hope you enjoy reading and seeing the pics^^

See you again in my next post!

It (cherry blossom) is beautiful because it doesn't last long (NEWS - Sakura Girl)

First semester in Ewha (March 2009)

After a warm welcoming ceremony, we started classes next day. I was happy because my major, Health & Environment, had a lot of field trips to Korean facilities like Korean National Tuberculosis Association, Asan Medical Center, The Sihwa Constructed Reed Wetland, Silvercare (health care for elderly), etc. Those experiences enriched my knowledge in health & environment practice. I will write about my field trips experiences later, and now I'll write my impressions about Ewha.

At first, I didn't know that Ewha Womans University (or nicknamed as 이대 /idae) is a top university in Korea, because I never browsed about universities in Korea before ^^. So I was grateful when knowing that Ewha is one of the top universities. Moreover, it's the best women's university in Korea. I was quite shock during the first weeks, because most of the girls in here dress very beautifully, as if they are celebrities. But as time goes by, I could get used to it.

Ewha is located in Daehyun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul and is exactly located in the end of shopping districts. You can find coffee & tea shops, clothing, shoes, cosmetics and a bunch of Korean and international restaurants around here, so whenever you get bored in your room, you can just step out and find a place to sit and enjoy the view of shoppers (or passers-by) ^^.

The above pic is what will you see after entering Ewha's main gate. The big building at the left side is 대강당 / Welch-Ryang Hall, the hall we use for graduation and admission ceremony (and also for concerts, hehe). The smaller building which looks like a house from middle-age is Clara Hall. Sometimes I dream of having a house like that XD.

When you turn right, you can see Ewha Campus Complex (ECC) which is an integrated buildings. It consists of 4 floors that has reading rooms, classrooms, a lot of student's lounges, a gym, a conference and exhibition hall, restaurants, a movie theatre, coffee shops like Starbucks, Richemont bakery, convenience stores, and also facilities like Shinhan Bank, Starbucks, Canon printing center, Kyobo bookstore, etc. It's like a one-stop service for students.

Can you see the building at the end of the stairs? This is the picture of it.

It's Pfeiffer Hall, the main hall. I think it's also one of the most recognized building in Ewha besides Welch-Ryang Hall and ECC. But unfortunately I never have a chance to enter the building. It's a grand building, isn't it?

I can't put all the buildings' picture in this post because it's labeled as "spring", but I'll post more pictures in different posts ^^

See you!

Touch down in Korea (26.02.2009)

Hmm, I'm trying my best to recall my memory. I left Jakarta on February 25th, 2009 and landed in Seoul the next morning. The flight wasn't so smooth as we kept on being in bad weather and had to fasten our seat belt. Being our first time to Korea, the four of us (Au, Atri, Ludi & me) felt lost, but luckily Atri's friend, Ayu, came to pick us at the airport. Then she took us to our soon-to-be home for 1.5 years, Ewha Womans University (I'll tell you the details about my university later, hehehe). Although winter had ended, but the temperature was still low that we felt freezing. It's natural for us who come from a tropical country like Indonesia, isn't it? The first sensation was like..."Wow, I felt like being in a giant freezer!" LOL. We were suffering but trying to get used to it.

Arrived at our dormitory after dragging our suitcases for about 200 meters from the bus stop, we registered to the office and got the password number of our rooms. I was placed in the same room with Atri at room A415, while Au was with Ludi at A506. We were so amazed with the convenience at our rooms. They look like hotel rooms! You can take a peek here (I'm gonna post the pics of my room later).

The next day, we attended the opening ceremony for our program, Interdisciplinary Program of Technology and Development. We had a briefing and lunch with the Dean, Professors, and assistants.

First time is always good! I enjoyed the Korean foods they served on that welcoming ceremony, but I had to be extra careful because most of Korean foods use pork that I'm forbidden to eat.
Also, I fell in love at the first sight with Ewha's landscape. The campus has a Western style buildings, being it as a product of an American missionary project. The campus is a blend of beautiful buildings with 1800s' style and modern buildings such as ECC (Ewha Campus Complex) that becomes the most attractive building at Ewha.

I just realized I don't have the buildings' pics in this computer *LOL*, so I took one from wiki ^^.
And this was our first pic with ECC on the background..From left to right: Au - me - Ludi - Atri.

Okay, that's all for the "first" theme. I'll write more about what I experienced during my 2009's spring next time. See you!