Music and Street Food!

Our second week in Seoul, and the Navigators have experienced so much! On Monday, we were treated to a behind the scenes look at K-Pop with a very special guest lecturer. Jessica Oak, the editor-in-chief of Billboard Korea sat down with us and answered all the burning questions we had about the industry and our favorite K-Pop stars. A fan of the genre herself, Jessica shared her insider knowledge and gave us an idea of the kind of work that a K-Pop journalist does.

After Korean class, we headed to Myeongdong, a famous shopping district in Seoul and popular destination for international tourists. Myeongdong may be known as a shoppers' paradise, but food lovers are sure to have their needs met here too. Our group was met by Jennifer Flynn, a food anthropologist living in Korea, and we embarked on a journey lead by our tastebuds. After the Korean War, foreign food aid to Korea consisted largely of oil and flour, foods that were previously not a large part of the Korean diet. To utilize these new resources, an rich street food culture arose.

We tried more contemporary offerings that came about in the last few years to match the tastes of the rising number of international tourists to the area such as the "tornado potato" and a deep fried corndog (and deep fried again with french fries on top). We also tried a few more traditional fares, like soondae (blood sausage), ddeokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes), and hoddeok (korean fried doughnuts).

We began our next day with K-Pop class, and an important community service project. Alongside our Korean high school friends, we decorated shoes with messages of hope and love that will be delivered to children in Cambodia.