Today I have exactly 34 days until I depart for Korea.

*silently screams in terror and excitement*

I know that I made a rather rash promise last time to write a few updates before I left, how naïve of me.

Sorry. I suck.

However, I’m just going to put it out there; the past month has been stressful.

I have spent the last 30 days searching desperately for the 11,000 words needed to complete my dissertation and therefore my degree. Luckily, I found them. Yup, that’s right. As long as I haven’t completely screwed up in some random way that I am unaware of, I am just awaiting the last of my work to be marked and then hopefully have a pretty little piece of paper sent to me with BA in Childhood Studies printed on it.

It was hard folks. Not going to lie. Those last couple of weeks I really struggled to find the motivation and the sheer energy to complete it. I have been running full tilt since October of last year and found myself most nights at 2am writing essays or studying Korean vocabulary. I pushed myself right to the limit and completely exhausted myself physically and mentally. And now it’s all done, I’m suffering a little from shell shock. Part relief that I don’t have to put myself through that anymore, but then part bewilderment at what to do with myself; it seems so wasteful to go to bed at 10pm…

And then it suddenly dawned on me that I’m about to leave the country for three months, and that this might require a little bit of action on my part. So now I’ve discovered I have actually just swapped one stress for another, cause planning this trip is a monster endeavour let me tell you.

So, for those out there who may be planning such a trip, let’s take stock of what I’ve got going on so far…

• Plane tickets booked – not gonna lie, I blew the budget a bit on these. The reason being is my flight time is pretty darn long. Not only is Korea over 5,500 miles away, it also requires a change of planes and a detour so as to avoid the current war zone. In total, it’s between 14-17 hours to get to where I’m going. So I did it, I booked first class. No regrets, it’s a trip of a lifetime after all.   

• Accommodation booked – hmm, kind of. My first and last month are sorted, Seoul and Busan, booked and paid for. The bit in the middle is a little fuzzy right now. It might include renting a car and hopping about opting for hostels along the way, it could end up being hiking on Jeju Island in a tent. I just haven’t made up my mind, but I’m sure I will have decided by the time it rolls around….maybe.

• K-eta approved – this is the kind of visa thing but not really, it basically means I am pre-approved to enter Korea, good news….they want me!

• COVID tests – really, when will this hell end? Not any time ever it seems, which means booking a COVID swab the day before I leave and one as soon as I arrive at the airport on the other end. Not forgetting of course to enter the info into the Korean QR system so they don’t throw me in quarantine… please keep your fingers crossed I don’t get diseased along the way.

Those are the main requirements to get me there and in. But the organisational fun doesn’t end there folks! No, because I have also had to plan for the following…

• Transport from the airport to Seoul – still a bit up in the air, but could be bus, subway or taxi. Or a mix of two.
• Exchanging £ for ₩ (that’s the South Korean Won symbol if you weren’t sure) – has involved watching the rates like a hawk for the past 6 months before pouncing.
• Getting an International Driving Licence – for car or moped rental, Korea requires you to have one.
• Getting vaccines – luckily I had a few already given I’ve travelled to some faraway lands previously, but still have had to get 5 injections for Hep B, Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies spread out over 3 weeks. Not so much a pain in the arm as a pain in the wallet for this one. Ouch.  
• Travel insurance – I already have a company that I’ve used a number of times before and a fairly decent price for a long policy, sorted.
• Mobile Wi-fi – urgh, I can’t tell you how many hours I spent trying to decide between a SIM and a Wi-fi device in Korea. I’ve gone Wi-fi with collection from the airport so will be contactable immediately after I land. This way I don’t have to deal with having a new phone number while I am away, but should I need one, at least I can pick one up easily when I am there.
• Downloading 657 new apps to my phone for use in Korea – EVERYTHING is done by app. To give you an idea, I now have the following apps – KakaoTalk, KakaoMetro, KakaoBus, KakaoMap, Naver Map, AirVisual (air quality as it can be bad), Coupang, Yogiyo, TADA, and Papago just to name a few. If you are lucky, it might be in English, but not always. Obviously this adds to the fun.

These are just a few examples of the things I have been sorting out over the past few weeks with plenty more to sort until I fly.

And before you think I am making this much more of an ordeal than necessary, do please remember this is my first trip to Asia, I have literally no idea what to expect when I step off the plane. If I was travelling somewhere more familiar, or even to a country speaking the same language as me, I would perhaps not be quite as fastidious as I am being. However, everything is new and unknown. I am travelling solo. I have an incredibly stressed and nervous mother. I want a plan A, B, and C in place.

But having said all that, now I’m getting to the fun bit (I hope). All of the necessary, functional stuff is ticked off and ready. Now I get to think about the day to day doing of actual activities.

Hiking? Of course. As many national parks/UNESCO sites/trails as I can possibly get to, and I’m keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed to try and get one of the coveted National Park hiking stamp passports.

Food? Yes. A million times yes. I have to try every type of street food on offer. After I build up the confidence to order that is.  And as many authentic Korean restaurants as I can find, including the ones on Namhae Island that I’ve already seen on TV.

Palaces, fortresses, and museums? Yup, add them to the list, as many as I can. Certainly the main ones in Seoul and Busan.

Trip to the theatre? If there is a chance to see a musical or play with a Korean actor or actress that I know and recognise, I am there. 2 hours watching theatre all in Korean where I might understand a handful of words, that’s what I’m talking about!

Temple or Hanok stay? An overnight visit to a traditional temple or house is definitely on the list. One would be great, both would be amazing.

Visit Starfield Library and browse Korean books I can’t read all day? Do you even need to ask?

Jjimjilbang visit? I’ve watched too many dramas to not want to visit a traditional bathhouse. This one will be later in the trip; I have to build up some courage for it first.

Dressing in Hanbok? A k-beauty treatment? Why the heck not? I’ve never had the desire to dress up before, but hey, now I do! And I’m all for any type of spa treatment no matter where I am.

More hiking? You bet! And why not throw in a bit of camping too.

Karaoke? OK, no. You’ve just taken it a little too far now.

This will be my remaining 34 days. Picking out all the potential activities I might want to do and adding them to my Google map. When I get to Korea I can then plan out my days by grouping close and far activities together, fire up all of my transportation apps, and go and explore!

And on that high note I shall depart, but will be back soon, for I feel some South Korea trivia might be on the way…try and contain your excitement everyone!