Time is flying by very fast, and this will probably be one of the last updates already. Since my last update was about a month ago, and I probably do not remember everything that happened during this month, I will just tell about only a few activities/places etc. Just like the other times, I will add a new photo album as well.

Before the midterms (about 3 weeks ago) I went to Deoksugung Palace, which is located in the centre of Seoul. What is really nice about South-Korea is that most of the time entrance fees for almost all tourist attractions are (still) extremely cheap, when comparing with many other countries (e.g. the entrance to this palace was less than 70 Eurocents). What made this palace special was the fact that due to its location, it was surrounded by tall buildings on all sides. What is more, it also included some western-style buildings.

About two weeks ago, I also went to Cheonan, which is a relatively small city (in Korean terms) about 80 kilometres south of Seoul. The city is famous for its independence hall. It was some sort of park which included exhibition halls about the occupation of South-Korea by Japan. I did not stay there extremely long (and only visited one exhibition hall), due to the fact that many small children (in large groups) tend to stalk foreigners there… Or at least on that day. In the beginning this is still 'fun', but after 2 hours you just want to get out of that place as fast as you can. Luckily for me, there was more to do in Cheonan. There was a temple-complex (Gagwonsa) located on a mountain near a lake. It was not a very large complex, but it was one of the most beautiful ones I have seen so far. On a hill next to the temple, there was also a very large bronze Buddha.

One day later I visited Incheon for the second time (actually 3rd time, but the first time I only stayed near the airport). The previous time I went to the Chinatown of that city, but this time I went to the modern part of the city instead. It was called New Songdo City, and they are still building many new buildings at a very rapid pace there. Everything looked very futuristic, and the tallest building of Korea was also located here (however, they are currently already building new ones that will be much taller).

Furthermore, about 1 week ago there was a sporting match organized for exchange students as well as the Korean students from the buddy program. It included 5 different games, and eventually our group even managed to win the price! After the match, we went eating at a Korean restaurant, and could use our price to pay the bill.

Yesterday, I went to Seorae-dong (also called "French Village"). It is something like a Chinatown, but then in French Style. It was one of the most bizarre places I have been to so far. There were French families walking around with baguettes, and some of the signs were in French as well. Even though it still did not really feel like France, I did not have the feeling that I was actually still in Seoul.

Jeroen van Bommel