There is so much to do in South Korea, and so many sights to see. I got the pleasure of being able to explore outside of Seoul on a trip with Absolute Internship, and we went to the city of Gyeongju.
Gyeongju is a cultural city and was the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom, which means that it’s an area ripe with history. The night we arrived at the hotel I took a stroll around the area, and it was absolutely beautiful. I am from the suburbs of Pennsylvania, so being in a place that is quieter and less busy did wonders for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Seoul, but a change of pace is always welcome!
We did a cultural tour of the city on our second day there, a Saturday, and there was so much to see and so many beautiful pictures that were taken! We were taught how gochujang was made and we all got to make some for ourselves. We let it ferment for a couple of days and then put it in the fridge, and I still have some that I’m going to bring home to my parents to let them have a taste. My friends and I walked around for a bit after the tour ended, and we ended up at an EDM concert that was happening in the middle of a field. It was completely unexpected, but I had a blast.
On Sunday, we visited a gorgeous temple (pictures below) before heading home. It was an amazing trip, and so relaxing. Some of my coworkers told me that Gyeongju is a place that high schoolers are often taken for school trips, and I can see why. There is so much history in Gyeongju, and they call it a “museum without walls” for a reason. If anyone wants a cultural immersion in experience while in South Korea, I can’t recommend Gyeongju enough. Interestingly, I didn’t see many tourists while we were there (besides ourselves).
A couple days after we came back from Gyeongju it was my birthday! I turned 20, and my manager was kind enough to give me the day off for it. I spent the entire day shopping and hitting popup stores in Hongdae and shopping at the Kukje Electronics center, and ended with Korean BBQ with a couple of friends. Although I was sad I couldn’t celebrate my birthday with my parents, when is the next time I’m going to get to turn a new decade in another country?
In my internship, there are a lot of tasks and little assignments that I am given. Every time I am given a new one I write it down, but this has also resulted in me having a lot of small things my coworkers or manager has mentioned for me to do in passing in my notes. A major source of ambiguity is task prioritization. For example, the taproom of my internship recently implemented a new system for customers to place their orders. Instead of going up to the register or a staff member going over to them to take their order, they scan a QR code and place orders through a website, and when they’re done enjoying their beers they come up to the register to pay. Yesterday, my manager told me to look at the sales data and analyze how this is impacting customer spending.
Last week, however, my manager told me to make sales projections for the rest of the year and next year. So, I didn’t know when she wanted the sales analysis completed, or if she wanted me to start working on that immediately. In times like these, I have learned to ask questions. I was that kid in high school who was always scared to ask questions when I was unsure about something, but I feel like in college I have improved on that. So, I’ve been treating my internship in a similar way. I have all of my coworkers’ and my manager’s KakaoTalks, so whenever I have a question I either send them a message or ask them in person. Everyone at my internship is so kind and willing to help, which is something that I am very grateful for.
