Han River Fun

Two weeks into the school year, I went to see the Han River with IES Abroad!! The Han River is a popular place in  Korea, having been featured in multiple K-dramas, music videos, webtoons etc. You can often find parents watching their kids play with toys that toy vendors are showcasing, couples biking together, people walking their cute tiny dogs, friends having picnics together, and people playing in the water. 

When most of the program participants arrived, we had lunch eating Korean fried chicken and snacks under a bridge with some local Korean students from the Study Abroad Foundation (SAF), a sister organization of IES Abroad. One of the SAF students, Hojae, organized a number of icebreaker activities, like charades shown in the mini vlog. Another activity, not shown in the vlog, was Spyfall. It was so much fun figuring out who was the spy and ganging up on them when the group collectively found out.

We were then given some free time to explore the Han River at our own pace. On that day, there was a small market selling handmade goods and food truck eats. Unfortunately, it began to rain, so the market closed early and I couldn’t really look at everything. However, on another part of the Han River, there were other stores and even some cafes that a few friends and I decided to check out instead.

Before I knew it, it was time to board a short cruise to observe the city lights. On the bottom floor of the boat, passengers could listen to a live violin performance. Everyone in the program and the SAF Buddies who could come sat on the top floor, where there was an outdoor deck to walk around and have a better view of the city buildings along the river. When it did stop raining, the view was very pretty.

Overall, this experience was a really nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of city life in Seoul as well as from academic life. If you’re thinking of visiting Korea and decide that you would want a relaxing break from the city, I recommend coming to the Han River. Anyways, I plan to keep making more vlogs of my adventures abroad, so stay tuned for more videos!!