SeoulNicole 서울니콜

A story of picturesque views, gondola rides and spider bites Fantastic views in the Fall from the top of the mountain at Phoenix Snow Park, PyeongChang, 2013. Olympic prep and advertising was ongoing, even in 2013.  Woot woot! The Olympics will soon begin in PyeongChang, South Korea bringing the global media spotlight to Korea for a month. I made a trip to PyeongChang in September 2013, when preparations for the Olympics were already underway. My impression of PyeongChang from my brief trip there is likely a typical refrain as a foreigner venturing outside the big cities in Korea: Delicious food, friendly and helpful people in the town, beautiful clean air, gorgeous natural scenery, traditional buildings and.... MASSIVE SPIDERS. MASSIVE. SPIDERS. Korean Spiders: Demons of the countryside The hype for the Olympics has brought memories from PyeongChang to the front of my mind, including an unfortunate encounter with a Korean spider. I'm from New Jersey so I...

This update is SO OVERDUE. I've tried to keep most of the songs on this list from 2016-2017, but since my last Kpop Workout Playlist  was from January 2015 (haha) there are some songs that came out in 2015 which really had staying/slaying power to me, so they're on the list. When I'm running, I generally want high tempo songs to motivate me and distract me from working out. With that in mind, here we go...... 1). Winner "Really Really" SLAY. I know it's not even summer but...Kpop song of the summer? This is such an earworm and really has a Western sound to me. If they released an English version, maybe it would do well...??? 2). CL "Hello Bitches" I was not on board with this release at first and NOW I LIVE FOR IT. If the intent was to make listeners reject the song at first then get on board for over two years then IT WORKED.  3). KARD "Rumor" KARD have been slaying my life since they debuted their first song a ...

WARNING: Sentimental post ahead. You've been warned! 4 years in Korea. 4 birthdays. 3 different apartments. 2 cities. 2 jobs. 16 seasons.  I find myself thinking about these things. As though breaking my "Korean experience" down into something quantifiable will make it easier to understand. I want to mentally compartmentalize my time there so I can try to make sense of my experiences. I recently returned to New Jersey after 2 years in Jamsil, Seoul. (This is my second "homecoming", as I lived in Suwon for 2 years, then moved back home, then back to Seoul for round two from Feb 2015- March 2017).  Despite this being my second time saying "goodbye" to Korea, the reverse culture shock is hitting me much harder than I anticipated, since I've already gone through this before. Right now I'm trying to relax in my home country before deciding if I should go back to Korea or try and put some roots down in America. For anyone who recently re...

K-Pop Workout Playlist: Truth. We're 11 days into the New Year. If you're like me, you're still telling yourself you've committed to a healthier lifestyle, and vowing this is the year  you'll stop eating Nutella with chopsticks at 2 am. I need to make working out as fun as possible otherwise iHate it. Listening to the right music is crucial. I narrowed down my Kpop workout playlist to these 13 songs that reflect the 4 phases of any workout: warming up, the workout, when you want to die, and cooling down. WARMING UP: Songs that put you in a good mood, and raise your energy level. "It's Me" by Kahi This is always my first song. I think I've primed my body to associate this song with exercising. In this song, Kahi exudes a subtle sensuality that I find believable and appealing. Gain and Sunmi are two others, that to me, can carry a sexy concept without it seeming forced or cheap. "Itaewon Freedom" with JYP ...

At Cheonjiyeon Falls (천지연폭포) I've been fortunate enough to visit Jeju Island twice, once in July of 2012 and again in December of 2013.  Jeju Island  is known as "The Hawaii of Korea" and is a popular vacation destination for Chinese & Japanese tourists, Koreans, and English teachers ^^.  A few articles on Jeju  here , here , and here . In short, Jeju is BEAUTIFUL and can be extremely affordable if you know where to go. View from the room at Hotel Good Inn. Coconut not included ^^. Jeongbang Falls Winter in Jeju, Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) in the distance. Beautiful view from the roof of Hotel Good Inn, Seogwipo Jeju On my first trip to Jeju in 2012, I was traveling alone in late July, one of the hottest weeks of the summer. On the 1 hour plane ride from Incheon to Jeju, the atmosphere on the plane was bubbly and lighthearted. On average, Koreans take the fewest amount of vacation days of all countries in the Asia-Pacific reg...

Since being home (New Jersey) I've taken a bit of a break from K-Pop. I still religiously read Asian Junkie  for my daily Kpop LOLz, but overall I've been more attuned to Western music these past few months. By Western music, I pretty much mean one artist: Hozier. That time Zach Braff told me about Hozier In the summer, my friend and I went to a Q&A session in Union Square with Zach Braff the day his movie ( Wish I Was Here ) came out. The soundtrack features Hozier's Cherry Wine, and he described the way the song was recorded live - not in the traditional sense in that it was recorded at a concert - but recorded outdoors, with sounds of birds chiming in on the track. I also learned that not only was he a Hozier fan, but he loves Game of Thrones. He gave away multiple GOT action figures during the event. Hodor! Hodor? Hodor. Hey bae <3 After weeks of impromptu Hozier dance parties and listening to every performance of his I could find on YouTube, I bi...

Snail mucus, Placenta and Collagen - Oh my! These are some of the ingredients found in Korean face mask sheets. I've never had the patience or knowledge of beauty products to have a very extensive makeup routine. (Yet I'm sure that my appearance could benefit greatly from some expertise in this area). I don't wear makeup on a daily basis. I've been told repeatedly by my Korean co-workers that I look tired, have dark circles under my eyes, etc . etc. etc.  I woke up like thisssss (my apologies).  Meh. After having coffee at my desk, I'll generally doodle some eyeliner on before first period. In Korea, stores dedicated to skincare, makeup, and beauty dominate the streets such as Olive Young (my absolute favorite) The Face Shop, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, Etude House, Innisfree, and Aritaum. Spending time in these stores and familiarizing myself with their products made me feel overwhelmed and intrigued by the multitude of cosmetics available. Let's ...