SeoulNicole 서울니콜

Pro Tip: Facemask-o'clock and Beer-o'clock should always coincide. The "I'm Sorry for my Skin" brand can be found at Love Health + Beauty (LOHB). Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting old but Facemask Happy Hour + Kdrama is becoming a favorite routine. Alcohol dehydrating you, facemask reviving you, alcohol making idiotic plots in Kdramas more bearable - it's really a great combination. I just finished  Another Oh Hae Young  which I actually enjoyed overall, but the female protagonist would whine and throw tantrums even beyond the acceptable Kdrama quota (which is already really high).  OKAY ANYWAY! Some of the skincare I stockpiled and mailed to America before I left Korea. Not pictured: my empty wallet  Living in Korea exposed me to amazing skincare and cosmetic products as well as the advantages of having a skin care routine. My favorite store is OliveYoung  which I described in a previous post as " sort-of what you would get if you...

Okay everyone: 2 days until the first Olympic events begin in PyeongChang and 3 days until the opening ceremonies (at 6 am Friday morning EST: information to stream the opening ceremonies ). Personally I am SO EXCITED, but I may be in the minority here. Rumblings about  the lack of enthusiasm around the Olympics  have surrounded the event in recent years. In my case, it's fair to say that if the Olympics were being hosted elsewhere, my interest would decline. ( Check out my previous post to read about my trip to PyeongChang). Well, I can't write anything about Korea without referencing Kpop it seems. Nike and Kpop have combined in the video below to get us all hyped for the Olympics, because Kpop + corporate sponsorship + singers + athletes + timely release before the Olympics is a successful formula. Nike is capitalizing on the Olympic buzz with "Run It" by Jay Park featuring Woo Won Jae, Jessi and Korean athletes in this new song/cam...

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...