The Gunilla Hastrup Adventure Award was created by family and friends of Gunilla Hastrup – a Caltech Y Board Member who loved travel, exploring, and learning about others – to provide students the opportunity to explore their family roots or family origins to gain a better understanding of their cultural identity, and/or explore and learn about a culture different from their own. This year I was awarded the Hastrup Award to connect with my roots and family history in Seoul, South Korea. Thanks to the generosity of the Hastrup family and the Caltech Y, I had the opportunity this summer to spend 10 days in Korea, where I met 14 new relatives and made lasting connections that I plan to uphold and cherish for the rest of my life. In this blog, I’ve recounted some of the most memorable moments of my trip, and I hope that my experiences will inspire other students to explore their own family heritage in the future.
Day 1 – Friday July 5, 2025: Caught up on sleep and met my family (and an adorable baby!)
After arriving at the airport at 4:20 AM, I finally cleared customs around 5:30 AM. One of my relatives kindly came to pick me up from the airport, and during the car ride back we soon realized that we had a lot in common – indie music, soccer, and hiking. After a nap, I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to start my day and meet my relatives.
I spent the rest of the day chatting with a large group of my relatives, one of whom was a little two-year-old girl who was absolutely adorable. After spending some time hanging out with her (I was eventually even able to convince her to give me a high-five!), my second-cousin and I went to the gym. After the gym, we went out for a big family dinner at a Japanese restaurant, where I conversed with the rest of my family. One of my relatives told me about his passion for skiing and MTV biking, showing me a collection of scenic photos from his adventures. My other relative (the one with the adorable daughter) told me that he was glad to welcome me to Korea, and he hopes that one day I will be able to welcome his daughter to the United States, where he hopes she will go to school. By the time dinner was over, I was feeling both warm from the time with my family and exhausted from the long two days of travel, and I crashed pretty quickly after returning home.
Day 2 – Saturday July 6, 2025: Received an unexpected surprise when using Korean Uber and visited the traditional Hanok village
Very rested after more than ten hours of sleeping, I awoke early, energized and ready to explore Korea. I started off my day with a walk around the neighborhood, and after passing by a coffee shop, I decided to stop for a cup of coffee. However, all of the menu items were in Korean (and my Korean is quite bad). Thankfully, Koreans are quite kind to strangers (something that I continually benefitted from when I was lost many times throughout the trip), and a very nice lady ordering ahead of me helped me order.
After my walk, I spent some time catching up with my great uncle before heading out to meet the other side of my family for lunch. As a business man for Samsung (one of Korea’s largest companies), he had spent a lot of time traveling the world, and I asked him for some stories of his favorite places. At one point he told me that many years ago he had been sent to serve some of his mandatory Korean military service in the United States due to his strong translating skills. He had been recognized for his service in America, and he showed me the certificate he received awarding him as an honorary citizen of Indiana!
Next, it was time to head to lunch, and my relative had told me to Uber to the restaurant. After ordering my ride and getting into the van, I figured I was all set and had mastered the Korean Uber transit system (the easiest possible transit system). However, all of a sudden my driver pulled over on the side of the highway, turned around, spoke a bunch of rapid-fire Korean at me, and then walked out of the car. After a few minutes of staring out the window in absolute shock, I realized that there was a public toilet building right next to where we parked, likely where my driver had headed. Thankfully, after his quick bathroom break, my driver returned to the car and we were back on our way!
At the restaurant, I had a lovely lunch with my relative and her family. She had a young son who was only two years old, and he was super cute! His favorite song is the “ABCs,” and he kept singing it throughout the lunch.
After lunch, my relatives took me on a tour of the Bukchon Hanok village, which is a neighborhood of homes showcasing traditional Korean architecture. The houses are all low to the ground (only one or two stories) and are typically built from a wooden framework, have underfloor heating, and have tiled roofs. People still live in these houses today, so exploration of the village is limited to certain hours of the day, and guests are supposed to speak relatively quietly so as not to disturb the inhabitants.
After exploring the village, my relatives took me to a Korean tea house to try their traditional Korean fruit tea. We had to leave our shoes at the door, and we sat cross-legged on pillows to eat. My relatives ordered everything in rapid-fire Korean (so I had no idea what we were getting), but I really enjoyed our snack of iced fruit teas and dried citrus dipped in honey.
After my adventure in the Hanok village, I had to take another Uber (public transit was not available as I was traveling a rather short, but not walkable distance) to meet one of my Caltech friends who had coincidentally also planned an Asia trip the same time as me. We met up in Myeongdong, where we spent the next several hours shopping and trying different foods at the night market that popped up at 5 PM. Myeongdong reminded me a bit of New York City, as the neighborhood consisted of a very crowded row of streets packed with storefronts and souvenir racks spilling out into the sidewalks. The night market was also pretty neat, as the vendors cooked all of the food right in front of you. My friend ordered a skewer of grilled octopus, and the vendor set the entire skewer on fire right in front of us!
Day 3 – Sunday July 7, 2025: received a personalized Seoul tour from a local
I woke up around 9 AM and cooked myself a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and veggies along with a mango (I noticed that the pits of Korean mangoes are much smaller than the American ones). After breakfast I headed outside for a walk. Confident in my success ordering coffee the previous day (albeit with the help of another person), I left the house way too confident in my ability to replicate the order. Using the kiosk I thought I was ordering an iced latte with oat milk. However, I was a bit confused why the price was higher than the previous day. As everything was in Korean, I truly had no idea what I was actually ordering, so I just hoped for the best. Turns out, I had actually ordered a decaf iced latte with boba. Whoops!
After breakfast, I went to the gym with my second cousin and then cooked lunch. As a vegetarian, most Korean people think my diet is absolutely bonkers. On my first day in Korea I had gone to the grocery store to buy some tofu, and I was determined to cook a meal for my relatives. However, after making a tofu, rice cake, and veggie stir fry, I realized that my efforts were in vain. My relatives were extremely polite, trying several bites and telling me the food was very good. However, I could read between the lines (no one finished their plate), and I am pretty sure they were discussing the (poor) quality of my food in Korean.
Next up was our tour of Seoul! My friend from Caltech and I met up at my cousin’s house, as he was planning to drive us around to his favorite spots in the city.
Our first stop was Gyeongbokgung palace. Unfortunately, we were visiting Korea in the middle of summer, so it was almost unbearably hot outside. However, the tour was absolutely worth it. While the original palace had been destroyed in the war, the palace had been reconstructed in 1980, and it was breathtaking (and massive!). We were able to see inside one of the buildings, and the interior was beautifully decorated with colorful wallpaper and exquisite furniture. The exterior was also quite stunning, and I was very impressed by how well-preserved the color was since the reservation (given the monsoon weather in Korea). There were also several small lakes scattered throughout the property with smaller buildings nested on islands in the middle of the water. Scattered lilypads and water flowers made for a very idyllic backdrop for these buildings.
My cousin (who is significantly taller than me) gave us his own personal tour of the palace grounds, but he (1) seemed to be taking the heat much better than we were and (2) walked much faster than us. I think he thought we were a bit wimpy because he told us that he was going to stop for us to take a break several times while he seemed perfectly fine to carry on…
After the palace, we stopped for a quick coffee break refresher (and a brief moment of AC) before getting back in the car to head to the Korean National Museum. Red bean-related desserts are a staple in Korea, so we made sure to try several of the various renditions before returning to America (where red bean is not a common dessert ingredient).
We spent the next few hours exploring the museum’s vast collection. I was especially impressed by the very expansive pottery collection the museum housed. Some of the bowls and cups had extremely intricate and well-preserved designs, which I thought was impressive for such small objects. The craftsmanship seemed much higher than most dishware in America, alluding to the long-standing culture of traditional pottery making (continued by people such as my uncle today).
There was also an entire exhibit dedicated to Korean Buddha statues. Some of them were absolutely massive – more than two times my size! The exhibit also provided some documentation on the difference between Buddhas in different cultures. Korean Buddha statues are often focused more on the human form, with fuller bodies and a more natural depiction of movement. Many Korean Buddha statues often depict bodhisattvas (future Buddhas), which are seated figures with one leg rested on the other knee and a hand on their cheek.
Next, we headed to the Han River to walk around and take in the beautiful view. My cousin told us that the Han River is so large that it makes the Seine look insignificant in comparison (I have never seen the Seine, so I will refrain from judgement). Along the riverfront there was a trio busking, so we sat and listened to their music for a while. After walking around for a little longer, we met another one of my cousins (this cousin is actually from America and was also visiting for the summer) at the metro station to head to the N Seoul Tower.
After parking in the tower parking lot, we walked up a short hill where we caught a bus to the base of the tower. We looked over the edge to get a glimpse of the cityscape, but unfortunately, it was too cloudy to see much. We ate dinner at a Korean diner, which was very different from a standard American diner, as it only served dinner food (no breakfast items). Then we climbed up to the bridge of locks to see the view. Many couples come to the bridge of locks to attach a padlock to the fence as a symbol of their love for each other. Thankfully, by this time the sun had fully gone down, so we had a much clearer view of all of the city lights. After taking some pictures and enjoying the scenery, we walked down the mountain to head back to our respective lodgings. Our flight to Jeju was at 7 AM the next day, so I needed to pack and grab a few hours of sleep before our early wake up the next day.
Day 4 – Monday July 8, 2025: Explored a new island and drank lots of caffeine!
After a very early 4:30 AM wakeup, our plane touched down in Jeju around 8 AM. I had accidentally set my Uber to drop me off at Gimpo International Airport (instead of Gimpo Domestic Airport), but thankfully my Uber driver was very nice, and after a chaotic Google-translate conversation, he made sure I got to the right place.
Upon arriving at our hotel, we dropped our bags off in day storage and headed over to a nearby coffee shop to refuel and make a plan for the day. After about an hour of Googling, we decided to explore the area and meander towards the Jeju Arboretum.
On our way to the bus stop we stopped at a few touristy shops to look for souvenirs for our friends (and enjoy a few refreshing moments in the AC). The bus stop was next to a little river surrounded by a rainbow fence, and I moved away from the group to take a few photos. As our bus drove through Jeju, I noticed how colorful the city was – brightly colored schools, buildings, and fences lined every street! Our bus dropped us off at the midpoint to the Arboretum, and we stopped for lunch at a tofu house across the street from the bus stop. The food was served traditional style, and we had to leave our shoes at the entrance before padding over to sit cross-legged on pillows next to the table. The restaurant was surprisingly inexpensive, and we very much enjoyed the small traditional Korean plates that came with the meal (kimchi, fish cakes, little black beans, spicy cucumbers, etc.)
After a few more bus stops and some walking, we arrived at the Arboretum. The Arboretum was deceptively much larger than its entrance conveyed, and it would have likely taken us a whole day to explore all of it. There are even campgrounds, public restrooms, and an outdoor gym within its confines, so we likely only saw a small portion of the park’s many paths. Nonetheless, the parts we saw were very beautiful, and there were some cool sculptures and pretty flowers lining the paths we walked.
Arriving back in the neighborhood surrounding our hotel, we spent the next two hours exploring the underground market and the aboveground fish market while we waited until the night market opened at six. Similar to the Myeongdong Night Market, this one had many of the same traditional Korean street food dishes –ttokeboki, little crabs, kimchi dumplings– as well as some more unusual ones, such as sweet corn ice cream! Next to the night market, dead fish heads on ice and tanks of live fish and octopus lined the walkway, mixed alongside booths selling fruits, veggies, and Korean candies. When the night market opened, we picked out some dishes to try for dinner before walking back to the hotel to check in and hunker down for the night.
Day 5 – Tuesday June 9, 2025: Hiked up a volcano and saw a surprise visitor!
We awoke quite early at around 7:20 AM in order to eat a quick breakfast at our hotel before setting off towards the other side of the island for our day’s adventure. Interestingly, I found that one of the Korean breakfast staples were cherry tomatoes, which is not a standard American breakfast food.
Our first stop was to the Jeju Haenyeo museum to learn about the history of the Jeju female sea divers (the Haenyeo). One of the cool cultural practices of the Haenyeo women is that they are the breadwinners of the family (instead of the men). While the women go out to sea each day to free dive for abalone, seaweed, octopi, and more, the men cook, clean, and care for the children! The museum had a variety of old Haenyeo relics, such as the old, cotton diving clothes the women used to wear, and we learned a lot about the history and evolution of the craft. Unlike sea-related careers in most parts of the world, the women sea divers practice environmentally-friendly sea harvesting, making sure to preserve the ecosystem that they are diving in.
After the museum, we caught a few buses to take us to Seongsan Ilchulbong (aka Sunrise Peak), a volcano on the eastern side of Jeju Island. One of our bus stops was next to a bakery, and we were able to try many free samples of all of the different Korean breads! The one I ended up picking had a sweet, crumbly outside and a green-colored, savory, mochi-like consistency on the inside. It was delicious, and I spent the rest of the trip searching for another bakery serving it (unfortunately did not find one).
From the bottom of Seongsan Ilchulbong, the view of the volcano was incredible, an imposing beautiful green monument, and as we climbed to the top the view kept getting even better! The top of the volcano had a panoramic view of its side of the island, showing both the colorful city-scape and the ocean. As we made our way down the volcano steps we were even able to make out the movements of some Haenyeo divers, recognizable by their orange buoys and flippers.
After our scenic tour of the volcano and its surrounding landscape, we stopped in town for a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we meandered along the coast towards the port, where we planned to catch a ferry to the nearby island of Udo. During our walk, we passed by a random semi-functional piano on the side of the path.
On Udo, we rented a set of bikes and spent the next hour and half exploring the island. It was loads of fun to bike around, and the extra speed afforded by the bike significantly expanded our radius of exploration. After our bike rentals were due, we sat to enjoy some of Udo’s famous peanut ice cream.
In line for the return ferry, I turned around and saw one of my old Caltech classmates who had graduated the year before me! She was born and raised in Seoul, and it was a crazy coincidence to run into her on Udo completely unplanned!
Day 6 – Wednesday July 10, 2025: Everything is green! Green fields, green tea, and green shrubs at the waterfall
After another early wakeup and quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Osulloc Tea Fields to learn about the green tea process in Jeju. After walking around the property, visiting the museum, and trying a few samples of various other kinds of tea, we headed to the cafe to try some of the famous green tea for ourselves. On the grounds there was also a beauty shop called innisfree that created some of its beauty products from Jeju green tea. They had an art corner where we were able to use their stamps to make some fun postcards.
Next, we headed to Cheonjiyon waterfall. Unfortunately we were not allowed to go swimming in the water, so we had to just admire from afar. While the waterfall was not a particularly imposing figure by itself, framed by gray rock and green shrubs, it was a lovely sight to behold. On our way back we got to stop across a little bridge that crossed the water, and it was fun to hop along the stones.
After our trip to the waterfall we stopped at a Korean restaurant for lunch. The restaurant only had two things on the menu –vegetarian bibimbap and pork+fish+side dishes– and we tried them both! The food was quite yummy, meant to fill us for the five mile hike we had planned to compete afterwards.
However, upon arriving at the trailhead (which was a good 1km climb upwards from where Google Maps told us it started), we realized that we were about five hours too late. Apparently the entrance hours for the trailhead were from 5 AM – 11 AM to ensure that all hikers make it back before dark! As most trails in America are open until sunset (and safe hiking practices are therefore up to the hiker, not the trailhead), this came as a complete surprise to us. Arriving around 4:15 PM, we were way past standard time, and we risked a breaking and entering fee if we tried to sneak in. Thus, as we had already prepared for some walking, we decided to just explore the nearby area, spending the next hour and a half wandering around the scenic countryside. The roads were lined with bushes of blooming hydrangeas (my favorite flower!), which made the walking quite pretty. After we got tired (and hungry), we headed back to our hotel for dinner and packing.
Day 7 – Thursday July 11, 2025: More friends! New relatives!
We awoke at the very early hour of 6 AM to finish packing and prepare for our flight back to Seoul. After a very long Uber from the airport to the hotel, we finally arrived in the neighborhood of Jangchung-dong. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to check-in until 3 PM, so we stored our bags in a hotel locker and walked to grab lunch before meeting up with one of our other Caltech friends who had arrived in Seoul the night before. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the neighborhood. We explored the famous Dongdaemun Design Plaza, which is a massive urban development landmark. The building is recognizable for its distinctive architecture, and it is known for its large global exhibition spaces and unusual retail stores, reinforcing Korea’s prominence as a design capital of the world.
Exhausted by the shopping (and the heat) we headed back to our hotel to check in. After arriving successfully in our room, I quickly changed and then set off on the subway to meet my relatives for dinner. They had kindly picked out a vegan restaurant to eat at, and although they made a lot of fun of me for my refusal to eat meat, I thought the food was quite good (and I think they begrudgingly agreed). I really enjoyed meeting my new relatives, and I had a great time conversing with my younger 12-year old cousin. His father told him to ask me for college advice, so he told me a little bit about his classes in school and the jobs he wants to pursue when he grows up. However, he still is only 12, so I ended up just giving him my phone number and told him to contact me when he was ready to start seriously thinking about college. Once the college talk was over, he spent a while telling me about his time at the amusement park and the many sports he played in Singapore.
After dropping my younger cousin back off at home, the adults and I stopped at a bar for some Korean beer and snacks. It was really nice to catch up with them, and one of my relatives is a professor of geological engineering at a university in Singapore. As I am about to start my PhD in August, I asked him about his experiences doing his PhD in the United States and how the transition was to academia in Singapore. He also gave me some insight into the differences between pursuing professorship in Korea v.s. the United States v.s. Singapore, which was really interesting. His mother had also joined us at the bar, and as I had met her a few days previously, it was nice to see how much more familiar I felt with my family after a few days in Korea.
Day 8 – Friday July 12, 2025: Thank you TikTok for the delicious hotpot recommendation
After waking up a bit early, I went on a walk with one of my friends to explore the neighborhood and check out the nearby cafes and bakeries to scope out a place for breakfast. We met up with the rest of the group to eat before taking the bus to the Seoul Flea market.
I am not really sure what I was expecting, but the market was much bigger and more crowded than I had anticipated. Vendors with varying levels of organization (some only had piles of clothes on tarps, while others had very neat tents with clothes hanging from racks) filled the street, and I was very distracted for more than an hour wandering between booths. I attempted to haggle with a few of the sellers, but the language and culture barrier made it a bit difficult for me to gauge what was reasonable (as well as what they were saying). After pursuing what I had thought was a LOT of stalls, I realized that there was an entire inside portion of the market still left untouched. My friends and I wandered around those stalls for a bit, and I found two pretty cool jackets that I bought. We then moved upstairs to meet for lunch. All of the menus were completely in Korean, so Google Translate was our savior while we ordered.
After lunch we spent a little more time exploring the market before heading off to explore the nearby neighborhood on our way to our bus stop. When we passed an E-Mart (the Korean version of H-Mart), we decided to explore and look for differences to the American version. The mart was absolutely massive, seeming more like a department store than the supermarket I envisioned. However, it was still pretty cool to see how similar (free samples, Asian food) and different (a whole electronic wing!) the store was. I decided to try a Korean pomegranate kombucha, and it was … interesting.
Next, we headed back to the hotel to drop off some of our stuff before heading to dinner. One of my friends had seen an Instagram reel advertising a cheap (but good) hotpot place in the Sinchon neighborhood. The setup of the hot pot place was quite interesting, as each person had their individual tiny pot and there was a walkway between the 10 seats for the waiter to walk between to serve everyone. As I am a vegetarian, before going to the restaurant we had contacted them to ask about vegetarian options (as all options on the menu came with only beef). They told us, “If you can’t eat meat, we’ll give you two vegetables.” We assumed that this was a translation error (and that two vegetables meant two servings of vegetables), but the message still sent us into a hysteric fit of giggles. Upon arriving in the restaurant, I was able to receive my two servings of vegetables, and the food was delicious!
After dinner we decided to go in search of dessert, so we started walking toward the neighborhood of Hongdae. After some deliberations, we ended up at Sulbing, a popular bingsu chain (that actually has some locations in the United States!). We had decided that we were going to check out the going-out scene in Korea later that night, so I decided to forgo dessert in order to fuel up (aka wake up) with a coffee. However, after trying a bite of my friends’ bingsu, I decided that it was too good to resist, so I ended up sharing the portion with them!
After dessert, we explored some nearby shops in the area before splitting up to explore the night life. For the first time during our trip we were able to interact with a lot of other young people our age, and it was interesting to see the cultural differences and similarities to American college students. In line for the club we ran into two incoming freshmen at UC San Diego. They were very friendly, and we had a nice conversation with them in line. When we got to the front of the line we learned that the club was actually closed to shoot a movie (!), so the bouncers directed us to the club’s second location a couple streets over. The very nice Korean girls we met in line waited to show us the way, and I bonded with one of the girls over our shared half-Korean heritage.
We did not stay super long in the club (we were quite exhausted from a long day), but it was very interesting to see what Korean night life was like. I had expected that they would only play KPop (of which I know none), so I was pleasantly surprised that they mostly played American pop music. The mannerisms of the people in the club honestly seemed pretty similar to the vibe of most Caltech parties (aka awkward dancing and swaying along to old pop music). The best part of the night was when they played APT, which was the perfect Korean-American fusion that got the entire club hype.
Day 9 – Saturday July 13, 2025: Learned about “Gangdam style” in Gangdam
Most of my friends were quite tired from the night out, so I woke up earlier than everyone else and went exploring. I found this really cool pastry shop that cooked their bread in this big stone oven right by the door. The shop was super tiny and they only had two rolls on the shelf when I arrived (some other customer was buying the rest of them while I walked in), and I was able to snag one of the two rolls fresh out of the oven. It was warm and absolutely delicious!
Next, I headed to a nearby coffee shop to grab a latte and call my sister. I think Koreans are on a different time than Americans because the first coffee shop I tried to go into did not open until 10:30 AM, and I was the sole customer in the second coffee shop for the entire time I was there.
After my breakfast I headed back to the hotel where I met up with my friends. We took the bus to Gangnam (the neighborhood that the song “Gangnam Style” was inspired by), where we had signed up for a free skin care consultation. I didn’t want to pay for any of the expensive treatments, so after our short consultation I spent the following 90 minutes exploring the street by myself while my friends got facials.
When it was time for lunch we met up in the underground subway to head to a restaurant for jajangmyun (Korean black bean noodles). One of the cool things about Korean subways is that they often coincide with underground markets. There were tons of shops and food stalls lining the underpass! They are also much cleaner and more organized than American subways.
After a very late lunch, I headed back to the hotel to drop off my stuff before traveling to meet my relatives for dinner! Back at their house, I spent some time showing my great-uncle some of the photo highlights from my trip to Jeju. In return, he showed me some pictures from his own travels, making a nice family bonding moment. When his son arrived for dinner, he also showed me some pictures of his MTV and skiing adventures, and he told me that he hoped to visit me in the states one day 🙂
After dinner, my great-uncle asked me if I would like to listen to some traditional Korean music with him, and of course, I readily agreed. After picking out some tapes from his collection, he told me that first we would be listening to some renditions of Beatles songs on the gayageum, a Korean wooden string instrument. The music was beautiful, showcasing a different side of the same songs I grew up listening to. After we listened to a few songs I recognized, he also played me a few different versions of a traditional Korean song. Despite the issues in communication we faced throughout my trip, there were no barriers obstructing our shared enjoyment of the music, providing a special moment for me and my great-uncle to share together.
Day 10 – Sunday July 14, 2025: Explored a massive library and climbed a mountain
I awoke a bit early to explore some mass transit to travel across the city before meeting up with my friends to visit the Starfield library. The library was built into a mall, and there were massive multi-storied shelves filled with books in a gigantic room. While it was perhaps not the most effective method for book storage (most of the books were on completely unreachable shelves, likely only there for aesthetics), the room was stunning. After taking some pictures (we even asked some random guys to take a group photo of us, and they also took some selfies of themselves on my phone…), we headed downstairs to explore the rest of the mall.
After a nice lunch, I said goodbye to my friends and headed back to Gyeongsangbuk Palace to meet my second-cousin to go hiking. We had to walk from the metro station to the trail head, and on the way it started raining. However, Korea was already so hot, so the rain was actually a refreshing addition to the walk. Unlike most of the hikes I had previously done in America, this one mostly consisted of stair-like features, rather than a trail path. The route was quite steep, so we stopped several times for breaks, chatting, and photo taking. The view was absolutely incredible, providing a stunning perspective on Seoul City. Some parts of the trail were very slippery due to the rain, so we had to climb using rope guardrails on either side of the path. It was honestly a bit like rock climbing, which I thought was fun.
After heading back to my cousin’s house to shower and dry off, I took the train to Bangbae Seocho to meet my American cousin and my family friend for dinner and drinks. I had not seen her since I was in middle school, so it was really nice to catch up, and coincidentally she even knew one of my cousin’s college classmates!
Day 11 – July 15, 2025: Cousin-bonding and a frustrating football (soccer) match
Like always, I woke up early and went on a walk to explore the neighborhood. Then, once my cousin woke up, I met up with him to travel to his favorite cafe for breakfast. He told me it gave “nature vibes,” which, as a nature enthusiast, excited me.
When we got there, the cafe lived up to its reputation. You had to walk across some stones placed on a tiny creek to enter the cafe, and the entrance was flanked by plants. Inside, the cafe had floor to ceiling windows and more plants and small gurgling streams inside. We ordered a matcha latte (me) and a tangerine tea (him). After our delicious drinks, we explored the area a bit more and stopped at a nearby bakery to try their scones. Mine was matcha-red bean, which I thought sounded intriguing, and it was pretty good.
After fueling up, we did a bit of shopping and exploring before meeting up with our second-cousin to get Korea national team jerseys before our Korea vs. Japan National team game.
To pick up the jerseys we went to the Korea National World Cup Stadium. The stadium has a small museum inside that details the history of the Korean National Team. One of my favorite parts of the museum was that there were many art displays interwoven with the typical signed memorabilia and photographs. The museum has been making an ongoing effort to commission illustrated renditions of the players and pivotal moments in team history for the museum.
After a very long traffic-filled ride (Seoul traffic is horrible, but their public transit system is fantastic), we eventually arrived. The stadium was quite large, and the atmosphere was great. Our seats were next to a Korean youth soccer team, and they were screaming non-stop encouragement the whole game (making me wish I had studied up on Korean football chants before the game) Sadly, Japan scored a very early goal, and the game ended 1-0. Nonetheless it was quite fun, and it was really nice to bond with both of my cousins (the American and Korean one) over our shared love of soccer and our pride in our heritage!
On our way out of the stadium we stopped by some street vendors for dinner. We tried more tteokboki and a new noodle dish that my cousin told us is traditionally eaten at weddings.
Afterwards, I said goodbye to my American cousin and finished packing. Upon learning that I could play guitar earlier in the trip, my Korean cousin had asked me to play for him before I left, so I spent some time showing him my favorite indie songs. After our music-bonding session, I grabbed some sleep before my flight the next morning.
In the morning, it was time for the sad goodbyes. My great-uncle is the last remaining family member out of my grandfather’s six siblings and my grandmother and her seven siblings. While this may be the last time I ever see him, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet him and learn about his life. Despite the language and cultural barriers we faced, every single relative I met on this trip was extremely kind and welcoming, making me feel right at home. I hope that I will be able to meet with some of them again one day, and I am extremely grateful for the Caltech Y and the Gunilla Hastrup family for making my trip possible.
