Amanda Ahialaka visits Korea

"Three days more, in just 3 days I will be in Korea". Those were my thoughts as I prepared for an opportunity of a life time, an all expenses paid trip to Korea. I still couldn't believe it even though I was with my plane ticket; I was secretly poking myself to check reality. I finally landed in Korea at the Incheon airport and was amazed by the level of attention and technicality taken to build the airport; everything was placed and handled orderly. I and other students of the Sejong Hakdang institute were then shuttled to our hotel “The Seoul Olympic Parktel" in Seoul where we would be staying for the whole of the trip. We had the opening ceremony that day, and I got to see two traditional dance performances, after which the host played a game with all of us. I usually am not the type of person who screams and plays games that makes me look funny, but it was so much fun that i found myself participating before I even had the time to think.

The next day, we went too our various academic centres or the learning activity. There were four groups...Samulnori, Kpop & Dance, Taekwondo and Talchum. I was in the Kpop group and I chose dancing. We were ten taught by professional dance instructors. They were pretty fast but we managed to keep up with them. The dance practice made me appreciate Kpop artist even more because I know the strength and effort they put in to master and perfect choreography. Later that day, we went to Yeouido to visit the National Assembly and then we visited KBS. I had always wanted to visit KBS, and now I was getting the opportunity to do so, so you can imagine my excitement. That day is one I will never forget....why? It’s because I got to see Kpop stars up-close. Even though I didn't get to see E.X.O or B.T.S I was satisfied cos we saw other artists such as I.O.I, Spica, Uptension ,Halo, NCT Dream, Nu'est and so on. We also got to see Kang Min Hyuk of CNBLUE he was one of the host of the Music Bank Show. Just watching them perform and seeing how they reacted to us screaming fans made me very happy. That night I and my roommates and some of the friends we just made went out for sightseeing. B.T.W Seoul is really beautiful at night. Just imagine skyscrapers emitting lights from their individual windows compounded with the street lights and colourful lights in between the streets, that's how beautiful it is.

We also visited places such as the Cheonggyecheon stream "which is really beautiful by the way", the Hangul museum, Gwagwondo, Pyeongchang, SMTOWN and so on.

I really enjoyed the visit to SMTOWN and experiencing the Hyoseok cultural festival at Gangwon-do. We lit lanterns to the sky and it was beautiful. I'll give you a little tip, this place is perfect for a date.....cool evening breeze, lanterns in the sky, live band playing music, artist that can draw you....I mean what else could be better. At SMTOWN, I got to see the recording studios, mixing rooms, some of their costumes, the training room and so on. They have like a whole store dedicated to E.X.O branded items. Going to Korea helped me to be able to experience the Korean culture more closely. From my point of view, Koreans are friendly and welcoming people. I obviously ate Korean food, a lot for that matter from the different noodles to different tasty soups to Bulgogi and so on, but ii particularly enjoyed eating Tteokbokki. I like the chewy texture.

Ahhhh.... the last night we spent together was a memorable and emotional one. We laughed, teased each other and then we cried because we were going to miss each other. Some people gave speeches about how they felt and then it was my turn. I gave a speech, sang for them and cried because I was going to miss everyone and was very grateful to meet such nice individuals. Later that night some of us went to Norae Bang (karaoke) and then went sightseeing on more time before we left. I thought to myself "my God, I am really grateful for this opportunity".

Going to Korea was a life time experience for me, even though spent 8days, I made friends for life, had one hell of an experience and am really grateful. The next speech contest is coming soon and another lucky person like me might get to visit Korea. My advice is that you try your best and present it with all your strength and you just might be in Korea before you know it.

My name is Ahialaka Amanda Uzomaka and this is my Korean Trip Story.