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My roommate and I (who neither of which speak Korean) went to a local noodle restaurant and ordered for ourselves in Korean, which was like personal victory in itself. I ordered spicy soba noodles in an icy-cold broth….It actually came out as literally a bowl of ice with noodles and other fixings on top. I also ordered a bottle of soju to share, which I know is quite popular in Seoul. Since I haven’t tried it before, I wasn’t sure what I’d be in for, but I noticed the businessmen having a meeting next to us had a few bottles on their table, so I figured it was the equivalent of having a mimosa at brunch or a glass of wine at lunch…I was very…very wrong.

The taste and texture was quite robust and stronger than the average American bottled beverage, so I give props to the locals who drink this stuff proudly. I suppose I’ll stick to what I know…milk tea.

After leaving the restaurant biting off more than I could chew, we decided to walk it off with some well-needed shopping time so I could eventually stop feeling like this before our important corporate visit…

Thankfully, the walk home put me in shape for our next adventure, where went to our second site visit to the Korean-famous Kakao office. Kakao is a popular messaging app in South Korea, and it’s super ingrained in the culture here due in part to its wide expanse of uses (instant messaging, phone calls, video chat, shopping, etc) as well as its cute mascots, the Kakao Friends, that are so popular amongst a culture obsessed with all things cute (similar to us back at home, you could say).

We got a chance to meet the staff, see their facilities, learn about their business model, and of course, meet the Kakao friends….Here’s Ryan, a lion shaved to look like a bear. Why? Not really sure I get the joke here myself.

This is Muzi, a radish disguised as a bunny. Why? I’m still not really sure I get the jokes here.

Personally, my favorite is Apeach, who is self-explanatorily…. A peach.

The views from the Kakao building of the futuristic town of Pangyo below were quite stunning as well.

Meeting the Kakao team was quite interesting, as it’s a company filled with young people who pick English names when they apply for a position, no matter their age or status, the idea being that it puts everyone on an equal playing field, very different from the traditional importance placed on knowing one’s placed as described by our Korean hosts during our stay. This is someplace that sounds like a great Google-esque place to work + cute mascots + an insanely upscale neighborhood.

Finally, after a long day on the outskirts of Seoul, we needed a well-deserved sit down. We went for a Galbi (Kalbi) restaurant close to our dorms, and enjoyed a hot dinner cooked in front of us. My favorite part of it were tteokbokki rice tubes filled with mozzarella cheese (which considering that Korea doesn’t really do cheese, is the main type you’ll see besides American cheese… you won’t see me complaining). It was a great meal, and to note, I held off on the soju this time…