A CDI Halloween

Let's face it, Halloween in Korea is nothing like Halloween back at home in America. Kids don't dress up, there are no trick-or-treaters, nor are there carved pumpkins in front of homes.

In order to bring some of the Western culture to our students, some teachers decided to dress up. I guess it's almost become a tradition and a huge competition at my school, because there was even a prize for having the best costume: an extra hour of pay.

I dressed up two days in a row, one as a basketball player. Halloween is a perfect excuse to wear basketball shorts and a jersey to work. On another day, I dressed up as Waldo and none of my students recognized me. They guessed I was Santa.

The students also got to draw posters for Halloween. The prize was a big bag of candy and I've never seen my students work so diligently on a project.

The contest was held for the whole school and only three winners were chosen, my students being one of them. These girls were so creative and even came up with a 3D poster.

One downside to Halloween this year for the students was that it was held during the week of level up tests. As excited as they were to see their teachers dress up and receive candy, I'm sure the thought of having to take a big test disappointed them a bit.

As far as the Halloween culture for the rest of Korea, it's more popular amongst the younger crowd. Although the Korean youth don't go all out with their costumes, party promoters use the name to advertise for clubs.

If you do swing by Korea around this time of the year, check out Itaewon. This is where you'll see most of the foreigners hang out with their costumes on.

If you are trying to shop for costumes, check out Dongdaemun station exit #4. There are a few stores down a dark alleyway that sells a variety of costumes and party accessories.

Did you dress up this Halloween?

 

Shopping in Ewha Women's University

The top shopping destinations in Korea are Myungdong, Dongdaemun, and even Gangnam underground shopping center. However, as a girl and a big time thrifty shopper, Ewha Women's University is the place to go.

As soon as you walk out of the exit, you'll notice some shopping carts lined up on the side of the street. Do not be fooled. Keep walking in further and you'll find better deals and a wider variety. Even if the vendors offer you what you think is a cheap price, most likely you will find the same item for less.

Once you pass the carts, you will notice side streets that are filled with racks of clothing. The one thing everyone should know is that most all the stores carry similar pieces of clothing or accessories. Some might sell it for a few thousand Won cheaper. My advice: look around all the stores before you buy anything and then go back to the ones with the better deal.

As you see in the picture, all these stores have racks of clothing lined outside the store with prices as low as 5000Won (roughly $4US). I can honestly say that these are pretty good quality clothing for the price compared to some major stores (ahem, Forever21).

The problem I have with shopping in this district is that most clothes are "one size fits all." Another downside is that most of these stores do not have a fitting room, so it will be impossible to know what it looks like on you until you buy it and take it home to try it on. Along with that, most of these stores do not do exchange or refunds.

As a girl and a shopper, I would recommend all women to check out this area. Another thing I forgot to mention is the CHEAP hair salons. By cheap, I mean 30000Won for a perm or color including a haircut! This is a women's university after all.