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Kristel Fulgar talks about her student life in South Korea, plus travel guide

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Liezel dela Cruz

Kristel Fulgar is living the dream of every Hallyu fan as she currently stays in South Korea to study. Here’s a sneak peek into her life in the Land of the Morning Calm. Kristel is a big fan of Korean culture and she had always wanted to experience student life in SoKor. This was her plan even before the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the lockdown started, the dream to study in Korea took a backseat. Instead, she focused on other things like building her dream house.After getting stuck at home for so long, she felt the itch for revenge travel. With the goal to improve her Korean speaking skills, she decided to take on a short course on Korean language in Hongdae, Seoul.As we heard from her vlogs, she learned to speak basic Korean just by self-study and watching K-Drama shows, as well as write in Hangul through online tutorials. She said the Korean alphabet could be learned in just an hour. But she wanted to polish her speech more, which will only happen by repeatedly conversing with native speakers because a big part of it is the listening skills, “Kailangan may kausap ka talaga. Dito sa Korea, mahahasa ka talaga kasi may mga tao na hindi makaintindi ng English kaya kailangan mo ma-force ‘yung self mo na makipag-usap.”Kristel said her knowledge of Korean alphabet comes in handy like when reading the signage on campus and train stations, “Hindi ka na maliligaw.” One of the advantages of studying abroad is making new friends of different nationalities. During her free time, she also meets up with her long-time Korean friends. Kristel is loving her student life in South Korea, “Parang bitin nga!” She will come home to the Philippines after finishing her course in February. But since her visa is valid for one year, Kristel can travel back and forth anytime, although she has no definite plans at the moment. “Kasi sa industriya natin, ang hirap magplano,” she said it will depend on the projects to come. Kristel mentioned that she had to give up a few projects in the Philippines to fly to Korea. Whether you wish to just travel or take the same route as Kristel, her advice is to explore new places besides the usual destinations. She recommends the place where she currently stays, Hongdae, which interestingly became more popular among tourists during the pandemic. According to Kristel, Hongdae has cheaper cost of living.She added that it’d be better to stay in Korea for at least more than a week. “Masasabi ko na ‘pag nagpunta kayo ng Korea, parang hindi sapat ‘yung 7 days. At least dapat 10 days lalo na kung mahilig talaga kayo sa K-Drama, sa K-Pop. Lalo na ‘pag first time kasi bitin talaga ‘yung 5 days or 1 week.” The city of Busan alone will take at least 2 nights to fully explore, although it’s very much accessible to other cities via train. Literally train to Busan sans the zombies, she quipped.On food, her favorite is gopchang, which is basically cow or pig intestine. Imagine our very own isaw sans the stick and eaten samgyupsal style. “Medyo fatty nga lang siya. Medyo mataas ang cholesterol pero ang sarap.”Currently, though, she’s into soups like galbitang made with beef short ribs, similar to our nilagang baka.When it comes to the best time to visit, Kristel said she enjoys going there during winter, although she can’t recommend it when traveling with the elders because of the cold. She added that summertime there tends to be even hotter than in our country. She hasn’t experienced autumn and spring in Korea.Therefore, she thinks the best time is around October to November, “Kasi hindi siya ganu’n kalamig tapos maganda ‘yung transition ng mga puno, ‘yung pag-dry nila, ‘yung iba-ibang kulay. ‘Yung air mas fresh and less pollution daw ‘pag mga panahong ‘yun.”Ready to make your Hallyu fantasies happen? Get tips and advice from Kristel in this episode of Kapamilya Chat!

Why Kristel Fulgar decided to study in South Korea? Plus, how to make your stay extra memorable!