From start to finish everything today was a Roller Coaster. We started off the day slowly at home by talking and spending some time surfing the internet. We got talking about SHINee (my favorite korean band) and then I got all depressed over them having been in Europe just the week that I wasn’t and them now going to Japan to promote instead of coming back to Korea (all in all depressed that I might not get a chance to see them here). Unnie also got depressed over a guy that we had seen in the metro a couple of days earlier and that she really really really liked (We call him the camera boy and I have teased her with him ever since). So this morning she was all: ahhh I’ll never see him again, he is gone. And I was all: ahhh I’ll never get to see SHINee, I’ll never get to see any celebrities while I’m here.
So with low heads we headed out to the canteen first to get some nice and cheap food. Unnie got Fried noodles with Chicken and I got cold noodles. The food in the canteen was very nice and it was fun to try. It’s different from most places I have tried because here you have to buy a ticket first and then go to the stand that has the food that you want and give them your ticket to get the food. It was very fun to try and thankfully the food tasted good.
When we were done eating we decided to head to Apgujeong and then walk to Gangnam. and maybe even see the Han River (a big river that flows through Seoul).
I spotted a Danish design store called Dansk and a poster that reminded me of the first Gala in Nyborg Gymnasium back in Denmark where our theme was pop art and we ended up drawing this one picture over and over again.
As we walked down the big street of Apgujeong it happened! I still have to pinch myself every half an hour to make sure that it wasn’t a dream but reality. There she was walking in the streets with her manager and stylist. The definition of Fame in South Korea
I didn’t recognise her at first because she was carrying a magazine to cover her face, that is actually not that uncommon a lot of girls do it to avoid the sun. When she got closer I felt like I could recognise her voice, but I still couldn’t figure out who she was until Unnie whispered: It’s Lee Hyori! I was in shock and hurried to take some photos to document. I saw half of her face and she was really beautiful just as on stage. She has often been reprimanded for not being as pretty in reality as on TV but really I thought she was beautiful. As you can see on the picture I wasn’t the only one to not recognise her right away, a lot of people turned around to take a second look when she passed. She walked very speedily, probably so people wouldn’t follow her (being a celebrity in South Korea is really difficult as fans often follow them around the entire day and wait outside of their house to see them and to follow them the entire day). I have had some people ask me later why I didn’t ask for a picture with her, but honestly I think she just wanted some time for herself to shop and go out without having to think too much about her fans, which I think is also the reason that no one followed her, even though she is as famous as she is.
Both of us were completely in shock after that and just emptily wandered the streets of Apgujeong without really seeing what was in front of us. We somehow ended up at the top of the hill we had just walked down of and decided to go to see the Han river that was quite close.
It was very pretty and the weather was so nice (even though it was almost too hot in the sun) so the river looked even prettier. First we sat down in the shade for a while and rested a bit while discussing Lee Hyori and how unexpected it was to meet her there and then during my first week ever in South Korea. Lee Hyori is one of the only celebrities that Kiki likes and still hadn’t seen before today so we were both bewildered by her presence.
I suggested that we walk a bit down the side of the river for fun and so we did.
That was when I spotted it, no not a celebrity this time, something even better: an elevator!
The good news is that we were lucky enough with other things today to really mind it: seeing Lee Hyori doesn’t happen often, that would be amazing even for a Korean. Our lucky adventure for the day doesn’t end there however: we spotted some other celebrities on our way back to the dormitory from the shop where we bought the Clothes softener (that we believed was washing powder). This time it was three celebrities from a group as they were filming for the second season of a new show.
I think I will remember today as the unexpected Celebrity Day. And that’s me signing out here from Seoul, South Korea. Tomorrow is a big day: The first day of school and I need my sleep!
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