Arrival + Move In

I finally arrived in Korea! I flew out from Hawaii on 8/16 and arrived at Incheon Airport on 8/17 in the evening. I flew on Korean Air and they offered both Korean and Western meals on the plane (I got bibimbap). The process of going in and out of the airports went pretty smooth, it only took around an hour to get through immigrations, baggage claim, and customs. Before the flight I had to get tested for covid (either a PCR test 48 hours in advance or an antigen test 24 hours in advance) and have my results by the time I checked-in at the airport. I also filled out a form on the Korean QR Code website and uploaded my negative result, which then sent me a QR code that made going through the health inspection at Incheon way faster. Afterwards I caught a taxi van with some other UH students going to Yonsei (we pre-booked it on Trazy) and we were dropped off at our goshiwon in Seodaemun (right next to Yonsei). From there we met our landlady, who gave us a tour of the place and we signed our contracts and paid rent for the first month.

The following day we had to get tested for covid (the current requirement is to get tested within 24 hours after you arrive and upload your result to the Korean QR Code website). Luckily there was a pop-up testing site at Sinchon Station (about a 15 minute walk from the goshiwon) and we were able to make same-day reservations. The process was very smooth and it only took up 15 minutes to get tested and leave. We then went to Daiso to buy stuff for our rooms.

My room has a shower and toilet, desk, mini wardrobe and drawers, bed (with bedding), and mini-fridge. It also came with hangers, mini trash cans, fans, and adaptors that the previous person left behind so I didn't need to buy a lot. On interesting thing about the bathroom is that the sink and shower are connected; you have to turn a knob in order to use either the sink or shower head. Because of this, the bathroom gets wet every time you use the shower. The goshiwon also has a kitchen (with free food!), washing machine, drying racks, and is located right above a convenience store.