Hello Bloggers and viewers,

   My name is Dante Michael, and I am traveling to Korea through a study abroad program offered through my college, the University of Michigan. Myself and  a dozen other students are here to learn more about Korean culture, specifically issues pertaining to Korean and U.S Military's, Food and Sustainability, International Relationships and Domestic Policy, and Education among other interactive experiences that have been planned. I arrived in Seoul nearly a week and half earlier than the program date. My experience thus far as not been what I expected from both a individual perspective and a conceptual one.

    From an individual perspective I found myself immersed into a party and drinking culture when I arrived. I made my stay in Hongdae, which is known for its party culture and conspicuous consumption trends. I quickly realized without proper restraint I could eventually become bankrupted and could develop severe health issues caused by excessive drinking and lack of sleep. I love to dance and drink (to an extent) so I liberally participated in the club and party life at first and found clubs here to be very different than ones back in the States. The center of attention of all patrons is the DJ(s). Everyone uniformly stand mashed together in rows while usually exhibiting little variety in their expression of the music-- everyone seems to be dancing and doing the same thing. I found this absolutely bizarre and honestly a bit creepy. I felt I had seen yet one more example of a Asia where people conform to a social standard and lack individuality. On my trip here in Korea my goals is to find examples where this stereotype does not hold sway. How do Koreans express their individuality?


More to come....