Woke up in our nice apartment and then showered followed by breakfast. Not the best solution for the bathroom because the humidity couldn’t go anywhere and without any shower curtain and the drain under the sink, you got water basically everywhere.
We left the apartment and grabbed a taxi just outside the apartment complex. I had written a message in advance in Google Translate and together with the app Naver Map we managed to get to the Wonkwang University and rather close to the building where we were going. The driver confirmed all stereotypes when it comes to taxis. He ran a red light. Held 80 km/h on a 40 km/h road. Used the indicator every tenth time he switched lanes. But, we got there and at a fair price.
Since we arrived about 30 minutes before we were supposed to, the check-in hadn’t opened so we took a table in the café named Bluepot. The closest area with air conditioning. When Jacob (who managed the check-in) asked our names he was thrilled to meet us, or at least me, for all the help I’ve given through Discord (our communication tool for the contingent). While I thought I had been much more laid back compared to 2019 and the USA-WSJ, I was happy to be recognized 🙂 I happily returned the compliments because I think that he, and his colleagues, have done a great job keeping us informed and whatnot.
After a while, we got to know what building and floor we were staying in and we moved in at once. This because there were rumors that the AC unit didn’t work in all rooms, and at the moment, there was a lack of beds.
We hung out for a while in the café again and then I went out looking for some lunch. Found myself a Chinese restaurant (I think) where I got some fried chicken. Rather nice actually.
At 14 the program started and it was two lectures. First Peter Nilsson, colonel in the Swedish armed forces, currently stationed at the NNSC, who monitors if South Korea and the United Nations Command follow the Armistice Agreement from 1953. Interesting to listen to, and another perspective on the whole conflict.
After him, Hailey followed, a Korean influencer and English/Korean teacher. She spoke briefly about Korean culture, society and then taught us a few phrases. A mass slaughter of the Korean language, having 200 people in unison say them 🙂 With her, she had a middle school Korean girl (who is also a scout) who spoke about how a normal day could look to her. The poor girl was my take from that. Study, study, and study. Maybe chat with friends once in a while.
After the lectures, it was time for dinner and I managed to gather four of the Swedish ISTs that will work on Subcamp 17. Nice to just get together and chat a bit before all the chaos starts tomorrow 🙂
At 20:00 all the 356 Swedish ISTs gathered at an amphitheatre for our own “opening ceremony”. It contained both some bad jokes, group photo, a great speech from one of the HoC (head of contingents) Erik Sillén, two concerts from Korean bands and then we ended with a disco.
The university has a hard curfew at 23:30 so everyone needs to be back in their dorms, showered and with brushed teeths before that. Tomorrow we go to the campsite. Exciting!
