SK Holdings is a megaconglomorate that owns pretty much everything in Korea from banking to energy to telecommunications. Although most people in the US have never heard of SK, the company is a big deal in Asia. SK Telecom is one of the many divisions of SK and also the largest telecom service provider in Korea.

Here’s a picture of T-Tower from the front entrance, looking upward. T-Tower is intentionally built crooked to capture the whimsical and innovative culture of the company. Click the link below for more photos.

Here’s the HSBC building that’s next to T-Tower. Normally, Seoul is covered in a hazy gloom. However, it rained earlier in the day and the sky was really beautiful.

Here, we walk along a sidewalk. The financial/business districts are pretty much pristine. It reminds me a lot of Singapore. The roads are perfectly paved and the glass is immaculate. After midnight, we walked back to the hotel and saw a group of women cleaning the windows here.

Here’s a plaza of some kind.

More buildings. The sunsets in Korea are really pretty. Some unknown substance in the smog bends sunlight in colorful ways unfamiliar to Americans.

In the spirit of photographing hilarious Engrish signs, here’s a bar called “Ho Bar II.” This place was apparently so popular that they created two of them.

See the Baskin Robbins in the corner? There’s a drinking game Koreans play in which you make cabbage patch motions with your arms while saying “BASSSKEEEN ROBBINS, THIRTEEEE ONE!”

This reminds me of Blade Runner.

Here’s a very traditional Korean meal (or so we were told). It’s blood soup on the left and raw beef on the right. I grabbed my metal chopsticks and put a little clump of blood in my mouth. “Yep, it’s blood alright.”

This is a cool building. There’s a bar at the top.

What a cute mascot. I have no idea what he is trying to sell. Perhaps it’s cat-related.

When my colleagues and I were hunting for a second restaurant/bar, we saw this strange logo of a dude chillin’ on the stairs. Or perhaps he is falling down because he drank too much soju.

There’s a park in downtown Seoul called Cheonggyecheon. It is built on the site of a stream that is sandwiched between two busy boulevards. Apparently, the area looks pretty amazing at night.

My colleagues and I took a stroll after lunch. You can pretty much see all types of people enjoying the stream including mothers playing with children, elderly people taking a brisk walk, and even businessmen taking a quick nap underneath a bridge.

See the remaining pictures after the jump.

This is definitely one of the prettiest places in Seoul I’ve seen thus far. I think the juxtaposition of nature (plants, water, and rocks) and city (brick and steel) give this area a very unique and well-integrated look and feel.

This was a sign I saw next to a planter outside a store. Apparently, you cannot sit on the ledge of the planter because your huge stinky butt will destroy the flowers.

A lot of stores here have funny nonsensical names. I imagine somebody opened the Oxford Dictionary, found a random word, and decided to use it. I guess it’s not too different from Americans who get tattoos of random Chinese characters.

This is a cafe called Caffe Themselves.

This was the cover of a menu. This cartoon girl is really happy for some reason. I think she is saving money?

There is a stereotype that it’s easy to get plastic surgery in Korea. I went up the elevator and saw this gigantic sign.

These images were posted on the doors of all the trains. There’s another version with a man with his briefcase caught in the door.

This store is called Spicy Color. It looks spicy to me.

T-Money is convenient for me to use because I don’t have a fancy Korean credit card. I’m sad to admit that credit cards in the United States are incredibly prehistoric. The card can be topped up at various machines around the city and used (with discounts) at many vendors.

As for the rail system, I am totally confused. I can’t read any of the signs and have no sense of direction. The city is densely packed and I haven’t oriented myself with any landmarks. I think it will take me a few more days (or weeks) to get my legs again.

Yes, this is totally like BART, except 100 times more complicated.

We met up with another IBD team last night and went out with our client for drinks. Some interesting observations that may or may not be reflective of the larger Korean culture.

First of all, we ate fried chicken with tongs, not hands. I suppose this is because there were no paper napkins at the restaurant. Second, you can never pour your own drink. Not only must somebody else pour it, you must accept the drink by holding your cup or glass with both hands. I guess this custom prevents people from drinking alone. Lastly, Koreans drink a lot. I am amazed.

I’ve been drinking a sweet, milky beverage called Makgeolli with my meals. It tastes like soda and is quite delicious. However, it packs a kick. The alcohol sneaks up on you because it lacks a bitter taste. You end up drinking much more than your body can handle. As my Korean classmate explained: “you think you will be fine but then suddenly you will collapse.”

Myeongdong at 7:00 in the morning is really different from Myeongdong at 11:00 at night. It’s quiet and eerily calm. Instead of crowds of tourists clamoring for discounts, the walkways are mostly barren. You hear some scampering of feet and the beeping sounds of delivery trucks backing up. There are occasionally groups of businessmen who scurry to their offices without making eye-contact with one another. A few shopkeepers sweep the sidewalk in broad strokes. You can see my full album here.

Today was also my first day officially working with my IBD client. I visited the office and the team. I was also asked a few times: “Your last name is Sung; are you Korean American?”

Rather than jump into a long conversation about pinyin and Wade-Giles, I simply shook my head and said: “Nope.”

From my office’s smoking deck, I snapped this picture. The tower in the distance is the Namsan Tower, which is also called N Seoul Tower. I’ve been told that couples will buy padlocks and lock them on the tower to symbolize their eternal love. However, this tradition has only been around for about 5 years. Apparently, it was inspired by a K-drama. People are also supposed to throw away the key. (I was told there are signs everywhere telling people not to throw keys.)

Personally, I think it’d be better if people held on to their keys. Then, if the lovers decide to get married, they should climb the tower, locate their old lock, unlock it, and toss it away to create space for new lovers. Otherwise, there will be no more room for locks in the future. South Korean Ministry of Tourism, you’re welcome.

A few companies dominate Seoul. SK is huge. Case in point, there are SK-owned T Stores on almost every corner in Myeongdong. Furthermore, a lot of the ATM machines are also owned by SK. If you are using a smartphone, you are probably using an SK SIM card.

Another ubiquitous company is Samsung. Back in the states, Samsung is mostly known for its electronics such as TVs and mobile phones. Here in Seoul, Samsung has a hand in everything, even clothing. Pretty crazy, huh?

After a really terrible experience with United Airlines on the return trip from the Japan Trek, our team opted to fly with Asiana Airlines (formerly Seoul Airlines). I was told that it is one of the highest rated airlines (alongside Singapore and Emirates).

The flight itself was smooth. The food was actually pretty good too, although the portions were way too small. Thankfully, there was in-flight on-demand entertainment. So I didn’t sit there twiddling my thumbs for 11 hours straight. Instead, I watched 5 movies in a row:

1. Green Lantern – Pretty mediocre and disappointing; felt like they were trying to combine 3 movies’ worth of material into one
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Absolutely awful; too much focus on annoying human characters yet gives audience nobody worthwhile to root for
3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – Very entertaining from start to finish; loved the new gadgets
4. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – Better than the first movie; Rachel McAdams still has a terrible English accent
5. The Descendants – Interesting movie that did a great job capturing pain and anguish of losing a loved one but was overall depressing to watch due to subject matter

After landing, my team attempted to reach the hotel. First, we went to the wrong carousel and had to spend 15-minutes walking around the airport to locate the correct one. Then, we struggled to find a cab. Eventually, we found a minivan that charged about 94,000 won. I’m pretty sure we were overcharged. But I guess when you’re stranded at an airport, your willingness to pay is pretty high.

I’m staying at the Hotel Ibis in Myeongdong. (This is the same chain of hotels that I stayed in during my time in Bangkok, Thailand.) Location-wise, the hotel is excellent — it’s in the middle of a bustling part of town with an active nightlife and is also very close to the client’s office. On the downside, the rooms are really tiny. I feel like there is hardly any space to walk at all. When I turn in my bed, I feel like I’m going to steamroll my teammate. I also have a terrible view. When I open my shades, I see the side of a skyscraper.

It was already pretty late when we settled into the rooms. However, we met up with a different IBD team who are visiting Korea, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Together, we walked the streets and looked at the pretty lights. There are a ton of fancy shops in Myeongdong and the walkways are crowded. The overall atmosphere reminded me of Osaka, except with fewer people wearing face masks.

We were also looking at SIM cards for our phones. However, the vendors all had a policy in which they could sell the physical SIM card, but not activate it on the weekends.

I ended the night with a delicious Korean BBQ meal. It is a lot cheaper than in Los Angeles Koreatown or Oakland. Roughly $15 per person if you include alcohol ($10 if you don’t). Here, the ladies even cut and cook the meat for you and there are more varieties of side-dishes. I walked away very fulfilled. (Alas, I’m still not used to heavy, metal chopsticks.)

Unfortunately, the food in my belly made my eyes droopy. Although many of my classmates extended the evening with beers, I clumsily stumbled back to my tiny hotel room, took a shower, and changed into sleepwear.

I will be waking in about 8 hours to meet my client. So it’s off to bed for me. Please look forward to more posts tomorrow!

I hadn’t thought much about becoming a GSI during Spring A. However, a week before I left for Japan for spring break, I received a very detailed email from Professor Robinson about working as part of a GSI team for UGBA-10, The Principles of Business. The email was meticulously formatted and even linked to a website designed to answer all of my questions. While I was in Japan, I started to consider the possibility that I might be a decent GSI.

UGBA-10 is a low-level business course for UC Berkeley undergraduates who are still unsure if they will pursue business in the long term. There are also a number of engineers in the course who are curious about entrepreneurship and the business world. The class teaches fundamental business principles like marketing, operations, and accounting while also weeding out freshmen who are not “cut out” for the major.

I sent Professor Robinson an email expressing my interest and we had a little chat in his office. A few days later, I received an offer to join the GSI team, which I promptly accepted.

I am on track to lead two sections of students in Fall semester and couldn’t be more excited about it. There are three main reasons:

First, I spoke to several second-year MBA students who taught UGBA-10 this year and they described it: “the best experience they’ve had at Haas” and “the highlight of their MBA career.” Apparently, the job is less about grading papers (although there is a fair amount of it) and more about inspiring students and helping them understand how the real world works.

Second, I find the fee remission incredibly attractive. One of my fellow GSIs did a back of the envelope calculation for the hourly wage and it was very high. Since I am not receiving any scholarships from Haas, I welcome any opportunity to replenish by savings account.

Finally, I believe serving as a GSI will be beneficial for me because I will have many opportunities to regurgitate concepts I’ve learned this year in the MBA core curriculum. Unlike many of my classmates, I was not a consultant or financial analyst in my former life. Coming to business school was my attempt to strengthen those areas of my skill-set.

I remember that Professor Davis mentioned in Fall A that the best way to learn something is to teach it. Teaching a business class with as many broad topics as UGBA-10 will give me the ability to internalize everything I’ve learned this year at its more fundamental level. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic. We shall see.

During my four years as an undergrad at UCLA, I came in contact with many different GSIs. (At UCLA, GSIs are called Teaching Assistants or TAs.) Some were really inspiring. Others were fairly mediocre. A few were unnecessarily strict. My goal is to not be known as the ‘terrible GSI’ that everybody gossips about. I’d like to maintain high standards, but be helpful to students who fall below the bar.

Although I don’t expect more than a quarter of my students to remember me by the time they graduate, it would be fantastic if I’m able to inspire at least a few to do great things.

To end with a festive bang, the culinary club provided a roast pig. I should remind you that my friend Chris (who is also VP of Meat in the culinary club) has been talking about wanting to roast a pig since the beginning of the year. It took an entire year to coordinate, but he finally got his wish.

Well, almost. The original plan was to roast the pig in the courtyard in front of all the students. However, the vendor discovered that somebody had stolen the lid to the roaster from the back of his truck. As a result, he had to pre-roast the big, saran wrap it, and bring it to campus.

Regardless, the pig was very delicious. I think the best part was the layer of fat directly underneath the crispy skin. My mouth is watering as I type this.

I think those kids from The Lord of the Flies were on to something.

Day 0:
Upcoming Japan Trek

Day 1:
Arriving in Osaka, Japan
Day 1: Assorted Osaka Photos
Haas Japan Trek Kickoff Party

Day 2:
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Gekkeikan Sake Brewery Tour And Tasting
Day 2: Assorted Kyoto Photos (And Maiko Show)

Day 3:
Day 3: A Billion Deer In Nara
Funny Japanese Signage And Cultural Observations

Day 4:
Day 4: Bullet Train To Hakone
Mount Fuji, Black Eggs, And Sulfurous Fumes
Hot Spring And Enkai

Day 5:
Pit Stop Between Hakone And Tokyo
Sushi Zanmai
Day 5: Imperial Palace And Roppongi Hills

Day 6:
Day 6: Sitting Under The Cherry Blossom Tree
Akihabara Is A Scary Place

Day 7:
Day 7: Tsukiji Fish Market And Auction
Tsukiji Fish Market Rules
More Japanese Oddities