Day 7: Andong and Busan

Andong 안동하회마을

I took off on a road trip with my host family to go to Busan (부산). Busan is a port city in the southeast and has the second largest population in South Korea. It also happens to be where my mom was born and raised, so I'm pretty excited to get back in touch with the roots of my heritage.

Before heading to Busan, we stopped by the city of Andong to view the well preserved Hahoe Village (안동하회마을).

In Busan, we celebrated the birthday of the families' grandmother. I felt like I was intruding at first, but the Korean people's hospitality and eagerness to share their culture is incredibly genuine. I spent the night listening to stories of Korea before the economic eruption and development and had an amazing opportunity to hear the experiences of these great people.

They made me an honorary member of the family