August 28, 2014

This past weekend was fairly uneventful for us. We are eagerly awaiting our first paycheck and in such a state we try not to spend much. We did venture out into Seoul though, this time to Sinchon, an area known for its universities. It is home to Ewha Womans University, Yonsei University, Hongik University, and Sogang University. So it’s also known for its nightlife – an experience we saved for the next trip.

First, we stopped at Ewha Womans University. It was founded in 1886 by an American Methodist Episcopal Missionary, Mary Scranton, who began teaching classes for women in her home. College courses were added to the school in 1910 and professional courses in 1925. Ewha was moved to its current location in Sinchon in 1935 and became fully accredited in 1946. During the Korean War, Ewha had an evacuee campus in Busan with 30 temporary structures and tents. Many “firsts” for Korean women have been achieved at Ewha. Korea’s first female PhD, first female lawyer, first female Constitutional Court justice, and first female prime minister are all alumnae of Ewha.

Ewha Womans University

Pfeiffer Hall

Founder, Mary Scranton

Ewha has a lovely campus. The scene stealer is one of it’s newest buildings, the ECC, or Ewha Campus Complex. It was completed in 2008 and was designed by world-renowned French architect, Dominique Perrault. It’s truly odd and captivating all at once.

The ECC

Our main purpose in Sinchon was to try out a brewery. Neighborhood is Galmegi Brewery’s taphouse in Seoul (the actual brewery is in Busan). They had craft beer and pizza – right up our alley!

We tried four of the beers (pale ale, amber, porter, sour) and they were all great. We also ordered a pizza; so far it’s the best pizza we’ve had in Korea. We will definitely go back again and again and again.

We have one more weekend before we receive our first paycheck so who knows what we’ll be up to – I’m sure some beer will be involved!