Finding New Light in Seoul: Moments of Calm and Connection Abroad
SA: Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea
Trakeem, one of the Semester Abroad Correspondents, shares his experience abroad during the Fall 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
As December arrives in Seoul, I’ve started to notice how the city slowly transforms for winter, quietly, beautifully, and with a kind of magic that feels different from home. The Christmas tree on campus was the first thing that made me pause this week. It stands taller than anything around it, with lights draped from the top like a soft net of stars. Seeing it at sunset, surrounded by bare trees and fading daylight, felt like a reminder of how far I am from New Jersey, yet how grounded I’ve become here. There’s something comforting about watching a familiar tradition, holiday decorations, festive lights take on a uniquely Korean form. It’s a sign of the season, but also a sign of how this campus has become part of my life story.
Living abroad has meant paying attention to small moments like this. When I walk past that tree, I think about how cultural experiences abroad aren’t always loud or dramatic. Sometimes they’re quiet, just me on an evening stroll, breathing in the cold air, learning to appreciate stillness in a city that never really stops. At Yonsei, I’m surrounded by students rushing to class, couples taking pictures, and friends sharing snacks under the lights. Even in these everyday scenes, I feel included. It’s one of the things I’ve grown to love about being here: I don’t feel like I’m just visiting Korea; I feel like I’m living in it.
Later at night, I find myself staring out over the city from above, watching the streets glow under bright signs and headlights. Seoul at night is a completely different world fast, loud, and alive. It looks endless from up high, stretching far beyond anything I imagined before arriving. Yet even with all the movement below, I felt strangely peaceful. Maybe that’s what studying abroad does to you. It teaches you how to be still even in a place full of energy. It teaches you how to take in the noise without being overwhelmed by it.
Both the campus tree and the city lights reminded me that cultural immersion isn’t just about big events or planned activities. It’s also about feeling yourself change in small ways, finding comfort in unfamiliar places, learning the rhythm of a new country, and realizing you’re becoming braver without even noticing. As the semester winds down, I’m grateful for moments like these: the ones that make me slow down, look around, and appreciate the experience I’m living one quiet evening and one bright city night at a time.
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