By Honorary Reporter Alice Hong from Canada
Photos = Alice Hong

In the 2016 Korean blockbuster movie "Train to Busan," Seoul is the center of a zombie outbreak, forcing the remaining humans to flee to Busan for safety. For a far different reason, I took the train to the same city on Nov. 25.

The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-ROK (Republic of Korea) Commemorative Summit was taking place there, and I had an invitation to cover it from Korea.net. Since President Moon Jae-in and the leaders of the ten ASEAN member were going, I wanted to check it out.

Eight Honorary Reporters went to the summit, including myself. Sheena Solis, Jeremie Paula and Wendy Palomo were from the Philippines and Jessica Wirastari was from Indonesia, so I learned about both of their ASEAN home countries on a personal level from them.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Hamdy was from Egypt, Milton Magana El Salvador and Liu Xinzhu China. I was the only person from Canada, but everybody spoke English quite well. It didn't take long for us to become friends.

Since this was my first time in Busan, I was interested not only in the summit but also the city itself. I had no time to explore when we got off the train, however, because we had to get on a shuttle bus to the summit venue, the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).

During the bus ride, I got a glimpse of Busan's impressive port, the largest in Korea. Chae-yeon, Korea.net's coordinator for Honorary Reporters, greeted us at BEXCO and gave us the fancy IDs we needed to get through security.

Many exhibitions were being held inside the convention halls, with a lot of space dedicated to topics such as K-beauty, fashion, business and tech innovation. I spent most of my time in a briefing room, where a series of talks on immigration was being held.

As someone who was born in Korea but raised in Canada, I could relate to the difficulties foreign residents face here in Korea. Many of them come and go, but Mahmoud, who has a daughter and a half-Korean wife, said he considers Korea his new home.

In case you were wondering, no, I didn't get to meet the president. In the afternoon, he came to BEXCO to check out the exhibitions but left for a formal dinner at the Hilton Hotel with the other ASEAN leaders.

Nonetheless, Paula and a few others did watch him cross the hall from a distance. For dinner, the Honorary Reporters and the Korea.net team went to a nearby bulgogi (marinated grilled beef) restaurant, where we experienced the joy of cooking beef over an open grill.

The following day, I visited Haeundae Beach, which was close to the guesthouse we were staying at. The soothing sound of the waves helped me collect my mind. I also got to visit Space Lee Ufan, a museum belonging to and named for one of the country's most renowned avant-garde artists. I could tell Lee drew a lot from nature because he used in his art elements such as rocks, steel and glass.

The Honorary Reporters were in Busan for a really short time, but I'm sure we'll long remember the city's warmth and hospitality. 



chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.