We started the morning by getting into our groups for the trip project. I'm with Elizabeth, Jack F., and Zach T. Our project is about bringing a PGA Tour event to Asia on a yearly basis and eventually making it one of the eight signature events on the tour. Asia is the second biggest market in the world for golf behind the US, and the numbers back that up. Asia Pacific accounted for over 36% of the global golf equipment market in 2024, and the region had 22.5 million adult golfers as of 2022, with countries like Japan, South Korea, China, and India all gaining prominence. The sport is only getting bigger here, so the case for a permanent signature event in Asia is a strong one. We are all excited to keep building the argument out as the trip goes on.
After that, Professor Kim gave us a Korean 101 lesson. We learned how to read the Korean alphabet and went through all the consonants and vowels, learning how to pronounce and write each one. To end the lesson we each attempted to write our own first name in Korean, which was a fun way to wrap it up. It is a lot harder than it looks but being able to sound out signs around the city afterward made it worth the effort.
Next we went to a PC bang. For anyone who doesn't know, a PC bang is a gaming lounge where you pay by the hour and sit down at a solid setup. We played Fortnite, Minecraft, and Fall Guys, grabbed lunch there too, and finished off the time watching YouTube and Netflix. It was a good way to decompress in the middle of the day.
From there we went to a golf simulator and played 9 holes at Pebble Beach in groups. Shoutout to Elizabeth and Viktor for tying for first at 2 under, and Professor Kim had a great round finishing in third. Golf simulators are actually a huge part of the culture here in Korea. Because actual golf courses are expensive and you need to be at a pretty high level to play them, a lot of people use simulators as their main way to experience the sport. There are thousands of them across the country and they are treated as a legitimate night out, not just a practice tool.
To end the night, me, Jeremy, and Dalton walked around the city and spent most of the time along the Cheonggyecheon River. It runs right through the middle of Seoul and the whole path was decorated with colorful lanterns for Buddha's Birthday, which is being celebrated this week. The lanterns reflected off the water and with the city buildings lit up on both sides, it was a really cool scene. It was peaceful in a way that is hard to explain when you are standing in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.
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