28 posts (26 chapters, 2 poems)
May – August 2023
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Annyeonghaseyo | 안녕하세요
Welcome to South Korea! Here’s a bunch of markets and palaces.
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Somewhere Waiting to be Found | 발견되기를 기다리는 어딘가
Palaces, hanok villages, festivals, the Blue House, and a mountaintop temple. No one cares enough to find me – while I am finding a whole new land.
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The Table of Babel | 바벨탑의 식탁
Seong-su, Han River, Seoul Forest, Suwon, Hongdae – partying, cycling, picnicking, couchsurfing – who needs rest, when you’re in Seoul?
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The Extrovert | 외향적인
Hongdae, Bukhansan, Myeongdeung. The more I hike, party, couchsurf, and form instant connections, the more I learn about my new self.
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Enough for You | 충분하다
Festival-hopping, N Seoul Tower, Seoul City Wall, Insa-dong, Jamsil, and the Buddha’s birthday make me ecstatic to share this splendor with people, and sad when they walk away.
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A Blue Day | 푸른 날
Welcome to paradi – I mean, Jeju Island! Have some mandarins while you run into sexual sculptures.
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Housekeeping | 하우스키핑
I begin volunteering at a party hostel and take a break from fast travel as I slowly explore Busan’s temples and go on dates.
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Real Friends, Garbage People | 진짜 친구, 쓰레기 사람들
Clubbing in Busan and cleaning a hostel shed light on the duplicitious nature of humans.
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Up in the Air | 계류되다
An escape to Pohang and Gyeong-ju kicks off with a zero gravity simulator, hostel shenanigans, and a taste of freedom.
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One Month in South Korea | 한국에서의 한 달
The northern escapade continues with my second abandoned sex museum in Korea, followed by a martial arts temple stay. Korea finally becomes special to me.
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It’s Not a Surprise Birthday Party Till the Ambulance Shows | 구급차가 나타나기 전까지 깜짝 생일파티가 아닌
Surprises at a surprise party make for an unforgettable night of pain and friendship.
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Special Vibes | 특별한 분위기
An escape to obscure Tongyeong and remote Somaemuldo proves how special Korea can be.
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The Friend Zone, Part 1 | 친구 영역, 1부
Back to volunteering at the hostel, my friends make the most out of their twenties, while I face rejection after rejection.
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The Friend Zone, Part 2 | 친구 영역, 2부
Busan and Miryang’s attractions are too dull to numb the pain of being friend-zoned.
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The Friend Zone, Part 3 | 친구 영역, 3부
A reunion in Miryang offers nuggets of wisdom. Yet drunken antics at the hostel and a stab in the back put the final nail in the friend-zone’s coffin.
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The Friend Zone, Part 4 | 친구 영역, 4부
The friend-zone saga ends in the worst way possible as I party alone in Beomil and finish volunteering at the hostel.
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Why Does Life Have to Go On? | 왜 인생은 계속해야지?
An eternity has come to a close.
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The Calm Between the Storms | 폭풍 사이의 고요함
A drama-free visit to Jeon-ju offers delicacies, lotus flowers, hanboks, and a hanok stay.
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Looking for Pride | 프라이드 찾기
Seoul Pride takes partying to new extremes.
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Two Months in South Korea | 한국에서의 두 달
Ilness, tragedy, meerkats, nightclubs, and another wild birthday party, this time in Pyeongtaek. At least Korea never sees me bored.
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Ppalli Ppalli | 빨리빨리
I return to form as I explore Seoul’s attractions, enjoy great food and friendships, and hurry to make the most out of this period.
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A Stroke of Magic | 마법의 한 획
Museums, history, Hangul, noraebang, raw marinated crabs, a fancy tower, and a transformative date at a drag club. Magic begins to engulf Seoul.
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A Mortal Being in an Indifferent World | 무관심한 세상에 사는 인간
An escape to the east coast kicks off with a North Korean settlement, followed by Korea’s hardest hike. As I sleep on top of a mountain, I fall in love.
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New Heights | 새로운높이
The east coast escapade peaks with a goblin festival, waterfalls that make me scream, tears, love, loneliness, cycling up in the air, and a penis park.
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New Lows | 신저점
Mountain highs plummet into romantic lows after a pefect date at an abandoned theme park leaves me heartbroken.
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A Piece of Tofu in a Korean Barbecue | 한국식 바비큐에 두부 한 조각
A bittersweet farewell to a country that made me feel like bland leftovers in a seasoned buffet.
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Annyeonghi Gyeseyo | 안녕히 계세요
As I prepare to leave Korea, I lament falling in love.
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South Korea, Synopsis | 한국、개요
My spontaneous (and reckless) adventures in Asian cities and nature continued in a new, unfriendly land. I couch-surfed, volunteered, and fell in love for the first time. By the end, I became an extrovert who felt abandoned by the human race.