jkwontravels
replay
a personal travel diary and digital photo album for remembering my experiences. not a traveler's guide
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Seoul, Korea
My plan was to follow the lead of my friends who have been persistently asking to go to Korea for years. A part of me wanted to spend my vacation days exploring a different country so I dodged their request for some time. Even when we booked our flights, I read over the cancellation policy in case I wanted to back out last minute. But after my last relationship, I’m deeply grateful for friends who love my culture so much that they planned their birthday around Korea, making it a non-negotiable trip.
Leading up to it, “Beef” on Netflix dropped and for the first time, I felt seen. It portrayed cultural nuances that influence my everyday thoughts and behaviors but were hard to justify in a way that resonated with others. Small things like what it means to be a praise team leader to bigger cultural norms like living life indebted to your parents are concepts I didn’t know how to explain to my non-Korean friends. But seeing my life and all the intentional pieces of my experience portrayed on TV made me long for this trip even more.
If Nola was where I learned to love myself again, Korea was where I was loved. The native part of me that I couldn’t quite explain was fully embraced by my friends who got to experience this part of my identity with me. My Western-side was validated by my extended family who connected with me more deeply than I ever had with my immediate family in America. Whether I’m Korean, Korean-American, or American, all of it mattered because being a blended mixture of all three is the reason I am who I am. Rarely am I afraid to talk about being Korean, but this trip has made me proud.
Collectively, this year has been a healing journey, one trip at a time.
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forgot my phone at a cafe oops. luckily, they still had it when i went back.
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knife cut noodles with pork dumplings
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