To Seoul and Back Again: A Traveler’s Tale

My Anxiety Stowed Away in My Carry-On

I tried to ignore my heart palpitations as I deboarded the plane, but failed. I’d never left

the country before—only flown a couple times in my life, in fact—but my first trip out of the country was to South Korea. Maybe I should’ve done a World Traveler test run and gone to England first? Why was I running when I’d never even learned to crawl?

My sister walked behind me as I tried to list in my head the things I knew we had to do:

As we finally made it to Customs, it occurred to me that the things I didn’t know grossly outnumbered the things I did. But—strangely enough—none of my worst-case scenarios happened. We found everything pretty much without issue. There was a surprise form that threw me through a bit of a loop, but we simply mimicked the other travelers to get over that hurdle.

Once we got to our Airbnb, I kicked off my shoes, dropped my luggage in a corner, and immediately went over to the wall of windows that looked down over Hongdae. As I watched the people and the cars and the lights below, my nervousness started to disappear, and it finally hit me: I was in South Korea!

My view of Hongdae from the Airbnb

Just Doin’ Some Seoul Searching

I loved my stay in South Korea.

I loved the palaces, where Koreans and foreigners alike would wear hanbok, traditional Korean clothing. As I walked the paths around Gyeongbokgung and the other palaces, I repeatedly marveled at how these structures were surrounded on all sides by a city filled with more than 9.7 million souls. And yet there were times I could have sworn I was visiting the Korea of 200 years ago.

I loved the food, whether it was hotteok purchased from a vendor set up in the middle of the street, or bubbling pots of doenjang-jjigae. There were so many things to eat but simply not enough meals in the day—or room in my stomach. My sister and I frequently visited the convenience store attached to our Airbnb building, leaving with bags full of kimbap, Milkis, and Korean snacks.

I loved exploring the Garden of Morning Calm, singing until I was hoarse at a noraebang, and making perfume at a small shop in Bukchon. Every day I saw a new place and did a new thing—like hang out with a sheep at a cafe.

I even loved just walking the streets, feeling this vibrant city hum all around me. As an avid reader, I’d read countless books where the characters were so-called soulmates, but I’d never found that for myself. At least not in another person. However, in Seoul, it seemed like something just clicked. Perhaps my soulmate wasn’t a person, but a place.

N Seoul Tower

Of course, the trip was far from stress-free. For instance, at Namsangol Hanok Village, which is filled with traditional Korean houses, my sister and I encountered a monk. At first it seemed like he was handing out beaded bracelets to all of the tourists. However, that assumption was marred when he asked us for money. Feeling awkward and uncertain and exhausted from a long day of walking, my sister and I both gave him money, even though our instincts were telling us that something wasn’t right. Lesson of the day: just because a guy in costume looks like he’s affiliated with the attraction does not mean that he’s actually affiliated with it. Also: Try being a little less trusting.

But the negative moments were quickly wiped out by the positive ones. Immediately after Faux Monk, we visited N Seoul Tower at Namsan Park. It was impossible to be upset when surrounded by beautiful views, delicious food, and incredible performances.

Saying Goodbye…for Now

Unfortunately, it is a truth universally acknowledged that time spent on a vacation moves much faster than time spent anywhere else. Though staying in Korea for 16 days sounded like a very long trip in theory, in actuality it ended much too soon. Before I knew it, our bags were packed, our beds were made, and we were headed out the door.

But as I reached up to flick the light switch, I hesitated. I turned around and surveyed the one-room Airbnb that had been our home for more than 2 weeks. Embarrassingly, my eyes filled with tears, as though I were saying goodbye to a dear friend.

I’d been dreaming of traveling to South Korea for almost 3 years, and it had finally happened. The trip had been filled with excitement, fear, joy, confusion, elation, frustration, and fun. It had been everything I’d hoped for and more, and it was over. For now.

I shut the door behind me and headed home.

A collage of photos taken from my Insta