I remember my first visa renewal in Korea. I was living in a cramped officetel near Seomyeon Station, sweating bullets because my E-2 visa was about to expire. I had been told by a friend to “just go to immigration,” so I waltzed into the Busan Immigration Office (부산출입국외국인청) in Sasang without an appointment or … Read more
I remember my third month in Bundang, staring at my bank account balance and realizing my part-time English gig at a hagwon in Seohyeon wasn’t going to cut it. I was qualified, I had a degree, and I spoke fluent English. But the job boards were a swamp of dead-end listings and recruiters who ghosted … Read more
I remember my sixth month in Seoul. I was living in a shoebox officetel near Yeoksam, my Korean was stuck at “이거 주세요,” and my social life consisted of waving at the convenience store ajumma. I had zero Korean friends. Not one. The only people who texted me were scammers from “KakaoTalk random chat.” I … Read more
Okay, I’ll admit it. My first month in Dunsan, I walked into an Emart with a list, a prayer, and zero clue why the lady next to me was aggressively ripping plastic off a watermelon. I wandered the aisles for an hour, paid a small fortune for a bag of apples, and missed out on … Read more
I’m not going to lie—when I first moved to Gangnam, I thought I had life figured out. I could navigate the subway blindfolded, order *samgyeopsal* without pointing at the menu, and haggle with taxi drivers (well, almost). But then came the day my boss tossed a set of car keys on my desk and said, … Read more
I remember my first month in Sinchon. I was staring at a bowl of noodles that cost 8,000 won, doing the mental math and feeling my stomach sink. I thought I had failed at adulting before I even started. I was a broke grad student, and the city was eating my wallet alive. But after … Read more
I still remember my first week in Daegu, standing outside a bank near Dongseongro with my passport, my Alien Registration Card (ARC) still warm from the immigration office, and a sweaty grip on a printout of my work contract. I was confident. I was prepared. And then the teller said, “Sorry, we need your foreign … Read more
I remember my first trip to an Emart in Suwon. I walked in for a bottle of water and a snack, and walked out 45 minutes later, drenched in sweat, with a cart full of mystery items, a lighter I didn’t need, and zero clue what half of my receipt said. I stood in the … Read more
I remember my first week in Seomyeon. I was thrilled to finally have my own officetel, until I realized I had zero clue how to throw away a single piece of garbage. I stood in the middle of my tiny kitchen, holding a banana peel, sweating, wondering if I was about to commit a crime … Read more
I remember the first time I stepped into a clinic in Gangnam with a splitting migraine and a fever that made me see double. I had been in Korea for three months, my Korean was limited to “hello” and “thank you,” and the receptionist’s rapid-fire questions sounded like a K-drama on 2x speed. I froze, … Read more