I still remember my first week in Suwon, standing in the hallway of my officetel with a dripping bag of chicken bones and kimchi remnants, staring at six different colored bins like they were a final exam I hadn’t studied for. My neighbor—a sweet grandmother who barely spoke a word of English—kept pointing at my … Read more
I still remember my first week in Daejeon Dunsan, standing in the middle of a massive grocery store, completely paralyzed. I had a basket in one hand and my phone translating apps in the other, sweating bullets because I accidentally grabbed a bag of what I thought were onions but turned out to be organic … Read more
I still remember the pit in my stomach when my boss on Jeju Island handed me a contract written entirely in Korean, smiled, and said, “Don’t worry, it’s standard.” I nodded, signed it, and spent the next three months working 60-hour weeks under the table, terrified that if I complained, I’d be deported. It wasn’t … Read more
I remember my first August in Hyehwa. I stepped out of my one-room near Sungkyunkwan University, dressed smartly for a meeting in Jongno, and within three minutes, I looked like I had just stepped out of a shower with my clothes on. The humidity here doesn’t just make you sweat; it feels like the air … Read more
I remember standing in the middle of a rice paddy in Jeju, holding a paper map that was dissolving in the drizzle, wondering why I couldn’t just call a taxi. It was my first week on the island, and I quickly realized that in South Korea, your smartphone is not just a convenience—it is your … Read more
I remember standing outside a clinic in Haeundae, staring at a medical bill that cost more than my monthly rent, while my boss told me, “Don’t worry, we handle that later.” It was a lie. I had been working at a small restaurant near Gwangalli Beach for six months without a written contract, believing that … Read more
I remember my first week in Ansan vividly. I was starving, exhausted from navigating the confusing streets of the Multicultural Street area, and I didn’t have the energy to cook. I tried to order fried chicken, but I hit a wall. The app asked for an ID verification, then a local credit card, and then … Read more
I still remember the pit in my stomach when my first boss in Gangnam told me to “wait until next month” for my salary. One month turned into two, and suddenly I was a foreigner in Seoul with an empty bank account and a lot of anxiety. If you are reading this because you are … Read more
I remember sitting in a tiny one-room apartment near Kyungsung University Station, staring at my bank account balance, and wondering if I had made a huge mistake. I had just finished my contract at a hagwon in Seoul and moved down to Busan for a change of scenery. I assumed that because Kyungsung is a … Read more
I still remember the gut-wrenching feeling of checking my bank account balance during my second month in Ansan. I was living near the Multicultural Street, surrounded by amazing food and vibrant culture, but my wallet was bleeding cash. I had spent weeks walking up and down the streets looking for work, getting rejected because of … Read more