회

Sejin walked in through the gates at Incheon on Monday afternoon to find the three of us — her parents and I — chewing gum and craning our necks to get even a peek of the feet and suitcase rolling toward the rolling glass. After a happy dinner at her place, we all sat down [...]

年

Midterms week, and on Tuesday I headed over to meet Ko Ok Seunim, who surprised me with an impromptu welcome lunch in a delicious pasta place run by one of her friends that turned into an early birthday party when she started asking around the table about whose birthday we were celebrating with such a [...]

Heartbeats

At times I feel as though I’m spending my whole summer making preparations for being here rather than actually being here. It’s not a bad feeling exactly, as mostly it’s rooted in this place turning into another home for me — a place that would require the few weeks like I need at school to [...]

韓牛

It’s a Thursday night and the light is dusty, dusky here in Sinchon as my second week at Sogang wraps up. Across the way, nervous looking students are gulping down banchan (반찬) faster than usual as they ready themselves for the last of their exams, and the air is filled with light from the noraebangs [...]

Losing My Name/ "No girlfriend in this or any country."

The Week of July 2
Started with a sleepy Monday and a cash withdrawal. Following Sung Ho to a coffee shop to study, I found out firsthand what Athena meant when she told me about the Starbucks Index that everyone in Seoul seems to know about (and the linked article is 3 years old): the prices [...]