Prologue: Korea Reacts Only

Pretty soon, I'll be travelling around South Korea for a while equipped with some best laid plans, many recommendations from friends, and a carry-on backpack.

...is all I have to say to people to get back a small number of predictable reactions, which I'll review for your edification here, in case you were wondering, along with my now well-practiced answers:

1. [insert slightly awkward non-joke about impending nuclear war with North Korea]

Ha? Yes, I suppose there is that. I'm not sure if it's optimistic or pessimistic to say so, but from my perspective, most places in the world seem like they could be just as safe (or just as scary) as anywhere else these days. So why limit yourself to just one?

2. Really? South Korea? Why South Korea?

In college, I was caught up in what's called the hallyu - the "Korean wave," which I understand to be a something like a coordinated, government-sponsored tourism and marketing campaign meant to spread Korean culture abroad (and, in some sense, rebrand Korea as a whole as modern, young, and hip). A big part of this involves supporting and spreading mass media phenomena like Korean pop music and Korean TV dramas, which have majorly caught on across the globe. If you live in the United States, you probably remember that 3-6 month period in 2012 where Psy's "Gangnam Style" achieved viral popularity and broke a bunch of YouTube records; cultural pundits consider the runaway success of that song a huge landmark in the success of the hallyu. But more than five years later, the Korean wave is still going strong, with kpop groups like BTS achieving unprecedented levels of fan support and just last weekend becoming the first Korean group to top the Billboard 200 with their latest single "Fake Love."

This is not BTS - this is my absolute favorite group, Highlight,
rocking bathrobes in their debut music video like the absolute professionals they are.

From the moment I checked out a couple music videos to songs I'd heard at a party (BIGBANG's "Fantastic Baby" and Shinee's "Sherlock," for the interested), I was hooked. Since then, I've memorized hundreds of songs, learned a few impressively baroque dances (I'm particularly proud of mastering B.A.P.'s "Warrior" and Shinee's "Lucifer"), supported groups in the double digits, and attended four kpop concerts (Super Junior, B.A.P., Block B, and BTS). I've watched hours and hours of Korean dramas (running favorites Descendants of the Sun, My Love from Another Star, I Can Hear Your Voice, and W), tried my hand at noraebang (Korean-style karaoke), sampled the best Korean food my city has to offer, and even learned a little Korean (in the same unimpressive sense that US high schoolers "learn" languages - I practice a lot, but out in the real world, who knows what I'll remember). I've also been lucky enough to have a lot of people in my life who have either lived in South Korea for a time (usually teaching English) or visited it recently on vacation, all encouraging me with stories of how neat it was.

I understand that none of this will in any way prepare me for what I'll experience there, in the same way that watching CW shows about the dramatic antics of impossibly attractive twenty- and thirtysomethings in designer clothes with supernatural powers wouldn't prepare someone for the experience of attending an American high school. But all these different points of exposure have definitely piqued my interest, and I'm excited to take things as they come once I'm on the ground.

3. Really? By yourself? Why by yourself?

Groovy answer: I love travelling by myself! It's such a valuable, clarifying experience to be alone with your thoughts for a while. Plus, I'm such a free spirit (read: neurotic weirdo) and it's just so nice to be free to do whatever I want, whenever I want.

#icandowhatiwant

Lame answer: I asked a bunch of people and no one could go with me, and I decided to go ahead with it anyway rather than put it off to some nebulous future date (possibly never) at which someone could accompany me.

#foreveralone

Actual answer: a mixture of the two.

4. Really? With just a carry-on backpack? Why just a carry-on backpack?

Because I'm going by myself (see above) and I want to be able to comfortably haul my luggage around everywhere I go, unaided. I also dig the flexibility and thrifty options you unlock by packing light - for example, a budget flight from Seoul to Jeju Island is much cheaper without a checked suitcase and the associated baggage fees, Because I am relatively shrimpy and noodle-armed (note to self: must stop writing while hungry), all this means me limiting myself to a fairly light carry-on backpack full of very carefully selected things.

Almost all of the things and the backpack in question.
Yes, it all fits.

Packing thoughtfully for this trip has been a pet project of mine for the last few months, and a huge part of my planning the trip overall. For me it's been a fascinating challenge and balancing act, a protracted struggle between the prevailing philosophy of "pack what you think you need, then cut that in half" and the part of me that plans everything in advance and compulsively anticipates problems. I'm happy to chat more about it for the interested, but I recognize this is one of those topics that is far more interesting to me than to most people, so that's all I'll say for now.

5. Really? South Korea? Do you even speak Korean?

네! A little (see above). Like anyone with an hour to spare, I've learned to read Hangul, the incredibly well-designed phonetic Korean alphabet.

But seriously, Hangul is super easy to learn because it was designed to be.
In the 1400s, King Sejong set out to create a system so simple to read anyone could learn it.
And he succeeded.

But luckily, a lot of people there speak at least some English, so I can continue the embarrassing American tradition of being hopelessly monolingual. 

BONUS: Oh wow, South Korea! Please send me pictures/a postcard!

Of course! For pictures and associated words, follow this blog. For a postcard, message me your address sometime in the very near future.

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That's it for now, folks! Stay tuned for further updates once I'm on the road.