Hi, I’m Kim — welcome to My Korean Story.
I’m a Korean writer and lifelong observer of culture, originally from Seoul. I studied fine arts at Hongik University and spent five years immersed in Hongdae’s art and street culture before I packed up and moved to Europe — where I ended up staying for over ten years, living in Rome, Germany, and Amsterdam.
During that decade abroad, I watched something interesting happen: the world slowly fell in love with Korea. K-beauty, K-food, K-dramas, Seoul itself — things I grew up with suddenly became things my European friends were asking me about constantly. That curiosity is actually what planted the seed for this blog.
Three years ago, I moved back home to Seoul. Coming back after a decade away gave me a strange kind of double vision — I notice things locals don’t think twice about, because I spent ten years not having them. Why convenience stores here work the way they do. Why skincare routines are built the way they are. Why a simple bowl of chimaek feels like a cultural event. I see all of it with fresh eyes, but I also grew up inside it.
That’s the lens for everything I write here — not a tourist’s outside view, and not a local’s unquestioning one, but something in between. Real experience, real comparisons, and an honest take on what makes Korea worth understanding, not just visiting.
A Bit More About My Background
- 🎨 Fine Arts graduate, Hongik University — Seoul’s well-known art school, based in Hongdae
- 🏙️ 5 years living in Hongdae — right in the middle of Seoul’s art and street culture scene
- ✈️ 10+ years living across Europe — including Rome, Germany, and Amsterdam
- 🇰🇷 3 years back home in Seoul, writing about Korea with both an insider’s and outsider’s eye
Why I Write This Blog
Korea is having a real moment globally right now — the beauty, the food, the culture, the travel. I want to write about all of it, not as someone visiting for a week, but as someone who lives it every single day and also remembers, very clearly, what it looks like through outside eyes.
From skincare routines to hidden neighborhood spots, from café culture to weekend trips outside Seoul — this is my Korean story, written in real time, as I’m living it.
Welcome — let’s explore Korea together.