Seoul Mates: Find your best friends in South Korea

Thank you to South Korea for being the place where I’ve met some of my nearest and dearest friends. Here’s a little tale of friendship and love…

Two years ago I moved thousands of miles away from my little house in the British countryside to start an adventure in Korea. Like many expats and solo travellers, I had a lot to think about before making the move. What would my culture shocks be? Would I like the food? When would the homesickness hit? But one question scared me more than the others: would I make friends? I knew that I was going to need a great support network to be my family away from home. I was determined to make some long-lasting connections from the get-go.

Unfortunately, the girl I was two years ago was a little shy. I certainly didn’t really like approaching strangers (what happened to her?). Well, meeting my two best friends in South Korea helped me to both survive my travels as well as transform into a more confident and kind person. Now it’s time you knew how Christina and Shannon came into my life. Hopefully, this little story time will help you. By the end, you’ll have the confidence you need to go out into the world and meet some stunning people. It might also waylay some of your travel fears that have been putting you off of taking that first step away from home.

Let’s start with Christina…

To my first-day friend,

When you move abroad, you’ll meet tons of new people in your first few weeks away. However, the reality is that you probably won’t stay in contact with most of these people. It’s difficult to maintain connections, particularly when you’re trying to settle into your new life yourself. But maybe – just maybe – the stunning girl that you see sitting alone at the airport on one of your first days in the country might become a friend for life. That very thing happened to me, you see…

Nervous at Incheon Airport

I arrived at Incheon Airport after some eleven hours of travelling. Utterly exhausted, I quickly made my way to a hotel to freshen up and catch up on my much-needed sleep. After all, EPIK expected me to return to the entrance of the airport to commence my work orientation the following day. As I entered the terminal, there were lots of people milling about near the sign-in desk, all with big suitcases and hundreds of bags. People were being assigned numbers and whisked away on buses towards their new life in Korea. I found myself awkwardly waiting after signing in. However, I was determined to step out of my shell and approach someone. I turned to my right. To my dismay, the people on that side were already chuckling like they’d known each other for years. The huddle to my left was no better with an air of camaraderie. I looked straight ahead – bingo!

How do you say “archaeology”?

There she was. I locked eyes with the beautiful blonde girl sitting alone on one of the airport benches. I made a beeline for her and her face looked welcoming and kind as I crossed the distance between us. We quickly got the formalities out of the way – what’s your name, where are you from, how old are you – and instantly got to laughing about trivial things. We still joke to this day about how I said that I studied ‘archaeology’ in my thick British accent, and she had no idea what I was talking about.

Separate ways

Sadly, I got pulled away to board a separate bus to Christina. However, we both knew that we would make an effort to find each other once we reached EPIK orientation. At least, I hoped we both knew that. I started to have some doubts once our week of training commenced.

Brief interactions at orientation

At orientation, we both met many, many more faces and were placed in different groups for instruction. This meant that we were only able to see each other at meals or after classes. Due to our separation, we found ourselves hanging out in different cliques. I grew closer to my lesson demonstration partner and she hung out with her roommate. Still, whenever we saw each other around we’d find time to update one another on how orientation was going. At least we seemed to be on the same page on that front.

Last night at orientation

The easy but fragile relationship we had established throughout the week all changed on the final night of orientation. This was the day before we were to be taken to meet the schools where we’d be teaching for the rest of the year. There was an air of finality. The entire cohort seemed to break their curfew wanting to spend as much time as possible with each other. Christina and I were no different. She reached out and we met up after dinner in the common area. We couldn’t stop chatting and laughing. I think that we walked at least three laps around the enormous field on the university campus, just talking about our past lives and our hopes for the following year in Korea. We promised to update each other on how our first school week went and what our apartments were like. We discovered that we were both kindred souls from two geographically separate places but with similar trajectories in life. I’d never felt a more easy conversation with a near-enough stranger. I knew I’d found my person and I wanted to keep her close.

New Life in Korea

And so within the first couple of weeks of settling into our new lives, we were booking a trip to Seoul together. It was magical being able to explore this new city with a new friend. From there, things only spiralled out of control. We continuously planned trips to places like Busan, Pohang and Daejeon, and further afield like Vietnam, Thailand and Tokyo. And I still hope that many more trips will follow in the future as I know Christina is someone I’ll never let go of.

It takes time to become besties

On reflection, I think she might have just been getting close to me at the airport because she thought I could set her up with a British duke (joke!). But I wouldn’t change it for the world. This meeting of two best friends in South Korea is a good reflection of how you truly can get lucky and meet wonderful people straight off the bat when you travel abroad. But it also goes to show that forging a long-lasting friendship will take some work from both sides. Try to message lots and meet up when you can. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to give that new bestie a call from time to time. 

Now onto Shannon…

To my scary friend,

This story is more of a slow-burner than my last. It’s a tale of enemies to besties, from fear to love (not really but I love a bit of drama). But in all honesty, it took a while to find my other best friend. I’m annoyed with her every day that she kept me waiting for so long. I’ll remind you that I met Christina pretty soon after I entered the country. Well, it took me nearly a year after this friendship had been forged to truly meet Shannon. 

Girl from my past

According to various sources and picture evidence, Shannon and I were in the same group at orientation together. However, neither of us remember each other from this experience. Instead, it took one big group trip to Seoul for us to meet again. She happened to be a friend of a friend and so had also tagged along for the weekend (and I’m so thankful she did). I didn’t talk to her much on that little holiday but Christina struck up quite the rapport with her and spoke very highly of Shannon after the trip. If Christina liked her I knew that I would also like her, but that didn’t mean we immediately formed a little trio of friends. 

So intimidating

To be quite candid, Shannon intimidated me. She’s very tall and very beautiful and has the sunniest personality. Who wouldn’t be scared of that? Still, I was firmly told to try and get along with her. And I quickly realised, I didn’t have to try. Our paths kept crossing, and I found myself gravitating to her when we were in big group settings. I found her energy infectious and I loved (and still love) how she can make any situation fun.

Lifelines

I’ll always remember her messaging me when I was having a down day in late June and inviting me to spend the day with her city. It was like she’d thrown me a lifeline and I gladly grabbed hold. And I haven’t let go since. I found myself pouring out all my woes to her, and actually being able to laugh through my gloom. Her dark humour resonated with mine and I felt like I could breathe a little easier. And I knew I couldn’t wait for me, Christina and Shannon to hang out all together.

Best trip to Busan

We made this happen with a trip to Busan. Now me and Busan have a strained relationship (nothing ever goes my way there) but this might have been one of my favourite trips to the city. The three of us continuously bounced off of each other’s energy and added to one another’s jokes. To consolidate our friendship, we went so far as to buy cringey matching tops, which we all still wear to this day. So we had become a little trio, but the friendship between Shannon and me was still fairly new. How would we do on a trip that was just the two of us? 

Another weekend away

One thing led to another, and Shannon and I found ourselves booking a trip away together for the long weekend. We both recognised it was a long time to spend with one another, just the two of us, when we still didn’t know each other that well. Thankfully, it all worked out and we had an amazing time in Sokcho. We made some core memories together (e.g., when a stranger called us ‘very brave’ for swimming in the sea in early October). I found myself spending the long weekend with someone who I felt wholly comfortable around and who was so like me. And from there, things only got better.

Time to meet the family

Three months on from that trip, we were planning our next adventure, but this time we were going to visit her family in South Africa (and here’s how it went). Let’s just say that this stay consolidated our friendship and we’ve been practically inseparable ever since. I’m pretty sure I see this girl at least once a week nowadays and wouldn’t want it any other way. Exploring her life before Korea was so interesting. I loved being able to walk in the places she’d described to me so many times and I gained a new appreciation for her life. Oh, and most importantly I met her lovely mother and adorable dogs.

Don’t be intimidated

I’m so obsessed with Shannon that I think I’ll have to plan a trip to visit her in South Africa at least once a year. We’re already talking about the things we want to do together when she comes to London too. That being said, all three of us friends are very aware that things are going to change for our group very soon.

Travel and friendship

We’re all now reaching the stage where our little trio will have to temporarily disband. Our adventures in Korea are coming to an end and soon we’ll be scattered across three continents. I’m distraught. I know that the easy meet-ups and weekends away are going to disappear soon and losing those two only makes it more difficult to leave Korea. Nonetheless, I’m also excited to see what the next chapter holds for us. I’m curious to see how we maintain our strong friendship with the distance. I know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep these two wonderful people in my life – even if it involves dropping everything and booking a trip to the USA or South Africa. Whatever happens, I wouldn’t change anything that has happened and I’m thankful that I have met some of the most amazing people in one of the most unlikely of places.

Leaving the people you know and starting a new life abroad is scary. But this situation is a catalyst for the creation of the strongest friendships. The people you meet while you’re away become akin to your family. You’ll end up spending important holidays with them, going through triumphs and difficulties together, and gaining a shared experience that people back home may never truly understand. There will be uncomfortable moments where you’ll have to navigate first interactions with strangers and you might feel the pressing weight of homesickness from time to time, but for me, it was a small price to pay for the friendship that I’ve been able to experience. So if you’re looking to travel abroad, but you’re worried about making meaningful relationships, use this tale as inspiration. There are so many people around the world just like you, but sometimes it takes leaving your comfort zone to find them.