I was always the weird kid. As a first‑gen Korean American growing up in the 80s, wanting something different was…complicated. There was a very specific script for what my life was 'supposed to' look like.
Whenever people asked what I wanted to do or be when I grew up, I never really knew how to answer. People and behavior fascinated me, so I majored in psychology. Clothing and style came pretty easy to me, so I built a career in fashion. But the dream was always the same: me somewhere far away, walking down a dusty road, discovering new and exciting corners of the world.
It never really made sense to me. Why did we have to settle down? Why were there so many different rules (especially for girls!), and why did wanting something different have to be such a fight?
Now, as an adult, I still don’t quite fit in anywhere and those questions still pop up, but these days I care a lot less about it.
I was a freshman in college when Anthony Bourdain came on the map and basically did everything I'd ever wanted to do with my life. Traveling to parts unknown, going way off the beaten path. Sitting on plastic tables, eating real food with real people. I thought...ok, so this is possible. I'm going to do this someday.
Someday turned into focusing on my career, trying to save money, waiting for the right moment...you know how that goes.
Then 2020 happened. The world shut down. I turned 40. And I ran out of reasons to wait. I booked my first solo trip at 41: five countries, five weeks. I came home exhausted and immediately started planning the next one.
What I noticed along the way was that I couldn't find anyone else doing what I was doing. At least not in the way I was doing it. Most travel content is built for twenty-somethings or retirees, but there's this whole group of people in the middle like me who still want adventure and don't need a guided tour to find it.
That's what this site is about. A place for people who still want the real thing, wherever that takes them. The travel, the food, the stories, and finding each other along the way.
