Gen Z Guide to FI

Wassup homies! In this post, I am gonna talk about the surprises and lessons I learned from my 2 week trip to South Korea.

First, I’ll share surprises:

Smoking: I didn’t know there was a heavy smoking culture here. I went to a club in Hongdae and left with all my clothes and hair smelling of cigarettes. I had to do my laundry before I left my hostel.

Inclusive clubs: I had read a lot about club bouncers in Korea not letting people in because of weight or race etc. I was very nervous about this and thought that it would make me really upset and embarrassed if they were racist towards me. Fortunately, that was not my experience at all. I went to a club called B1 where the music was pretty popping (hip hop, American music, some Kpop). It was a good time.

Personality: ok, this wasn’t too much of a surprise but I still appreciated it. Last year, when I went to Japan, the people over there will stab you with their eyes for even whispering on a train or public transit. Korea is not like that at all. People have a lot of personality in public spaces. You can talk as loud as you want and be expressive. I also found all the Koreans I engaged with to be friendly and helpful.

Now for some lessons learned in my first fully solo international trip:

I am THAT bitch: Watashi wa star (in the wise words of Megan thee Stallion). I am extremely impressed with my ability to execute the planning of this trip. Metro system, figured out. Finding places to eat alone, check. Making social connections so trip doesn’t feel lonely, done. Get sick and going to the pharmacy without speaking any Korean, hell yes. Overcoming social anxiety and asking strangers for help (with my extremely limited Korean), most definitely. I am so proud of myself for seeing this through. Solo travel is definitely addictive. To think I wouldn’t have know how sweet this was if I hadn’t been a mysterious girl in Japan last year. (I travelled to Japan with friends but had solo days while there). Now, I’m just wondering where I can go next!

Maybe Australia? One of my hostel roommates was Australian.

Essentials: Travel light when traveling alone. The experience was so much better because I had less stuff to drag around on public transportation. I also made sure to get VPN access & 10 GB of data with Ubigi e-sim. This made getting around easier and the VPN gave me better access to watch my animes.

Cash is NEEDED: first you absolutely need to bring cash as you can’t reload the transit card (T-money) without cash. Card wouldn’t work. I personally didn’t understand why it was cash only but I guess that’s just how it is. I also ate a lot at street markets and most of the stalls would only take cash. I’m glad I got some from my bank before leaving.

Finally, let’s talk cash. This is a personal finance blog after all.

Line Item	Cost
Flight (Seoul, Jeju)	$2390
Housing	$420 + 96,000 points
Food/Experiences/Miscalleaneous**	$450
Cash	$200
Total	$3,460 + 96,000 Hilton points

Miscalleneous**: eSIM, VPN, Souvenirs, public transportation etc

For a 2 week trip, it was extremely affordable to travel within Korea. Like I mentioned in the last post, I did a mix of hotels, airbnbs and hostels to keep my housing costs low. I also stayed in a few airbnbs were free breakfast was offered. For food, I tried to do one nice or new meal everyday. Otherwise, I stuck to convenience stores and restaurants in whatever area I was at. I also used public transportation everywhere except when I was sick. I used an Uber to get to my hotel from hostel.

The most expensive part of this trip was obviously getting to South Korea from California. I had a direct flight from San Francisco and booked 6 months before. Next time I go, I’ll try in Fall/Winter when the tickets are cheaper. I’ll go to Busan and return to Jeju if the weather isn’t too bad. I’ll also try to stay in a different part of Seoul again.

All in all, I have no regrets about my time in Korea. Looking forward to returning some day! Hopefully, the trip will be longer too.

XOXO GZFB