This is the Kos newsletter: warm email notes from your friend in Seoul. Finding the simple joy in parenthood, bodies, spirituality, creativity, beauty, and living abroad. Sound like your jam? Subscribe below for weekly notes.
Hello friends,
I apologize for missing the last two weeks. It was an honest mistake and then a purposeful miss. The time change sucks. This newsletter is supposed to arrive early Sunday morning (for those in the West) so I’d write Sunday afternoon/evening in Seoul and send out at 7:15 PM Sunday night. But as Kos has grown, readers aren’t just in my home country, of course, so I’ve struggled with how to time it and who to prioritize. I think I’ll continue sending it so that it lands early Monday morning for those in the U.S. time zones, making that early evening in Asia, and who knows what time or day in Europe. (My headddd.) I hope that works for you. Let me know if you have some kind of preference for non-sensical email newsletters pinging your inbox.
Shall we play 20 questions? I’ve neglected you, writing, and thinking clearly and a game-ified bullet list sounds like the perfect way to catch up. Here we go!
Did you move?
Yes.
Why?
I got a new job.
Why?
I wanted to get back to work and my Visa did not allow me to work in Korea.
What do you do for work?
Content design. Others call it UX writing or content strategy.
Where did you move?
Northern California, near San Francisco.
Why?
For my work and because we love it here. Two of our kids were born here.
Do you miss Seoul?
Not yet. It’s been two weeks. I don’t think it’s hit me yet that we’ve left.
How long did you live in South Korea?
Almost two years. (Two years of weekly notes to you guys tracking it all here.)
Why did you move to South Korea?
For my husband’s work.
What was your favorite thing about living in South Korea?
I couldn’t name one. Restaurants, my kids’ school, our nanny, Alfa, and my morning walks. The newness every day. The time I had to write a book. Time to read.
Do you speak Korean?
No, only basic phrases but my husband does.
Did you see North Korea?
Yes, from the highway driving to an outlet mall.
Did you watch Crash Landing on You?
Did I? Dude. They’re having a baby.
Do you like kimchi?
I love it. I crave it.
Will you move back to South Korea?
No idea.
Are you sad to move back to America right now?
No. Being away made me appreciate America that much more. Every country has its weirdness, right?
Were you locked down during Covid?
Uh, no. Group events were limited to <4 people and masks were mandatory indoors and outdoors for all people age 2+ but we lived our life normally. However, we were unable to travel outside of Korea because of the two-week mandatory quarantine and prohibitive testing. Our kids were unable to be vaccinated until Spring 2022.
Is Seoul as cool and romantic as it looks in K dramas?
No, it’s even more cool and romantic than it looks on tv.
Did living in Korea make you want to live abroad again?
Big YES. I love big cities.
What did you miss the most while living abroad?
My parents and siblings. Good chocolate. Girls nights. Small talk.
If I could go back I would have written something down every day for the last week in Seoul and then the first two back in the states. Mostly as a way to catalog all the physical, mental, and emotional micro-transitions required to move through the final steps of an international move and the upswing upon arrival in the next country. I found myself staring at my husband often, saying only “woah” and him nodding and then getting back to x, y, and z. I feel very grateful for the people in the background navigating our move. It was easy in comparison to how it could have been without them.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be here next week with some hot goss on the best breakfast tacos in North Bay and Trader Joe’s snacks controversy. (“Gosh, she’s gotten so fascinating since returning home!”)
Best,
Koseli
If you liked this newsletter, there are three things you can do to support me: 1) Follow me on @toasty_kos, 2) Subscribe to my Little Things podcast, and 3) Share this newsletter by clicking below. I see and appreciate every like, comment, share, and good vibe. xo Koseli
we are, hopefully, visiting south korea next year. any advice on what not to miss. i always am worried i’ll miss doing something i should have done on a once in a lifetime trip.