It's hard to believe it's already been a year since I left for Seoul. I've been meaning to write this one for a while — partly to close out the blog properly, and partly to see how much I've grown after it.

What Changed on Seoulo

I spent a lot of time the past year finishing up this blog, so let me start with the nerdy part. A few things changed behind the scenes here on Seoulo since I got back:

Added geo data for the last stretch of days that never got it
A hover preview when you're browsing the day list
A handful more blog posts (this one included)
Migrated off Vercel and ImageKit, the site now runs fully static
Introduced a Redux mode so I can relive it all again
Some extra styling and filtering options throughout

None of that changes what's actually written here, but I wanted the site itself to feel finished, not just abandoned mid-build.

What Changed in Me

I've stopped actively studying Korean. Without a clear goal pulling me forward, it's been hard to keep the habit going the way I did before the trip.
I haven't managed to stay in touch with most of the people I met along the way. The friends from the theme park day were great company, but it always felt a little transactional. The people from my language exchange were genuinely fun to talk to, but I never got anyone's number. I kept messaging with Katherine for a while after I got home, but we eventually drifted — it's hard to keep something like that going across a timezone and a continent.
MAMA, of all things, is what cooled me off K-pop for a while. Seeing that much of the machinery up close left me with one recurring thought: I am too old for this. I still listen, I still go to concerts, and I still follow along, but I'm noticeably less invested than I used to be. New groups don't really pull me in the way they once did. And with TWICE's contract situation shifting this past year — members signing individually while staying on for group activities — it feels like the era I fell in love with is entering its final chapter.

I'm still so glad I made it to their 10th anniversary while I was out there. I even got to see them live again in Amsterdam — I bought those tickets while I was still in Korea, without a scalper in sight this time, which felt like a small personal victory after the MAMA saga. TWICE 10th ANIVERSARY FANMEETING - 10VE UNIVERSE

Post-Trip Pessimism

Coming back was harder than I expected, in a way nobody really warns you about. I'd been on such a high for ten weeks, and landing back into normal life — cooking for myself again, working full time, all the mundane admin of just existing — drained me more than I thought it would. I picked up more responsibilities at work, which was good, but left me with less time to process how I felt about things. I lost a fair amount of time to video games, and didn't manage to get back into my old workout schedule. The tired, flat feeling stuck around longer than I wanted to admit.

What actually pulled me out of it was going back to doing things: going to Amsterdam to see TWICE live again, and a trip to the south of France with friends not long after. Both reminded me that the trip wasn't the only good thing left — I just had to go looking for the next one instead of waiting for it to come to me.

Next Steps

There was so much left unfinished when I got back — mostly this blog — that it weighed on me more than it probably should have. Going through everything again this past month to finally wrap it up helped more than I expected; reliving it all reminded me why I wanted to write it down in the first place.

But it also made clear what's next. My personal to-do list these days looks a little different from the one I had while traveling: get my driver's license, buy a place of my own, and find a way so that I am Seoulo No Mo.

Thanks for following along, whether you read every single day post or just checked in for the highlights. This trip changed me more than I expected a ten-week vacation could, and having this whole blog to look back on makes that a lot easier to remember. I am going to relive it again with redux mode, you guys too?