Quick answer: I grew up in the United States.

Long answer: As a child of a Korean mother and American father, I spent my formative years in the motley suburbs of northern New Jersey. Within a community of Eastern European, Italian, and Jewish immigrants, I learned how to curse in Russian, eat matzo ball soup at the local Greek diners, and play Durak among the finest kids in school.

Across the George Washington Bridge, New York City was always looming, but I decided to take a turn northward for college to snowy Boston … And ended up staying (on and off) for nearly a decade. I hated the city at first but grew to love it as my second home.

Managing to survive those years without developing a Bahston accent, I decided to schlep to the Motherland, South Korea, and become an ex-pat living in the Land of Morning Calm.

It’s a mixed bag. I love certain things about Korea that don’t exist in Western culture and loathe certain things. But I suppose it’s all part of the experience of being an American living in Asia. As a tourist, you’re almost always enchanted by the city you’re in, breathing in new experiences and sights, knowing and comforted by the fact that you’ll go home to your humdrum home, sweet home in the end. Living and working in a foreign country becomes much more of a challenge.

The ex-pat community is rather small as Korea is one of the most ethnically homogenous countries in the world. The foreigners you do meet are often English teachers, entertainers, tourists, and/or US military.

On some days, I’m fascinated by the city. Seoul is a city cocooned in permanent smog, where ambitious skyscrapers juxtapose thousand-year-old temples. Though you may think Korea is calm, living in this city feels anything but! 빨리 빨리! Hurry, hurry! Most of my days are spent lost in the hustle and bustle of Gangnam in sensory overload — gliding past tourists, waify Russian models, and polished businessmen under a neon sky.