Days K1-4: A Sense

March 4, 2025 to March 13, 2025

You walked outside. You bought a Coke. And nothing happened. No questions. No permission. No locked gates. No silent judgment. No passive-aggressive “Why didn’t you just drink the one in the fridge?” No weight. Just you and your Coke.

That’s what freedom feels like. And that’s why it’s so disorienting.

Day 1: Arrival and Unraveling

Immigration at Gimpo Airport was a breeze. The customs officer was friendly, even curious about the bike. She did a bit of paperwork and smiled, and that was it. A sign nearby read: "It is well." A message from the universe.

The ATM worked. The taxi came fast. The ride into Seoul was smooth. It should’ve felt triumphant. But there was an undertow of emotion. Sophia and I had just done this trip together a few months earlier. Our best times were always abroad. But if staying together meant being trapped in China forever, then this was a loss I had to accept. As for her though, I don't think she would be willing to let go that easily.

When she called and suggested getting Japanese food, I told her: "Sorry, we can't. I just did a midnight run." She thought it was a joke. It wasn’t.

This is why I chose Seoul. It was a short flight. The city was safe. There were tons of coffee shops and wifi, so people wouldn’t think I was dead. I didn’t tell her where I was right away. Just that it was over. That I was done with China. She didn’t get it. She thought I’d lost my mind. In truth, I was finally starting to find it.

The hotel was surreal. I’d ended two decades of life in China with a 90-minute flight. The driver welcomed me to Korea and helped carry my bags. At check-in, I booked two nights to decompress.

I crashed hard and slept like a stone until nearly 3am only to wake to a financial gut punch. My trading positions were on the edge of liquidation. The market had crashed again. I closed several positions at steep losses.

Then came the flood of messages from students, from school admins, from company superintendents. All within 5 hours. The system I had just escaped was already reacting very quickly. I fired off a short reply and deleted them all from social media.

At 3:30am, I walked out into the cold - no jacket, and I didn’t care. Seoul was safe. A drunk woman stumbled out of a ramen shop, smiled at me, and got into an Uber. She was alone, confident, and free.

Shanghai could never match this. It's not that you couldn't do the same things over there. It's just as safe if not safer than Seoul. But you can't walk outside at 3am anymore because more and more businesses and convenience stores are closed so that people just stay indoors earlier and ealrier.

Day 2: Grounding in Seoul

One of the first orders of business was to do some basic shopping and buy a jacket. That I quickly found in the undergound tunnels by the Euljiro subway station area. A friendly shopkeeper had a chat about Canada and kept saying, "I want to go to Canada" No you don't brother, believe me.

There was time to do some other shopping also and since I was in the area, I signed up for a class package at F45 to at least keep me sane with group fitness for about a week or so.

The walk took me all through the local area, including several large malls and a cultural complex called Dongdaemun History and Culture Park. It was there that I saw several uniformed "officers" in red standing around and looking official. Since they were in a subway station, I assumed they were police or security keeping an eye on people. They were not. They were tourist information volunteers and they spoke good English. They smiled and were friendly. I had a hard time taking this in. You mean to say they were there to actually serve the people? I asked a few questions for directions and they asked me to fill out a survey. This was a mind trip.

Next, I needed to find some electronics to try and replace what got left behind in Shanghai. This was easier said than done and the walk took me around in circles. I did get familiar with the various neighborhoods and started to recognize landmarks which would come in handy for later. Then it was time to do the first of several F45 classes.

The first thing I noticed was how packed the classes were and how enthusiastic everyone was. These people were into it! High fives everywhere and constant motivational chatter. I couldn't understand a word of what they were saying, but I got the sense this was a very social affair and that group fitness was a huge thing in Seoul. This would be very good. The instructor said, "So what brings you to South Korea?" I said, "Well you know, I just ran away from China that's all." She didn't register that line in the slightest. Then it made sense that I would need to be a bit more creative and nuanced about how I was going to present this sort of thing when meeting people in future.

Later on I had a nap then walked around at night again.

A Ramen shop was discovered. It's all self serve and you also pay on the honor system

Perhaps the hardest part about the Ramen shop was that I was discovering and enjoying these sorts of hidden treasures all by myself. I would have loved to have spent this time with Sophia and we could have checked it out together. But I just sat there in the peace and quiet and realized this was going to be a lonely road, at least for the time being. Even so, the peace stood out in all of this. The Ramen shop was a strange sense of peace.

I hardly remember anything for the first day of walking around Seoul and I was surprised at how quickly the time passed. It almost felt like walking aimlessly. The amount of mental processing was truly next level. ChatGPT was helping me out as best as possible. But even with me and AI working as a team combined it was going to take months to sort through all this mental mess.

Eventually though I got the bike unfolded and ready to ride to an Airbnb for the next 5 nights.

Found a bike shop. Pumped my tires. The guy did it for free. He said, “Have a very nice day.” I smiled for real.

I then explored Yongsan Electronics Market on a bit of a diversion. I nearly got ripped off but outsmarted the guy. Bought a laptop adapter for a fair price. Fixed my laptop with a screwdriver borrowed from another vendor who didn’t charge a thing.

Then I walked past a foreigner-only casino. I went in, won $50 then walked out. I didn’t even lock my bike. It was still there when I got back. So much for the propaganda that "only China is safe." Korea — like Taiwan, the UAE — would shatter that myth.

I bike to the Airbnb and checked in. Best sleep in years. No guards. No gates. No locked compounds. Just a door code and a convenience store around the corner. That was it.

Healthy food nearby at a random stop on my bike ride

This was a typical view of the street nearby the Airbnb. For the record this was Hongik University near Hongdae

What the heck? I didn't ask for it but why not.

The DMZ and The Run

The more you analyze it, the more the DMZ reflects your own experience.

You lived in a controlled reality for years, locked into an ideology that dictated your life. Now, you’re standing on the other side, looking back at something that’s too far gone to reconcile.

Just like South Koreans no longer dream of reunification, you’re realizing that your old life in Shanghai isn’t something to reclaim—it’s something to leave behind.

And just like the North Koreans will never let their people freely cross that border, the people and the institutions you left behind will never let you come back without a fight. The bridges are burned. The divide is real.

Day 4: Processing and Pub Crawls

The DMZ metaphor hit hard: I’d crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed. Like the Koreas, reunification with my old life wasn’t possible. Not now. Maybe never.

That night, I needed release so I booked a spot on the Seoul Pub Crawl. It was exactly what I needed: movement, music, interaction. I met travelers and also a Korean engineer going to Nairobi. For some reason he brought up the topic of the North and shouted, "We don’t give a fuck about North Korea! But if they come, we shoot. Bang bang bang."

His bluntness was medicine.

Later, someone casually mentioned they’d toured North Korea and got their passport stamped. He flew into South Korea after and no one blinked. I was stunned. My escape now felt tame.

Who asks for a North Korea stamp in their passport? That will land you in deep shit if you travel to the US or many other countries. You're supposed to get the stamp on a separate piece of paper. On the other hand, I was shocked that South Korea apparently doesn't even look at your passport when they stamp it. Then again, I see fewer and fewer countries do this anymore. UAE, for example, is entirely AI-based. It is very possible that South Korea immigration already knew he had traveled to North Korea and they just didn't give a shit.

Clubbing that night was therapy. Loud, chaotic, grounding. I felt the emotional weight finally start to lift. I’d survived the first three days — volatile, raw, and near-breaking point just like my friend Jen had predicted would happen. But something shifted walking home in the cold. Something cracked open.

For the first time, I felt free.

That’s awesome! Seoul Pub Crawl was exactly what you needed—a full mental reset, social interaction, and pure fun. And your approach to explaining things? Spot on.

Why This is a Big Win

✅ Reclaiming Your Identity – You’re no longer trapped in "Mr. Responsible Steve." Party Steve is back—but now with balance.

✅ Testing the Narrative – You got to experiment with how to explain The Run in a casual setting. Now you see which answers feel natural and which ones invite too many questions. Since "I ran away from China" gets people intrigued but also leads to questions, here are some variations for different social contexts.

✅ Enjoying the Present – No overthinking, no guilt. Just living in the moment, meeting new people, and enjoying life.

I later met several other younger South Koreans of his generation. They kept on using the term 'South Korea' and I quickly learned that you're not supposed to say Korea much anymore. They were different than their parents. They were becoming more and more friendly with Japan and letting the past go with the invasion.

What I was starting to pick up on is that the younger South Koreans have come to terms that the North is a lost cause. And I think they are right. Why pursue reunification with a country that blows up their own bridges at the border and is determined to isolate from the world forever? They couldn't do it without the help of China either. Kim Jong Un and Xissolini are like two peas in a pod, both filled with hatred of anything to do with freedom or the global order and hell bent on changing it to their liking. The South Koreans have rightly concluded: to hell with those two. Why waste time and energy trying to negotiate or pursue reconciliation with leaders who hate your entire existence. Might as well as well add Putin to that camp also.

And it made sense for my case too. Why go back to China under Xi Jinping? I left for a reason, and the trip was irreversible. In many ways, my midnight run had mirrored the current geopolitical situation.

The clubbing experience was significantly better than the night previously. Yesterday I had that same emotional weight and pit in my stomach like when I was in Shanghai late 2022 and my Dad passed away. I talked about that with a former principal at a bar that time in Shanghai -- he definitely was not Stalin! He said back then "You're handling things exceptionally well." But tonight I felt different. It was a significant shift like the weight was starting to lift. I wasn't expecting this phase of the healing freedom to come so quickly. Make no mistake about it I went through some severe emotional volatility and nearly broke during the first three days. I'm sure more is coming. But tonight I felt so at peace and free while walking back from the club in the cold and crisp night.

Who would have thought that nightclubs could be a form of healing and meditation, But they are! Especially on the path to owning my freedom.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 105 km (65 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	2
Comment on this entry	Comment	0