#CelebrateLife With Korea

Three years ago, I relocated from South Korea to India. It was probably the most difficult decision of my life ever but one that had to be taken.

Korea taught me a lot of things about living away from family, marriage, and raising children alone, but the biggest lesson of all was about celebrating life every day.

In this blog post, I present an account of what Korea means to me and how it has transformed the way I perceive life.

Initial Pangs 

I came to Korea in 2005 for work. No one in my family had ever traveled to a non-English speaking country, that too alone, so I believe I started a sort of trend. Not only did I learn how to write and speak in the Korean language during my stay, I also managed to make inroads into the lives of Korean people through love and friendship. My willingness to experiment with food, language, and culture earned me acceptance as well as tremendous respect in the Korean society.

Me at a beach in Korea

Life in Korea Post Marriage 

I married Sadhna in 2006. As luck would have it, she moved in with me to Korea immediately after marriage. After initial adjustments to climate and food, Sadhna was all set to embark on her Korean sojourn. We started traveling a lot together - and made several trips to cities like Busan, Pohang, Gwangju, and Jeju-do via road, train, or air. Needless to say, Korea brought both of us together and played a crucial role in helping us discover each other.

Me & Sadhna

Enter Children 

Rishab joined the party in 2008, a year we learnt about parenting. Our friends in Korea helped us immensely during the pre- and post-pregnancy periods.

Rishab

And Pets 

We later acquired love for dogs and got two valued possessions from Korea in the form of Meebo (shih-tzu from Suwon) and Golu (Pekinese from Pohang).

Golu and Meebo

The One Who Missed Out

Even though Saanvi is the only person in my family who hasn't seen Korea firsthand from her naked eyes, she'd find solace after knowing that we became pregnant with her in Korea. That was in 2011.

Saanvi

Finally, I will end this memoir on a promising note about the Land of the Morning Calm .... Korea is all about how you can #CelebrateLife each day. And while Korea will just be a place for many, for me it remains and will continue to be a way of life.