Moondigenous Encounters: My Heartfelt Journey Through South Korea

Today, I’m starting with an inspiring memory from South Korea.

Summer 2019.
I went to South Korea. It was my first time outside Europe, and I had no clue whatsoever about this country.

First impressions?

• Hyper-hot spicy food (also really good).

• Fell in love with the food markets.

• Also fell in love with every art store I stumbled upon.

• People are kind.
  Yes, people are very kind. They might not speak English, but they try — and try hard.
  Some of the funniest and sweetest examples of non-verbal communication happened right here.

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🚌 THE BUS TO ANDONG

We were heading to Andong, a traditional village.
We sprinted to catch the last bus, but... missed it.

A bus driver saw us breathless and sweaty after our desperate run.
He signaled for us to follow him and made a call. I didn’t understand Korean, but I got it — he was calling the other bus driver, the one driving the bus we’d just missed.

We ran toward a traffic light. And there it was — the bus, waiting for us.
At that moment, I thought: this is how the world should work.
People helping people — no matter the time, rules, or language barriers.
Which, in the end, aren’t those just silly human inventions?

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🍲 DECODING A MENU IN BUSAN

Just arrived in Busan. Starving.
We finally found a tiny seafood restaurant run by an elderly lady.
The menu? Completely unreadable to us. And she didn’t speak a single word of English.

We sat down. She brought us an appetizer — not totally sure what it was, but... definitely crunchy bugs.
She saw our expressions, laughed, and took them away.

We tried to order octopus soup for two, but we weren’t sure if we’d succeeded. So I walked up to her and tried again.

More laughing — the conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere.
Then I spotted a piece of paper and gestured if I could use a pen. After a few stick-figure drawings and numbers, she understood me — and even replied with more drawings.

The joy on both our faces? So real.
That moment made the whole dinner. Maybe that’s why it tasted even better.

One thing I noticed in Korea is that people really try to talk to you, even if they know you won’t understand. Which led to lots of creative sign language — and some honestly adorable interactions.

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🌊 THE WAVES

Another bus stop story.
We were waiting for the bus in a small village when an old man approached me. He started talking, assuming I understood — I didn’t.

When he saw my confused-but-smiley face, he switched to hand gestures.
He pointed to a bus, then waved his arms like waves in the ocean. I understood — he was trying to tell me that if we took that bus, we’d end up at a beautiful beach.

My heart melted. Even without words, he wanted to help — to give me a little tip about something beautiful. That moment stayed with me.

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🐟 BARGAINING AND EATING AT THE FISH MARKET

Back in Busan, of course we had to try fresh fish from the local market. And, once again, language was a barrier.

After wandering around for a bit, we finally found a spot with fish we liked. Now it was time to negotiate the price. But there was no way we could understand each other or reach an agreement just by typing numbers into a calculator.

Then the seller made a hand gesture — and I “got” it. He wanted to play rock, paper, scissors. The winner would get their desired price.

So there I was, playing rock, paper, scissors for a good fish. I lost the match… but the kind man still decided to give it to me for the price I asked for.

We brought the fish upstairs to a small kitchen, where we sat and waited patiently while it was being prepared. When we thought we were done eating, the lady came over laughing. She pointed at the cheeks, the eyes... then took the fish, and with a pair of chopsticks and her own hands she started pulling meat from places I didn’t even know had meat left.

What did I take away from this, besides a memorable rock paper scissors game?
Simply this: Koreans love food — and they know how to eat it properly. Thanks to that lady, I haven’t wasted a single bite of fish ever since.

❤️ Conclusion: What South Korea Reminded Me

These days, we walk around glued to our phones, avoiding eye contact with strangers, anxious about interacting at all. Helping others often feels like a forgotten instinct.

What are we turning into?

I grew up with “sharing is caring.”
But lately, it feels like self-care is being misread as self-isolation or selfishness.
I’m not sure where we’re heading, but I know this:
Most people have good in them — and that they’re willing to share it.

Thank you, South Korea, for opening your heart to me.
I’m pretty sure it helped open mine just a little more too.