Celebrating my 26th birthday in Seoul

This whole trip was meant to be my first birthday celebration alone and out of the country after what became the most transformative 2 years of my life. I’d already given so much meaning to it even before I left, but I didn’t plan on doing anything grand just because I wanted to keep an open mind and simply welcome whatever opportunity comes my way. On my birthday, I just wanted to explore a nice new neighborhood in Seoul, look back at the year that has been, and enjoy my own company.

God, however, had better plans. I was gifted so many pleasant surprises all throughout this day, which undoubtedly made it one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had. I felt so happy and special, and I honestly don’t know any of my future birthdays could top it.

• 8:00AM – Woke up and got ready for the day. I even recorded a little GRWM just because!
• 9:30AM – I walked to Jubilee Seoul, an english Church near my hotel in Myeongdong, to attend their 10AM service. It was one of my non-negotiables for this day because I really wanted to welcome my 26th year in gratitude and surrender to the work that God has done and continues to do in my life. It was such a wonderful experience and I actually cried so hard during worship. I felt so overwhelmed by God’s love, just being there—in Seoul, alone, living my dream to explore a completely different country on my own. It felt like all the work I’ve been doing for my healing and all the events that have transpired in the last 2 years had been leading up to that moment.
• 12:30PM – I met up with Gayle, my college friend who is currently taking her MBA in Seoul. This was indeed one of the most pleasant surprises from this trip because Gayle simply reached out to me the night before, and we planned to meet up and celebrate my birthday together. Gayle and I haven’t seen nor talked to each other since college, but it was such a blessing to have reconnected with her. It was also going to be her birthday a few days after mine, so she found a seaweed soup place for us to celebrate the traditional Korean way. She even surprised me with a cute cake and Happy Birthday headbands, which was so adorably Korean!

• 2:30PM – I told Gayle I wanted to explore the Seoul Forest area that day, so we walked around the neighborhood and checked out all the lovely cafes and shops on the way to the park. I really loved the vibe here! It reminded me of Yeonnam-dong.

• 3:15PM – We decided to settle down in a cafe because it was still too hot to go on a picnic. I could only drink matcha so we ended up staying at Super Matcha, which easily became of one of my favorite cafes in Seoul. I loved how they had coconut and oat milk options because I could also only drink plant-based milk. They even had a robot that whisked the matcha and prepared your drink for you. It was so cool!

• 4:15PM – Off to Seoul Forest! One of the things I requested from Gayle was to go on a picnic with me so we ended up buying a mat and some convenience store food. The entire park was huge and there were so many nice sculptures and art all around. I had a really good conversation with Gayle while we were there and it was so nice to see so many groups of friends and families spending their Sunday afternoon at the park. It made me wish we also had something like this where I live.

• 6:20PM – We left Seoul Forest and headed over to the Jongno area to check out the Cheonggyecheon stream. It was also where we were going to meet up with Josh, another college friend of ours who was also there for vacation. While waiting for Josh, I read the letter I wrote to myself on my 25th birthday.
• 8:20PM – I couldn’t eat KBBQ alone so I thought it was the perfect chance to dine at a KBBQ restaurant while I had company. Gayle brought us to a place that served round samgyeopsal which was very unique and interesting! I was so stuffed and happy.
• 10:00PM – We walked to the Gwanghwamun gate and took touristy photos. It was so nice to have also caught up with Josh. We then said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotels. Thankfully Josh’s stop was right after mine so we got to take the train together late at night.

• 12:00AM – Got back to Myeongdong and headed straight to bed. I checked my watch and found out that I walked 21,851 steps that day, which was the most I’ve done that entire trip. I felt extremely tired, but I was sleeping with the fullest heart.

I never expected to have company on my birthday in Seoul, but life truly has a way of surprising you with the most heartwarming encounters and opportunities. It still puts such a huge smile on my face whenever I think about this lovely day. I’ll forever be keeping 09/25/2022 very close to my heart.

Shoutout to Gayle and Josh for spending the day with me! Thank you and I hope to see you both again soon. ❤