Growing through solo challenges, Haeundae Gap Year Stay Review: A Place Full of Youth!

#Grew through solo challenges and gained confidence #The importance of time alone #Had time to reflect on myself

Author: Kang Ji-won
Country / City: Asia/South Korea/Seoul
Views : 2083

After graduating from university, I decided to take my own gap year for the first time because I didn''t want to have any more regrets of ''I should have tried.''

- Haeundae Gap Year Stay, a place of youth! / Kang Ji-won, gap-yearper of the gap-year tribe / 8-week gap year

I no longer wanted to have regrets of ''I should have tried.''

I impulsively applied for a gap year stay because I wanted to escape the sharp looks from my family and people around me after graduating from college.

But I didn''t realize I would run into another wall while writing the application.It was because I had to confront the part of myself I had only wanted to avoid.

I agonized endlessly over whether to participate in the gap-year stay. I thought maybe I should just work part-time and quickly get a job somewhere suitable. But in the end, the reason I decided to take my own gap year for the first time after graduating from university was that I didn''t want to have any more regrets of ''I should have tried.''

Alone, I felt lethargic and afraid of everything.

During the gap year, what I most wanted to change was my lethargic self. Alone, I was too listless and afraid of everything. I wanted to change the me who, out of fear of working alone, eating alone, making friends, and traveling alone, was unwilling to take action. And I wanted to show my family and those around me that I could do things on my own.

The gap year I took wasn''t always pleasant. Leaving familiar places and entering new spaces and meeting new people made me sensitive; I got irritated by small things and sometimes felt uncomfortable. But as time passed and I looked back, everything became precious and moving moments. They were moments from which there was something to learn in every experience.

What I especially liked was having time alone. The gap year was an opportunity to see how true I could be to myself during solitary time. After spending time among many different people, taking a walk alone or suddenly going on a trip during a holiday gave me time to think about myself, and that time took on a deeper meaning.

Whether you go alone or with someone, Busan is an enjoyable city.

On a cool morning you can walk along Haeundae''s sandy beach, take the subway alone to go far away, buy street food, or stop by a museum to look at paintings. In particular, the Municipal Art Museum is good for quietly viewing paintings, and it''s also nice to read books in the library inside the museum.

Thus, my gap year — sometimes noisy and bustling, and sometimes filled with quiet, solitary moments — came to an end.

After having a gap year, the biggest change was that I felt I had grown through experiences of challenging myself alone. If I used to find it a bit awkward to eat or shop alone, now there are many things I can do by myself, and I have become more confident as a result.

※ My personal Busan travel tips learned during the gap year

Start in the morning and visit the art gallery (Goeun) near Haeundae. It''s nice to stop by Haeundae Market on the way to the subway. From Haeundae Station, take the subway to the Municipal Art Museum. If you exit from exits 7 or 9, you''ll find Busan BEXCO. Walk along the path while checking out the various events and you''ll reach the Municipal Art Museum. You can enjoy exhibitions there for free. After the exhibition, walk toward Centum City Station and you''ll find Shinsegae Department Store. It''s fun to see the largest department store in Busan, but I recommend the basement food hall (in fact, that''s the reason I go to Shinsegae). Have a meal or snack in the food hall and then take the connected subway back.