Why take a gap year to travel?

Written by Clemi

This is probably the most significant decision I have ever made in my life.

After finishing my undergraduate degree in the United States and returning to Korea for work, I came to the conclusion that there is no significant difference between living overseas and in my native country because the world is so interconnected these days.

A few years later, I slowly realized that spending my youth in a community with mixed cultures has helped broaden my view and perspectives. While the world is so massive and unknown, only knowing the U.S. and Korea (not even everything but just a tiny part of it) felt very limited, especially when working for a company that has to lead a global trend. Even though I knew I needed new stimulation for a breakthrough, it took me over a year to decide because this may be a life-changing experience for me.

Finally, after much consideration, I decided to leave my job and travel with my wife for 10 months in Europe.

We all know the old saying, "Seize the day." While this is theoretically correct, it wasn't easy to apply to my life at the time. Fortunately, my wife and I shared the same ideas, and she supported me. When my wife was in middle school, she stayed in Canada for a year through a homestay program. Although her English skills improved greatly in a year, going to the other side of the world and mingling with people from various walks of life in a new environment helped form her values today.

But why Europe?

The reason I chose to visit Europe first is simple.

While working in the entertainment industry, I thought visiting a country with a rich history and culture would be beneficial. However, because we can only legally stay in the EU region for 90 days out of 180 days, we have no choice but to visit the Non-EU region.

Of course, I have many fantasies about Europe. For instance, I haven't been to Europe many times; all I know about Europe is from historical books and movies, and mostly they are about France or England.

As I continued to research Europe, new and interesting things began to pop up as I looked for more. The sentiment and ambiance of each city in one country are very different. Still, since dozens of countries in Europe are next to each other, I have this fantasy that I will feel something completely different than what I have seen and experienced thus far.

For example, there is a book called "Marketer's Travel Method" written by marketer Kim Seokhyeon. He wrote the book based on his experience living in Paris and analyzing the consumption trends of Parisians.

Here is an interesting case I found in the book. There are no wholesale chains in the city of Paris, only local markets. We usually shop at large-scale supermarkets in order to save money by purchasing in bulk. However, because the number of single-person households in Paris has recently increased, purchasing small quantities is also cost-effective.

Additionally, shopping at local markets that share unique characteristics has become a new trend. This has resulted in wholesale chains being pushed out to the suburbs.

This trend is not only happening in Paris, but also in Seoul and other major cities. Large malls like Starfield in Korea are mostly built in the suburbs, and mid-scaled stores like Emart24, which are a bit larger than a convenience store but not as large as a wholesale chain, have been appearing lately.

There is a reason why Vice President Jeong, Yongjin started a new business after his business trip to Europe. It is not simply about who leads and follows; instead, each region has its own trends and consumption patterns. If something seems to work in our area, we bring it in first. Of course, you can read reports and find them on the Internet, but it is hard to feel as rich as you have experienced in your own life.

To summarize, I wanted to learn about the trends that will happen in Korea in the years ahead by studying other cultures. I chose to go to Europe first because I think Europe is a culturally developed country where I can learn a lot.

So, what's my plan?

First, I decided to go to Coachella, which is held in Palm Springs in April. How can I not miss the event when the headliners are Billie Eilish, Kanye West, and Harry Styles? I had planned to visit this region during my honeymoon, but due to the delays caused by Covid 19, we are now going. Since I'm going to Coachella, I plan to cross the west coast for the whole of April.

Here is my travel plan so far:  

Portland

San Francisco

Los Angeles

San Diego

Palm Springs (Coachella)

Las Vegas

It's my first time going to Portland, and it's called the hippest local area these days. I was not sure to visit America solely for Portland, but I would like to take this opportunity to go to all the cities I wanted to visit.

I'll be traveling to Portugal and Spain starting in May and staying in Paris for a month. Since then, I haven't made any plans. To fully experience the culture and community, it needs at least a month to stay. But I don't want to miss other beautiful cities, so I expect this trip to be a long, long journey.

For the time being, I'll leave this introduction aside and return with a more detailed plan.

Thanks for reading! :)