I’ve had a torrid love affair with no regrets since 2003. Not a person, not a thing… but a city and country. I was not born in South Korea, but I fell in love with it in my late 30’s. It is vibrant, fast-paced and always changing. Your favorites are here today, but can disappear overnight. Living in Korea teaches you that if you discover something you love, give it your all because there’s a high chance it will move or be gone within a year or two.

I still remember a lovely little tofu restaurant in the Dongbu-ichon-dong neighborhood. You entered next to a porch where the staff would grind the soybeans to make their own tofu (dubu). Your mouth would salivate as you waited for the banquet to be delivered to the table. The staff would soon cover it with plates and bowls, including dishes of raw tofu and stir-fried mushrooms, sour kimchi, and hot bubbling tofu stew. They would carefully place scalding mini-cauldrons of kongbiji in front of you, saying, “조심하세요 josimhaseyo” (be careful). We would down the rice, homemade tofu, kimchi and multiple side dishes with zest, clearing everything on the tables.

Yes…it was THAT good.

Places like that came and went. The little hanok neighborhood soon turned into a series of skyscraper apartments, becoming some of the top priced real estate in the city. I still remember one hold out from the old neighborhood who stayed for a year or so after the area was complete. They stood their ground as their little building was surrounding by the modern apartments. I always thought of it as a salute to the grit and determination of the occupant.

Our relationship has continued and matured. When I moved south of the city in 2018, I wanted to pay tribute to my first korean love, the city of Seoul. In July 2019, I began my first book. It’s about a woman who moved from New York to Seoul and what she encounters. My goal is not to be a literary genius with accolades and awards. I want my works to be fun reads, chick lit and open a door to some tidbits of Korean culture. I hope through my first novel “The Moon at Midnite” my readers will appreciate my tribute to Seoul.