30 dollars in my pocket in South Korea, selling bracelets in Hongdae

After Malaysia I decided to go to South Korea. I had about 440 dollars with me and spent 200 of it on the plane ticket. When I landed in Korea I had around 250 dollars in my pocket.

In total I stayed in Korea for 3 months.

30 dollars in my pocket

The first night I stayed at a hostel, but I knew right away I couldn't afford it. Then I found a really cheap hostel in Incheon, Disco Pang Pang. A party hostel, a pretty strange place, there are videos of it on my channel. I paid 200 dollars for a month.

When I did the math I forgot the cost of getting to the hostel and the first night. After all that, I had about 30 dollars left.

I had a bed for a month but almost no money for food. Around then I had started an online job, and I had to get by until my salary came in. I went and spent the 30 dollars on a pile of noodles and a pile of eggs. I told myself I'd manage with these.

I couldn't manage. My eggs were running out, my noodles were running out, and the salary was still 10 days away. If I wrote to my family maybe they would send some money, at least enough for a ticket home. I wrestled with that for a while.

Then I remembered my credit card. I ordered 100 bracelets from AliExpress. I had never sold bracelets before. And sitting on the street in front of total strangers in South Korea was a whole different thing.

Hongdae Street

When the bracelets arrived I went to Hongdae Street, one of the busiest places in Seoul. My bag on my back, a cardboard sign in my hand. On the cardboard, in both Korean and English, it said this. I travel the world by selling bracelets I make myself, if you want to support me you can buy one, if not, just saying hello is enough. Under it was my Instagram account.

Don't mind the part where I said I made them myself, they came from AliExpress. A sales lie, my little lie.

People were flowing past me and I just couldn't bring myself to lay the bracelets on the ground. What if they look at me, what if they laugh, what if nobody buys.

Right then two Koreans came up to me, a girl and a guy. They saw the cardboard and asked what I was doing. The girl read it and said that's great, so what are you waiting for. I'm embarrassed, I said.

She laughed and said I shouldn't be. They sat down on the marble bench next to me and I sat with them. I spread out a towel and quickly laid out the bracelets. Now and then I looked up at the people passing by. After a while I realized nobody cared about me, everyone was minding their own business. I told myself, man, nobody's even looking, come on, keep going.

We talked for a bit. I told them I had no money, that I couldn't even afford to go to a restaurant. They took my number and left. Later I found out from friends that these were the kind of people who trick tourists into going to a restaurant and paying for the meal. When they texted me again I didn't answer.

5,000 won

After they left, almost nobody came for an hour. With every minute I felt a little smaller. It wasn't only about selling bracelets. I had no money to get back to the hostel. The hostel was 18 kilometers away and part of the road was a highway. While I was thinking how on earth am I going to get back, someone came, looked at the bracelets and bought one.

5,000 won.

The moment that bill touched my hand, I had my fare home. It was one of the most meaningful pieces of money I've ever received. I was so happy I gave the person another bracelet as a gift.

Then another person came, then another. By the end of the day I had made 60,000 won. I put 10,000 of it on my transport card so I could come back the next day, and went to the shop with the rest. Noodles, eggs, bread. Even bread was expensive for me, around 5,000 won a loaf. I also bought one of the Korean drinks I had been looking at on the shelf for weeks.

Back at the hostel I made three packs of noodles and three eggs and put my drink next to them. To anyone else it's an ordinary meal. Oh man, life is good after all.

Construction

At the hostel I had met some Turkish guys who worked in construction. After a while they offered me work too, and I took it.

In Korea you're not allowed to work on a tourist entry. But most travelers who go there do it anyway. If a traveler goes to Korea and doesn't post videos for 3 months, you know they're working :D I don't really approve of it, but I had no choice. I earned 120,000 won a day, about 86 dollars at the exchange rate back then. I started saving, and I kept selling bracelets on the side.

A few weeks earlier I had been wondering how I'd ever find money for a ticket home, and now I was earning my own money. In a country I didn't know, with almost nothing in my pocket, I had found a way on my own. I wasn't just saying I can do it anymore, I was seeing that I could.

Construction wasn't easy. Long hours, and in the evenings I could barely drag myself to bed. But there was only one thing in my head, the Philippines. Swimming with the whale sharks in Oslob.

What you need to know before going to South Korea

Visa and K-ETA

• Turkish citizens can go to South Korea visa free for up to 90 days. Check the rules for your own passport.
• But before you board the plane you need an electronic travel authorization called K-ETA. It costs 10,000 won, about 7 dollars. Apply at least 72 hours before, it's usually approved within a day.
• Only apply on the official site, k-eta.go.kr. There are middleman sites that charge more.
• The approval is valid for 3 years, or until your passport expires if that comes first.
• Under 17s and over 65s are exempt.
• The rules change often, check the site before you go.

Money

• The currency is the won. Cards work almost everywhere, you even pay by card at the corner shop.
• If you need cash, use machines marked Global ATM, foreign cards work there. Not every ATM accepts foreign cards.
• When paying by card or withdrawing cash, if it asks whether to charge in your home currency or won, choose won.

Getting around

• When you land, the first thing to do is buy a T-money card, they sell them in convenience stores. Metro, buses, even some taxis work with it. You top it up with cash at shops or at the machines in stations.
• From Incheon airport you get to Seoul by the AREX train.
• Google Maps doesn't work properly for directions in Korea. Download Naver Map or KakaoMap, everything is there down to metro and bus times.
• People use Kakao T to call taxis.

SIM card

Tourist SIMs and eSIMs are sold at the airport. The operators are SK Telecom, KT and LG U Plus. You buy one with your passport.

Where to stay

If you're staying long, ask hostels for a monthly price. You can often get a monthly deal far below the nightly rate. I stayed a month in Incheon for 200 dollars.

Places to see

• Hongdae. Street musicians, bars, nightlife. It gets very crowded in the evenings.
• Myeongdong. For street food.
• Gyeongbokgung Palace. Entry is free if you wear a hanbok. There are lots of hanbok rental places around the palace.
• Bukchon Hanok Village. Old Korean houses. People still live here, keep it quiet.
• Gyeyang Mountain, Incheon. If you want to escape the city and go for a hike.