I lived in England for three years during my childhood. I have lived in Korea throughout my Secondary School education. I went to a foreign language high school and learned German for three years (and henceforward had almost no chance to use it). Currently I am a student in Korea majoring in Comparative Literature and Culture, but because my courses are taught in English, I have kept my English intact and am fluent. These are the chunky bits of my life- timeline.

What I am:
Personality-wise, I am an introvert who has lived most of her life thinking she is an extrovert. I am passionate, reserved, open, careful, courageous and other mix of contradictory personal traits. I am a serious pursuer of humor in life and am also a romantic at heart. If you are uncertain about me, just read this bottom line: I will prove to be a good friend.

What I am not:
I am not a creep, a serial rapist, a thief, an assassin, a footman of a large crime syndicate, a drug dealer, a drug addict or a stalker.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I think I have travelled somewhere every year ever since I was 10 years old. Most of them were family trips until quite recently. I would like to travel around the world independently (especially financially) and I need the good-faith of other wonderful couch surfers to do that. Also, getting to know someone new who has grown up in a completely different world to mine is an adventure that I will always be willing to take.

Interests

I love drawing although I have never been professionally taught. Hand-drawing is fine but I am not much of a painter. I prefer using computer and design programs to express myself. I use photoshop, indesign and few other design programs with amateur skills but with zeal and grit. I sometimes post those scribbles on [ http://bucketburger.deviantart.com ] but the site has been abandoned for quite some time. I prefer to keep most of them offline.

I do not dance, karate, cook or compose music although I would absolutely love to. I hope to that day when I visit this site just to update this profile with a couple of more (productive) hobbies.

• culture
• literature
• design
• beauty
• dancing
• education
• cooking
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• agriculture
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite artist is Regina Spektor. I am omnivorus in my musical tastes (I am not particular to genre, but I prefer songs with vocal over instrumental ornaments), but her quirky beats and stinging lyrics get me every time. Of her songs, 'Oedipus', 'Samson', 'Consequence of Sounds', 'Poor Little Rich Boy' and 'Firewood' I find myself listening to time and time again. I also love Ben Folds. 'All You Can Eat', 'You Don't Know Me', and 'Brick' are songs that are right up my alley.

I have a lot of favorite Korean artists but I am not sure if you would recognize these people; I do love 오지은 and 김창완밴드/산울림 in any case.

I am a critical viewer but I am not particular. I will watch whatever grabs my attention and my rating of a movie does not always equate with the quality of the said movie.
Thus, my favorites are 'Mr. Bean's Holiday' (Comedy), 'The legend of 1900' (Strong music element), 'Cloud Atlas' (Sci-Fi), 'Blindness' (Mystery), 'Take Care of My Cat' (Korean Film, A sort of bildungsroman) 'Chungking Express' (Romance? More of a city sketch) and 'Sprited Away' (Animation).
It is kind of hard to see my focus here but eventually I think I seek for romance. I do not mean romance between lovers, but as a particular sentimentality. If a film can provoke romance within its world that is created through the short running time of under 3 hours, then that is a good film for me. Or perhaps, nostalgia is a better suited phrase.

I think I am more particular about the books I read than music and movies. (Books often require more effort than the other two) Haha, or is this just an excuse to say that I ain't so educated, with libraries of books stacked in his head?
My favorite author is Italo Calvino. I have yet to read more of his works but 'Invisible Cities' is one of my all time favorite. I am not much into realism, neither am I into fantasy. However, Invisible Cities is more real and more fantastic than any books I have read so far. It takes you to realm of infinity within few seconds. It is a true exploration of the feat of language.
If Calvino impresses me with his style, I am touched by Kafka and Rilke because of their mood. Not to say that their style is any less than Calvino, but I simply enjoy reading their cynical depression and witty self pity in their stories because they resonate with my own regrets and doubts.

I am a secret fangirl of BBC Sherlock series. Of course, I am. (Please do not judge me :3 )

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I visited Cuba to research on urban agriculture in the summer of 2014, before the US Embargo was lifted. The country taught me that no single ideology is complete and that ideology will always be separate from the everyday lives. Virtue lies in the struggles of every men, as is beauty or victory.

What I Can Share with Hosts

An absolutely delightful Guest.
A promise to be an excellent host back in my home in Korea.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Korea, United Kingdom