During my military experience, the first foreign country I had orders too, was South Korea. I had the privilege of going on three separate tours - each 12 months long. At first, I was dreading my first tour simply because I didn’t know what to expect. I thought there was going to be an immense language barrier; I had no idea of the living conditions; I was ignorant to cultural trends, etc. Plus, I was only 20 years old, so I was still new to my own country, let alone learning a foreign one. Even though I wasn’t fluent in the South Korean language (Hangul), small phrases were picked up along the way, like “balli balli”, which means “hurry-hurry” in English. Taxi drivers would excessively break the speed limit to get me where I wanted to go after saying that.

It was a culture shock, but to my pleasant surprise, South Korea was, and still is, one of the most beautiful countries I could ever ask to visit, and I would go back for a fourth, fifth, and sixth tour if I had the chance. These images represent what I love about this country but don’t scratch the surface on how beautiful, authentic, rustic, and agricultural it is. This unique place and its memories will be cherished in my heart forever.