This is part of SEOULSHARE STORIES, an interview series on the people of SeoulShare

Part A : Personal background

Jeanyi and Irene spoke on May 28th about her journey to Korea from Spain, Knitting and Drawing events at SeoulShare, and future prospects. 

J: First, can you introduce yourself? What brought you to Korea and how long have you resided here?

I: My name is Irene, I’m a 22 year old university student studying biology. I came to Korea on an exchange year and I’ve been here since September. It’s been a really good year, 10 months. I’m Spanish and as I’ve lived in Spain most of my life, this is my first time traveling outside of the European Union. My main hobby is knitting, painting, going on walks, and cooking. 

J: Is there anything about Korea that is different from what you expected?

I: I didn’t expect Chuseok, so it was really interesting to have a week off to celebrate. I didn’t expect the festivals and really enjoyed experiencing everything from the food to Korean traditions and people. Spain has the Spring Fair and Easter, but nothing in Autumn, so I really didn’t know about this type of fall thanksgiving celebration. Nature in Korea changes seasonally so I found it beautiful– the explosive autumn colors in orange, yellows, and reds. There are no ginkgos or maples in Spain so the fall change is rapid and not gradual the way it is here. It was really striking. Also, in my part of Spain it doesn’t snow, so I really enjoyed the Korean winter. 

J: Can you share your personal story? What do you want to do with your biology degree?

I: Irene means peace in Greek. 

I really want to work at an animal reserve, rather than a laboratory. Anything related to animals, I’d really really enjoy. Maybe something in animal behavior and ecology. My boyfriend is from the Netherlands, so the plan is to move there after college. Since I love to cook food from different places, I’m looking forward to cooking a lot in the Netherlands. 

One of my projects in Korea has been translating a Korean cookbook and writing it down in Spanish to give it to my mom as a gift.  I only have a little bit more to go.

J: That’s awesome, that’d be a really nice gift for your mom.

Nature in Korea changes seasonally so I found it beautiful– the explosive autumn colors in orange, yellows, and reds. There are no ginkgos or maples in Spain so the fall change is rapid and not gradual the way it is here. It was really striking.

Part B : SeoulShare

J: What was your role and event at SeoulShare?  How did you first become involved with S.S.? 

I: I am the host of the Knitting Event. I am also the co-host of the drawing group. I became involved because I was always interested in joining a crafting group, and after two meetings I took with me a complicated project. There were several people who were beginners and wanted to learn so I was helping Ine teach people how to knit. From there, Ine asked me to co-host, so I took over for a few months.

For the Drawing Event my friend wanted to do one at different cafes so we also did that for a while. Every week on Fridays we host this. This idea came about when at a SeoulShare Organizers meeting we agreed that it would be nice to have a more creative event. 

J: What inspired you to organize the events? What have been a few of your favorite or memorable S.S. events? 

I: The first couple knitting events…it was fun but also hectic. After it died down it was left with people who REALLY wanted to learn so that was really nice because I met good friends. I became good friends with a girl from Mexico. She happened to see my knitting project online many years ago, so it was serendipitous that we met in person in Seoul. From a distant anonymous connection we reconnected in person in Korea. 

There are novel things and activities to bring to people. It’s good to never stop and keep going. I will not be here after this month, but the way things are going with SeoulShare, I think it is a nice hub of activities connecting people in a meaningful way. Even if I’m not here to see how it develops I can expect it will develop in a nice way. 

Part C: Hypotheticals and Fun Stories

Answer however many in 5 minutes! skip or answer (we cycle through the questions until 5 minutes is up) 

1. Favorite dish?

I really like cooking and I really like eating so it’s very difficult for me to choose, but it’s chicken curry and rice– Indian curry. For Korean foods, I like so many of them, but the comfort food that I’ve found this time is tuna kimbap. You can find it anywhere and it’s cheap. There’s a 24/7 store that makes it fresh for you next to my university, so when I arrive late or I’m tired, I can just grab it. It brings a lot of comforting memories for me these days. I miss salty foods, it’s hard to find purely salty foods in Korea because most things are sweet or spicy.I’ve also been missing bread and cheese because it’s not the same here. 

2. Favorite band/song? 

I’m really bad at choosing this stuff because I usually listen to pop rock songs, more indie than mainstream. “Obsessed with you,” by The Orion Experience.

3. What are you reading these days? 

When I was younger I was a really big bookworm and I’ve been trying to get back into reading. I like the Percy Jackson series because it’s fun and easy to get into. But my favorite book is “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which is now a Netflix series. It’s really really good. I’ve also been reading LGTB horror stories. 

4. If you can go anywhere in Korea (all expenses covered) where would you go and what would you do? 

I haven’t been able to move much in Korea, but I think it would be really cool to go out to Busan. I haven’t been to the south but I want to. Also the countryside would be really cool, a weekend in the middle of nowhere. 

5. If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and why? 

If I could have dinner with a fictional character, I would choose Doctor Who. Because he goes on so many adventures there would be never ending conversations, and if he wants to take me to the past or future I would not say no. 

6. What’s your spirit animal and why? 

My favorite animal is bats. The story is quite interesting because the person in my primary school that opened and closed it–the concierge– she used to clean the Cathedral in the afternoons. One time she found a baby bat and she brought it to school to feed everyday. She showed it to me and I fell in love with the tiny ball with tiny wings. They’re such interesting mammals as the only ones that fly. Oh and yellow and white Honduran bats are my favorite…while Flying Foxes have the cutest face. For bats, there’s a point where it’s so ugly it’s cute. 

PART D: THIS OR THAT (Speed Round)

• Ramen or ddeokbokki? ramen 
• Morning person or night owl? morning
• Cats or dogs? cats
• Sweet or savory? both
• City or countryside? country
• Summer or winter? winter 
• Phone call or text message? text
• Sunrise or sunset? sunset
• Introvert or extrovert? really introvert
• Vintage or modern? vintage
• Spicy or mild? mild towards a bit spicy. 
• Rainy day or sunny day? rainy. rainy if i’m inside, sunny if it’s outside. 

PART E: Please provide a Question that you’d like to ask the next SeoulShare interviewee

What is one of your current passions? What are you doing that you are really enjoying these days?