Before heading to Korea, I was the most prepped I’d ever been for a trip. For the last few years, my ongoing obsessions have been League of Legends and K-pop, both of which have led me to many activities and friends. I figured that going to the source could only result in an out of body experience. In addition to watching a whole lot of YouTubes about Korean history, doing the usual run through of movies and books and podcasts, I had taken ten weeks of conversational Korean at the local adult school. I was ready! The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture, Euny Hong (2014) Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner (2021) Korea’s Place in the Sun, Bruce Cumings (1997) Was it strange that nearly everyone we spoke with said “Two weeks in Seoul? You’re not going anywhere else?” (This was repeated to us often, by taxi drivers there, friends, etc.) Apparently people don’t go to Seoul for two weeks. Frankly, I had pushed for a month there, but was talked down...