Traveling on my Birthday with Strangers

• Location: Jeju, South Korea
• Date: March 2023

I’ve spent quite a few birthdays traveling or away from home, and my time in Korea was no different. About a week before my birthday, I planned a hiking trip to Jeju Island, aiming to climb Hallasan, the tallest mountain in Korea, and return on my birthday. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it up the mountain—the day we booked was met with a thunderstorm, and Hallasan requires advance reservations.

Though I’d only known the people I went with for a few months, they already felt like close friends. Reflecting on it now, I realize how much trust we had built in such a short time. It seemed like we were all in the same situation, each looking for connections far from home, and this shared experience made it easy to bond.

This birthday was especially memorable. On one of our first days hanging out, I’d casually mentioned a tradition my brother and I have of hitting each other in the face with cake on our birthdays. Three months later, one of my friends remembered and surprised me by reenacting that tradition on my birthday, “on my brother’s behalf.” That moment, caught on video, will forever live in my memory.