We asked expat partner Emil Daina to share some of his first impressions of Seoul, where he relocated with his family in 2023.
A dream move
“It’s funny because when we were living in Malmö, my wife started listening to K-POP and we often ate Korean food. We even chatted about how much fun it would be to live in Seoul. Then this opportunity came along for her and now… well, here we all are!” says Emil, a video games producer from Romania who has lived in Sweden since 2009. His sons, David (9) and Felix (7), were born in Malmö and had never lived anywhere else.
Explaining why
“At first, the boys made it very clear that they didn’t want to go. We talked about it with them, explained why moving to Seoul would be a great opportunity for all of us; we also made them kimbap (Korean-style sushi rolls) to win them over! And we’ve only been here for a couple of months, but so far, so good. As soon as they went to their new school, they made some friends and started to feel at home, even if we are still in a hotel for now!”
Taking time out
“Although Seoul is a very international city, to get a job in my field, my feeling so far is that I would either have to speak fluent Korean or be the golden nugget that one company needs. So it’s more likely that I will choose to study, perhaps an MBA, while we are here. But for the first six months, I’m just going to be fully focussed on the family and figuring our new life out. It takes time to adjust to a new country. It took days just to find the right supermarket and I still ended up buying the wrong kind of milk!”
Culinary explorations
“Although it feels like there’s a surprise around every corner for us, I think we have all been enjoying the ‘honeymoon period’. The boys love Korean-style BBQ restaurants and the deep-fried chicken that’s sold everywhere. When they’re in school, I’ve been trying dishes they might not be so keen on, like ‘kimchi-jjigae’ (kimchi stew). I’m also very keen to visit the Noryangjin Fish Market, where you can order seafood and sashimi dishes straight from the vendor,” says Emil, a keen water sports enthusiast. “I’m still waiting for my surfboard and paddle board to arrive but I can’t wait to take them to beach destinations like Busan and Jeju Island.”
Photo: Emil and his family in Korea
All Global Connection’s corporate clients are leading multinationals. Due to some of their policies, we no longer use their name in public articles. However, expat partners signed in to our private Media & Network can see the multinational’s name.
