Perfect Night

       

         There are two kinds of people on Sunday morning - those who go to church and those who come back home from their party. If people get on the first train in Seoul on Sunday morning, they can see many young people who look really wrecked and falling and dozing off. I was always the latter since I was independent of my family in my twenties. Not only was I a night owl, I also loved the atmosphere of the night. I lived near the college town, Hongdae, in Seoul and there were three elements that made nights perfect, which were food, music, and people. However, when I came to Chicago, I moved to close to the University of Chicago, which is also a college town, but I was surprised how nights could be so quiet and dangerous. Now that I have lived here for four years, I have gradually changed from a person who loved to crisscross streets at night to a person who is afraid of going out at night.

          At Hongdae, I used to enjoy indie band performances every weekend. Usually, shows started at six and lasted until past midnight. There were always many shows happening simultaneously and people could go to see different shows by foot on one night. Because Korea is very small country compared to the U.S., live clubs are concentrated in one place, Hongdae. Not only live clubs, but also many bars and restaurants were there, and people could hang out until late at night. Sometimes, I was tired of these endless nights. However, at this moment, I realize that I miss them, especially in the winter, which is as cold as Chicago. Street food such as fish ball soup and stir-fried spicy rice cake that warmed my body and gave me energy to enjoy the rest of the night. On the other hand, when I occasionally go to a show in Chicago, I’m disappointed by the atmosphere of the neighborhood. Even though the concert is great, streets are very still and dark, and I can’t see any light or steam from alleys. Thus, it makes me feel that I’m at a strange place and there is no other option except going home. 

        In Seoul, just because the show is over, it doesn’t mean people go home. There is a specific emotion called Jueong in Korea which is kind of affection between people. Hence, Korean people feel sad to say goodbye right after the business so they often have after parties. For this reason, there are always people who want to be close each other after the show. Thus, some generous club owners allow people to have after parties at their small club. In this case, musicians and their fans buy drinks and order delivery such as fried chicken and Korean style Chinese food and hang out all night. I think this is far from American individualism. Before the pandemic started, I had several chances to meet local musicians in Chicago. They were kind and nice but most of them used to leave the venue after the concert. It made me feel they focused on their purpose but were not interested in other’s lives, or maybe it’s because there was no place to go nearby. 

        Lastly, if there was no place to go after the after party and the train has not started yet, I would definitely go to a convenience store in Seoul. In this city, when I’m hungry after midnight, I often think about convenience store food. I know there is a 24hour CVS in my neighborhood. However, I’m afraid of going outside at night because I know there can be robbery, and I know one Chinese university student got a shot and killed last semester even in the daytime. In Korea, there were outdoor tables and plastic chairs in front of the convenience store, so people still could drink and eat some kimbob with instant ramen until the sun came out. In addition, sometimes it became a small gathering. There was a chance to meet friends who were passing by just to hang out. The meeting could be from two to ten people. This is called lighting in Korean which means an impromptu meeting that people didn’t plan in advance. We were just joking around there but felt good. My friends and I called this place “Office”. This common place where I could go anytime is now a very distant place that exist only in my memory. In Korea, I didn’t realize that how safe it was at night.

        Now, it feels like my life in Seoul was just a dream. The exciting nights with the music and parties, the people who had something in common, and the places I could hang out with friends safely seem far away. When I came to the U.S., I thought I could find my night life again which made me feel free. However, instead of finding my freedom, I have become complacent and have adjusted to my homebody life here. Before it is too late, I want to practice getting out of my homebody life because I still have a hope that I can meet the perfect night again. Although food will not taste the same and places will not be familiar, I wish I could make my own perfect night and enjoy it with people.