Favorite Moments of 2025 - Traveled the equivalent of 5.2x around the Earth, flew lesser than in 2024 but still really tired. This year, I guess I ended up doing a lot more sports than usual. Every December I’m reminded of my accident and 2 ankle surgeries.. hard to believe it’s been two years since I broke my ankle.

Since then it’s been a lot of physio, cycling, running.. and somehow Hyrox made its way into the mix this year too. Progress has been slow but steady. The ankle is still a little funky at times, and the range of motion isn’t great, but it’s definitely getting better.. one wobble at a time.

January – Caught the crazy snowstorm in Korea. Always nice to see Korea in a nice blanket of snow.

February – Did a lot of hiking in Utah. Mars-like landscapes with zero signs of life.

March – Tokyo + Fuji. Second time in Hakone, but first time finally seeing Fuji. Last visit was during a snowstorm, can only imagine how it looked like, so this felt like redemption.

March – Made it to my first GD concert, accidentally upgraded to BigBang. Also ran the Seoul Marathon.. which quickly turned into a half marathon and a long wobble to the finish 🤣

April – Looking pretty in Gyeongju. (Okay fine, the cherry blossoms were the ones looking pretty).

April – Probably my 3rd time watching Coldplay, but this one was way too close for comfort. Last-minute ticket from Karrot (Craigslist/Carousell equivalent), spent half the travel time wondering if security would let me through.

May – Did a round island cycling trip in Jeju. Have not cycled so much in a long long time.

June – Did a short trip to Bangkok.

July – Did a short cycling trip to Ehime in Japan, a really nice bike ride across the bridges.

July – Also caught Blackpink concert in the summer heat.

August – Did a short trip to London

September – Attempted Seoul to Busan (~550km) in 4 days. Emphasis on attempted.
Day 1: Seoul to Chungju (153km)
Day 2: Chungju to Gumi (171km)
Day 3: Gumi to Namji (134km)
Day 4: Namji to Busan (91km)

September – Yeouido Fireworks Festival 2025. Yeouido was packed as usual, with “prime spots” being resold online for 200,000KRW 😂 Some people even showed up at 1am. I have been migrating farther away every year and ended up on Inwangsan this time. Fewer crowds, no elbow wars, breathable air. One solid hour of fireworks from Italy, Canada, and Korea made it worth it.

October – Me and 78,391 of my closest friends packed together for Double 10 fireworks in Taipei. Randomly ran into GD in the bathroom at the airport.. then ended up on the same plane to Singapore for F1. Casual.

October – Did a short trip to NYC, Pennsylvania, and Chicago.

November – Fall color chase across Korea. Finally made it to the legendary 800-year-old ginkgo tree in Banggye-ri, Wonju after years of tracking it. Left at 4am thinking I’d beat the crowd.. arrived with 78,381 other early risers. Ridiculously beautiful tree, still worth it. Also squeezed in a short Busan trip for the tail end of fall.

November – Attended Joseph’s wedding at Signiel.. such a pretty location.

November – Also did two Hyrox events two weeks apart.. one in Seoul, then Singapore shortly after. Questionable life choices were made when we decided to sign up for Incheon 2026.

December – Explored Okayama and Shikoku in Japan. Osaka and Kyoto were in peak fall colors, but once we left the chaos behind, there were barely any tourists and it was so much more enjoyable. Definitely deserves its own post.

Wrapping up the last few days of the year in Tongyeong. Goodbye, 2025. See you in 2026.