I've been in Korea for several months and I'm struggling with intense homesickness?
I've been in Korea for several months and I'm struggling with intense homesickness. I miss my family, my friends, and simple things like food from home. Some days I feel completely alone even though I'm surrounded by millions of people. How do other foreigners cope with this?
1 Answer
What you're feeling is so normal, and almost every one of us has hit that wall a few months in. A few things that genuinely helped me: keep one regular weekly thing on your calendar that's just for connection — a language exchange, a sports club, a church or community group — because loneliness eases more from routine than from big one-off events. For the food side, hunting down ingredients from home at the foreign-food aisles in big marts, Itaewon groceries, or ordering on Coupang/iHerb, and cooking a familiar meal, does more for the soul than people expect. Schedule calls home at a fixed time so you have something to look forward to, and don't tough it out alone — the Seoul Global Center and many local foreigner centers offer free counseling in several languages, and reaching out is a strength, not a weakness.