Digital Nomad: The Power of Habits, with Shawn
Every nomad travels at a different rhythm. Shawn does it quickly: one month in a city, and up to two months in a country. His habits help him stay grounded amid all the change.
Shawn’s always bright and polite, but be careful, he lives to make you laugh. His secret weapon? Deadpan humor. If it doesn’t work, dumb jokes will do the trick. He’ll try it and refine it until it works because Shawn believes in the power of ‘rinse and repeat’. His everyday life is ruled by many little habits that he takes with him all over the world.
Traveling is easy for the 3D environment artist who works for a US game company - but art isn’t his main passion. Eating is. With his wife, Diane, another Korean digital nomad, this is why he travels the world: to try all the food. He happily blames his curiosity for this obsession.
Funnily enough, for someone who loves asking questions, Shawn gets shy when he’s asked one. But in this interview, he’s agreed to play the other side of the curiosity game…
What made you take your job on the road?
It happened by accident. (Laughs.) I lived in the US for more than 15 years as a student, but when I was rejected for a working visa, I wasn’t left with much of a choice. I had to come back to Korea. Luckily, I found a company that lets me work remotely. Working alone made me mentally exhausted fast. After a couple of months, I realized I didn’t like spending those long working hours by myself, so I started to look into a community of people in Korea who would be in the same situation as me. I think the Digital Nomads Korea’s Instagram account was created pretty recently when I found it. It got me curious.
Is that how you got introduced to the digital nomads community?
Yes. I went to one of the dinner & drinks meetups and met and talked with people. I wanted to learn about how people manage remote work settings. I was so surprised that so many people made this big life choice without much thinking at all (laughs). One person told me they just packed up, one morning, and took a plane to Korea the same afternoon.
Oh wow. That’s intense.
Yeah! (Laughs.) But it got me thinking. I shared the idea with my wife, and we thought: why not do it while we can? We didn’t choose this lifestyle. We were pushed into it by necessity, but I’m quite happy about it.
Would you say you traveled a lot before?
Not really. I did a month-and-a-half backpack trip, eight years ago, does that count? (Laughs.) I was born in Korea and went to the US in middle school, by myself. It was a trend back then, many parents sent their young kids to live abroad, with a host family, to learn the language. I stayed until graduate school, then I got my first job… but no visa.
So, how did you get started with the digital nomad lifestyle?
I did sort of a… trial run. I went to the Jeju workation organized by Digital Nomads Korea and Hoppin in autumn 2023, and then, to the winter Seoul workation. I did it with Diane, and I think it helped us learn all the practical stuff. Like what to pack and a million other everyday tips.
And then you left…
Yep. We left for 14 months where we traveled from Europe to America (North and South). The most exciting part of our journey? We did a food tour in every single city we went to! We booked a local tour guide, tried the food, and then ate our favorites all the time. I try to be a hardcore local as much as I can (laughs). In Portugal, I ate two or three pastel de nata a day for the entire stay.
Three a day?
Well… (laughs). In Argentina, we stayed a month in Buenos Aires. I drank yerba mate every day. When I was in Columbia, I was eating all these locally grown fruits - chontaduro, granadilla - and meals like bandeja paisa.
Gotta respect the yerba mate habit (laughs). Isn’t it too difficult to change your whole diet every month?
I don’t, not fully. We developed a breakfast routine as we were traveling - it was always the same wherever we went. We picked ingredients we could get in any of the countries we were going to: cabbage, egg, beet, carrot, etc. It helped us a lot with feeling familiarity despite our surroundings changing all the time.
Moving every month for a year and a half can get pretty exhausting…
There were moments when I felt tired. It weighed on me that the luggage I carried was everything I owned on this earth. The concept of it made me feel unstable and a bit anxious. Whenever I felt like this, I would try to find some sort of soybean paste and make some simple Korean food, like a doenjang jjigae stew. It anchored me. Brought me back to who I am and where I’m from.
When did you decide - ok, that’s enough, let’s move on to a new place?
After certain months, Diane and I started feeling like we were losing efficiency in our daily work. That was usually our cue to go to a new place. I find that arriving somewhere, trying to adapt to everything new - the whole process gives me energy. And this energy transfers into work.
What’s your routine?
In four hours max, I get used to a place. As soon as I arrive at the Airbnb, I unpack everything in 45 minutes. I figure out the kitchenware, where to store my clothes, how to set up my workstation, and all that stuff. With Diane, we’ve usually researched the location of the nearest gym, the local market, etc before moving in, so I go out for a run and check out the neighborhood. I find that acclimating my body to a place helps me feel comfortable psychologically. It helps me know, physically, where I am.
I’m guessing you have a routine to meet people as well?
Not so much. We’ve got each other so we don't have that pressure to meet people. In Canada, we stayed in a chalet in a village in Quebec. We were alone for a month and it was great. But, in general, I’m more outgoing than Diane so it’s my job. I do the same in new places as I did in Korea: I search the local nomad community and I attend the meetups. I’m just interested in people and I want to listen to their life stories. My goal is to extract their life lessons so I don’t go through their mistakes. I find it a very efficient way to learn about life (laughs). Diane comes to socialize after, once I’ve done the groundwork (laughs).
You are making a little stop in Korea, but you’ll be back traveling soon…
We haven’t decided where yet, but we are thinking of Asia this time. We want to switch cities bi-monthly, but not countries, necessarily. We’ll probably start with Vietnam - Danang, or Hoi An in July.
What do you think is the biggest challenge with the nomad lifestyle?
Family. They’re very supportive, but still, that’s always the first thing people ask: is your family supporting the journey? Everyone cares about that pressure anywhere in the world (laughs). I met this Canadian guy who even said: ‘Are your parents allowing you to do this’?
Do you think that’s why there are less nomads from South Korea?
I’m not sure. I haven’t met many Korean nomads except in South America. But they were like me, they had a remote job in the US. I met this barber in Hongdae, in Seoul, once and I was telling him about my situation. He said ‘You’re lucky your parents are more open and liberal. In typical Korean fashion, most would blame you and insult you for not settling down, not having your retirement fund started or not owning your own house to save up for the future’. He’s right. Most consider this lifestyle as a very volatile and risky path in Korean society.
What tip would you give, now that you’ve done this for a while?
Travel light. Owning things… It becomes a literal burden to your body. Honestly, I wish I could just travel with a toothbrush in my pocket. We’ve downsized a lot, but I still feel like we have too much luggage. Sadly, my wife doesn’t think that way. (Laughs.)
Shawn’s 3 recommendations
🎂 Someplace to eat
Macaronronron is the best Tiramisu I’ve had so far in Seoul. I’ve been on a little food journey this month and tried all the cafes I could find (laughs). This one has well-balanced flavors and great texture! And it’s in Yeonnam-dong, which is one of the coolest neighborhoods.
🏋 Somewhere to workout
AbleGym is a great place to work out. They’ve got locations all over the city, including Hongdae, with a lot of different leg machines - which is a sign of a good gym. There’s a higher chance of getting injured with the legs during pre-workouts, compared to the upper body. With different machines for different muscles, the risk of getting injured decreases significantly.
🐟 Something to eat
Another food journey I’m having is looking for the best bungeoppang (붕어빵). This street food stall close to KINTEX is the best: it’s called 붕쥬르 (‘bung’jour). This one had thin and crispy outer bread with lots of red bean paste inside to maximize the satisfaction of biting down the 붕어빵. Delicious.
Digital Nomad: The Power of Habits, with Shawn
Every nomad travels at a different rhythm. Shawn does it quickly: one month in a city, and up to two months in a country. His habits help him stay grounded amid all the change.
Shawn’s always bright and polite, but be careful, he lives to make you laugh. His secret weapon? Deadpan humor. If it doesn’t work, dumb jokes will do the trick. He’ll try it and refine it until it works because Shawn believes in the power of ‘rinse and repeat’. His everyday life is ruled by many little habits that he takes with him all over the world.
Traveling is easy for the 3D environment artist who works for a US game company - but art isn’t his main passion. Eating is. With his wife, Diane, another Korean digital nomad, this is why he travels the world: to try all the food. He happily blames his curiosity for this obsession.
Funnily enough, for someone who loves asking questions, Shawn gets shy when he’s asked one. But in this interview, he’s agreed to play the other side of the curiosity game…
What made you take your job on the road?
It happened by accident. (Laughs.) I lived in the US for more than 15 years as a student, but when I was rejected for a working visa, I wasn’t left with much of a choice. I had to come back to Korea. Luckily, I found a company that lets me work remotely. Working alone made me mentally exhausted fast. After a couple of months, I realized I didn’t like spending those long working hours by myself, so I started to look into a community of people in Korea who would be in the same situation as me. I think the Digital Nomads Korea’s Instagram account was created pretty recently when I found it. It got me curious.
Is that how you got introduced to the digital nomads community?
Yes. I went to one of the dinner & drinks meetups and met and talked with people. I wanted to learn about how people manage remote work settings. I was so surprised that so many people made this big life choice without much thinking at all (laughs). One person told me they just packed up, one morning, and took a plane to Korea the same afternoon.
Oh wow. That’s intense.
Yeah! (Laughs.) But it got me thinking. I shared the idea with my wife, and we thought: why not do it while we can? We didn’t choose this lifestyle. We were pushed into it by necessity, but I’m quite happy about it.
Would you say you traveled a lot before?
Not really. I did a month-and-a-half backpack trip, eight years ago, does that count? (Laughs.) I was born in Korea and went to the US in middle school, by myself. It was a trend back then, many parents sent their young kids to live abroad, with a host family, to learn the language. I stayed until graduate school, then I got my first job… but no visa.
So, how did you get started with the digital nomad lifestyle?
I did sort of a… trial run. I went to the Jeju workation organized by Digital Nomads Korea and Hoppin in autumn 2023, and then, to the winter Seoul workation. I did it with Diane, and I think it helped us learn all the practical stuff. Like what to pack and a million other everyday tips.
And then you left…
Yep. We left for 14 months where we traveled from Europe to America (North and South). The most exciting part of our journey? We did a food tour in every single city we went to! We booked a local tour guide, tried the food, and then ate our favorites all the time. I try to be a hardcore local as much as I can (laughs). In Portugal, I ate two or three pastel de nata a day for the entire stay.
Three a day?
Well… (laughs). In Argentina, we stayed a month in Buenos Aires. I drank yerba mate every day. When I was in Columbia, I was eating all these locally grown fruits - chontaduro, granadilla - and meals like bandeja paisa.
Gotta respect the yerba mate habit (laughs). Isn’t it too difficult to change your whole diet every month?
I don’t, not fully. We developed a breakfast routine as we were traveling - it was always the same wherever we went. We picked ingredients we could get in any of the countries we were going to: cabbage, egg, beet, carrot, etc. It helped us a lot with feeling familiarity despite our surroundings changing all the time.
Moving every month for a year and a half can get pretty exhausting…
There were moments when I felt tired. It weighed on me that the luggage I carried was everything I owned on this earth. The concept of it made me feel unstable and a bit anxious. Whenever I felt like this, I would try to find some sort of soybean paste and make some simple Korean food, like a doenjang jjigae stew. It anchored me. Brought me back to who I am and where I’m from.
When did you decide - ok, that’s enough, let’s move on to a new place?
After certain months, Diane and I started feeling like we were losing efficiency in our daily work. That was usually our cue to go to a new place. I find that arriving somewhere, trying to adapt to everything new - the whole process gives me energy. And this energy transfers into work.
What’s your routine?
In four hours max, I get used to a place. As soon as I arrive at the Airbnb, I unpack everything in 45 minutes. I figure out the kitchenware, where to store my clothes, how to set up my workstation, and all that stuff. With Diane, we’ve usually researched the location of the nearest gym, the local market, etc before moving in, so I go out for a run and check out the neighborhood. I find that acclimating my body to a place helps me feel comfortable psychologically. It helps me know, physically, where I am.
I’m guessing you have a routine to meet people as well?
Not so much. We’ve got each other so we don't have that pressure to meet people. In Canada, we stayed in a chalet in a village in Quebec. We were alone for a month and it was great. But, in general, I’m more outgoing than Diane so it’s my job. I do the same in new places as I did in Korea: I search the local nomad community and I attend the meetups. I’m just interested in people and I want to listen to their life stories. My goal is to extract their life lessons so I don’t go through their mistakes. I find it a very efficient way to learn about life (laughs). Diane comes to socialize after, once I’ve done the groundwork (laughs).
You are making a little stop in Korea, but you’ll be back traveling soon…
We haven’t decided where yet, but we are thinking of Asia this time. We want to switch cities bi-monthly, but not countries, necessarily. We’ll probably start with Vietnam - Danang, or Hoi An in July.
What do you think is the biggest challenge with the nomad lifestyle?
Family. They’re very supportive, but still, that’s always the first thing people ask: is your family supporting the journey? Everyone cares about that pressure anywhere in the world (laughs). I met this Canadian guy who even said: ‘Are your parents allowing you to do this’?
Do you think that’s why there are less nomads from South Korea?
I’m not sure. I haven’t met many Korean nomads except in South America. But they were like me, they had a remote job in the US. I met this barber in Hongdae, in Seoul, once and I was telling him about my situation. He said ‘You’re lucky your parents are more open and liberal. In typical Korean fashion, most would blame you and insult you for not settling down, not having your retirement fund started or not owning your own house to save up for the future’. He’s right. Most consider this lifestyle as a very volatile and risky path in Korean society.
What tip would you give, now that you’ve done this for a while?
Travel light. Owning things… It becomes a literal burden to your body. Honestly, I wish I could just travel with a toothbrush in my pocket. We’ve downsized a lot, but I still feel like we have too much luggage. Sadly, my wife doesn’t think that way. (Laughs.)
Shawn’s 3 recommendations
🎂 Someplace to eat
Macaronronron is the best Tiramisu I’ve had so far in Seoul. I’ve been on a little food journey this month and tried all the cafes I could find (laughs). This one has well-balanced flavors and great texture! And it’s in Yeonnam-dong, which is one of the coolest neighborhoods.
🏋 Somewhere to workout
AbleGym is a great place to work out. They’ve got locations all over the city, including Hongdae, with a lot of different leg machines - which is a sign of a good gym. There’s a higher chance of getting injured with the legs during pre-workouts, compared to the upper body. With different machines for different muscles, the risk of getting injured decreases significantly.
🐟 Something to eat
Another food journey I’m having is looking for the best bungeoppang (붕어빵). This street food stall close to KINTEX is the best: it’s called 붕쥬르 (‘bung’jour). This one had thin and crispy outer bread with lots of red bean paste inside to maximize the satisfaction of biting down the 붕어빵. Delicious.
Digital Nomad: The Power of Habits, with Shawn
Every nomad travels at a different rhythm. Shawn does it quickly: one month in a city, and up to two months in a country. His habits help him stay grounded amid all the change.
Shawn’s always bright and polite, but be careful, he lives to make you laugh. His secret weapon? Deadpan humor. If it doesn’t work, dumb jokes will do the trick. He’ll try it and refine it until it works because Shawn believes in the power of ‘rinse and repeat’. His everyday life is ruled by many little habits that he takes with him all over the world.
Traveling is easy for the 3D environment artist who works for a US game company - but art isn’t his main passion. Eating is. With his wife, Diane, another Korean digital nomad, this is why he travels the world: to try all the food. He happily blames his curiosity for this obsession.
Funnily enough, for someone who loves asking questions, Shawn gets shy when he’s asked one. But in this interview, he’s agreed to play the other side of the curiosity game…
What made you take your job on the road?
It happened by accident. (Laughs.) I lived in the US for more than 15 years as a student, but when I was rejected for a working visa, I wasn’t left with much of a choice. I had to come back to Korea. Luckily, I found a company that lets me work remotely. Working alone made me mentally exhausted fast. After a couple of months, I realized I didn’t like spending those long working hours by myself, so I started to look into a community of people in Korea who would be in the same situation as me. I think the Digital Nomads Korea’s Instagram account was created pretty recently when I found it. It got me curious.
Is that how you got introduced to the digital nomads community?
Yes. I went to one of the dinner & drinks meetups and met and talked with people. I wanted to learn about how people manage remote work settings. I was so surprised that so many people made this big life choice without much thinking at all (laughs). One person told me they just packed up, one morning, and took a plane to Korea the same afternoon.
Oh wow. That’s intense.
Yeah! (Laughs.) But it got me thinking. I shared the idea with my wife, and we thought: why not do it while we can? We didn’t choose this lifestyle. We were pushed into it by necessity, but I’m quite happy about it.
Would you say you traveled a lot before?
Not really. I did a month-and-a-half backpack trip, eight years ago, does that count? (Laughs.) I was born in Korea and went to the US in middle school, by myself. It was a trend back then, many parents sent their young kids to live abroad, with a host family, to learn the language. I stayed until graduate school, then I got my first job… but no visa.
So, how did you get started with the digital nomad lifestyle?
I did sort of a… trial run. I went to the Jeju workation organized by Digital Nomads Korea and Hoppin in autumn 2023, and then, to the winter Seoul workation. I did it with Diane, and I think it helped us learn all the practical stuff. Like what to pack and a million other everyday tips.
And then you left…
Yep. We left for 14 months where we traveled from Europe to America (North and South). The most exciting part of our journey? We did a food tour in every single city we went to! We booked a local tour guide, tried the food, and then ate our favorites all the time. I try to be a hardcore local as much as I can (laughs). In Portugal, I ate two or three pastel de nata a day for the entire stay.
Three a day?
Well… (laughs). In Argentina, we stayed a month in Buenos Aires. I drank yerba mate every day. When I was in Columbia, I was eating all these locally grown fruits - chontaduro, granadilla - and meals like bandeja paisa.
Gotta respect the yerba mate habit (laughs). Isn’t it too difficult to change your whole diet every month?
I don’t, not fully. We developed a breakfast routine as we were traveling - it was always the same wherever we went. We picked ingredients we could get in any of the countries we were going to: cabbage, egg, beet, carrot, etc. It helped us a lot with feeling familiarity despite our surroundings changing all the time.
Moving every month for a year and a half can get pretty exhausting…
There were moments when I felt tired. It weighed on me that the luggage I carried was everything I owned on this earth. The concept of it made me feel unstable and a bit anxious. Whenever I felt like this, I would try to find some sort of soybean paste and make some simple Korean food, like a doenjang jjigae stew. It anchored me. Brought me back to who I am and where I’m from.
When did you decide - ok, that’s enough, let’s move on to a new place?
After certain months, Diane and I started feeling like we were losing efficiency in our daily work. That was usually our cue to go to a new place. I find that arriving somewhere, trying to adapt to everything new - the whole process gives me energy. And this energy transfers into work.
What’s your routine?
In four hours max, I get used to a place. As soon as I arrive at the Airbnb, I unpack everything in 45 minutes. I figure out the kitchenware, where to store my clothes, how to set up my workstation, and all that stuff. With Diane, we’ve usually researched the location of the nearest gym, the local market, etc before moving in, so I go out for a run and check out the neighborhood. I find that acclimating my body to a place helps me feel comfortable psychologically. It helps me know, physically, where I am.
I’m guessing you have a routine to meet people as well?
Not so much. We’ve got each other so we don't have that pressure to meet people. In Canada, we stayed in a chalet in a village in Quebec. We were alone for a month and it was great. But, in general, I’m more outgoing than Diane so it’s my job. I do the same in new places as I did in Korea: I search the local nomad community and I attend the meetups. I’m just interested in people and I want to listen to their life stories. My goal is to extract their life lessons so I don’t go through their mistakes. I find it a very efficient way to learn about life (laughs). Diane comes to socialize after, once I’ve done the groundwork (laughs).
You are making a little stop in Korea, but you’ll be back traveling soon…
We haven’t decided where yet, but we are thinking of Asia this time. We want to switch cities bi-monthly, but not countries, necessarily. We’ll probably start with Vietnam - Danang, or Hoi An in July.
What do you think is the biggest challenge with the nomad lifestyle?
Family. They’re very supportive, but still, that’s always the first thing people ask: is your family supporting the journey? Everyone cares about that pressure anywhere in the world (laughs). I met this Canadian guy who even said: ‘Are your parents allowing you to do this’?
Do you think that’s why there are less nomads from South Korea?
I’m not sure. I haven’t met many Korean nomads except in South America. But they were like me, they had a remote job in the US. I met this barber in Hongdae, in Seoul, once and I was telling him about my situation. He said ‘You’re lucky your parents are more open and liberal. In typical Korean fashion, most would blame you and insult you for not settling down, not having your retirement fund started or not owning your own house to save up for the future’. He’s right. Most consider this lifestyle as a very volatile and risky path in Korean society.
What tip would you give, now that you’ve done this for a while?
Travel light. Owning things… It becomes a literal burden to your body. Honestly, I wish I could just travel with a toothbrush in my pocket. We’ve downsized a lot, but I still feel like we have too much luggage. Sadly, my wife doesn’t think that way. (Laughs.)
Shawn’s 3 recommendations
🎂 Someplace to eat
Macaronronron is the best Tiramisu I’ve had so far in Seoul. I’ve been on a little food journey this month and tried all the cafes I could find (laughs). This one has well-balanced flavors and great texture! And it’s in Yeonnam-dong, which is one of the coolest neighborhoods.
🏋 Somewhere to workout
AbleGym is a great place to work out. They’ve got locations all over the city, including Hongdae, with a lot of different leg machines - which is a sign of a good gym. There’s a higher chance of getting injured with the legs during pre-workouts, compared to the upper body. With different machines for different muscles, the risk of getting injured decreases significantly.
🐟 Something to eat
Another food journey I’m having is looking for the best bungeoppang (붕어빵). This street food stall close to KINTEX is the best: it’s called 붕쥬르 (‘bung’jour). This one had thin and crispy outer bread with lots of red bean paste inside to maximize the satisfaction of biting down the 붕어빵. Delicious.
