I Moved to a US Military Base in South Korea and I'm Dreading Going Back to America

Amber Griffith moved to Camp Humphreys in South Korea last October after her husband was assigned there.
The language barrier and learning cultural norms made it difficult, but she loves her new life.
She says after spending a year there and making great memories, she doesn't want to go back to the US.

Thanks for signing up!

Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amber Griffith, a 25-year-old military wife, mother, and owner of a baking business. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In September 2022, my husband, my son, and I were living in Fort Hood, Texas, when we were given 27 days' notice that we would be moving to Camp Humphreys in South Korea, 40 miles south of Seoul, the nation's capital — a place we'd never been.

Since my husband is in the military, we knew our life could be incredibly unpredictable, but it was still kind of crazy. In that time, we had to get everything packed, say goodbye to friends and family, and ship our car overseas.

A move like this is pretty intense at first

Our phones didn't work. We didn't know anyone. We didn't have driver's licenses or know how to use the subway system or order a taxi.

In the beginning, the hardest part was learning how to swap our old habits for traditional Korean ones — like when you're paying for anything here, you use two hands instead of one. Also, whenever you thank someone, you always bow.

But a lot of things here are much better than back home, like the trains always being on schedule.

When we first moved, an act of kindness from a stranger made me realize that I was going to love living here

We didn't have our car yet and needed to pick up groceries using the subway and bus.

It was pouring rain and our son was falling asleep. A man pulled up in his car and said, "Hey, do you want a ride?" In America, no one would offer to pick up a hitchhiker, let alone get in a car with someone who offered you a ride. I said to my husband, "Is he going to kill us?"

The man said he just wanted to help and hoped that someone would do the same for him if he was in our situation. The bus was another 15 minutes away and we were wet, so we got in, and it was such an incredible feeling. We tried to give him money but he wouldn't take it.

The base has its own gas station, grocery store, mall, and even things like Baskin-Robbins to remind us of home.

Our eating habits have changed so much. You can only get seasonal produce, so we eat based on what's available. For example, we can only get fresh strawberries from December to February.

We also have rice and kimchi with almost every dinner.

We get to take in a lot of Korean culture, too

Griffiths in Korea. Courtesy of Amber Griffith

Korean people will often walk up to my son and pinch his cheeks. In America, I'd be afraid if someone did that, but here it's almost like a sign of respect to the children.

If I lose sight of him in the park for a few seconds here, I don't panic. Everyone's constantly watching out for kids. Waiters and waitresses will even offer to pick up your kid if they're being fussy at a restaurant.

The food here is also quite affordable. We can go out for dinner and spend about $40 and all of us will be full.

The United Service Organizations does a lot to help us live here

The USO is a nonprofit that helps members of the military stationed overseas. If you have any questions, there's always someone on the base from the USO who speaks your language to help you.

The USO has a scheduled program every day, including language classes, and will transport you to places around South Korea such as Buddhist temples and historical buildings.

We live in a high-rise apartment on the base, and a bulletin board by the elevator keeps us updated on free events such as fall festivals. A library with children's programming is across the street. There's almost no excuse to be bored.

Having our car is incredibly helpful, although off the base it's tricky because there aren't many parking lots and the roads are very narrow.

The hardest part is definitely the language barrier

Learning myself and trying to teach my son how to say things like hello and goodbye in Korean was difficult. The words sound very long to me, and not being able to say things properly made me shy, though I'm overcoming it.

People are polite and friendly and have no problem helping you out — even if you only have a translation app to communicate.

There's a market that's about a five-minute walk from the base where locals sell produce. The vendors are trying to learn English, and we're trying to learn Korean. It can be quite funny with all the hand signals, but we make it work.

The funniest experience we've had was at a Korean barbecue place

The Griffiths enjoying Korean barbecue. Courtesy of Amber Griffith

When we were new here, we tried Korean barbecue for the first time. We accidentally ordered meat that was supposed to be eaten raw — strips of steak called yukhoe and a whole soy-marinated crab — and tried to cook it on the hot plate in front of us. The waiters kept trying to explain that the hot plate was only for the vegetables, and we had to communicate through Google Translate.

Because my family is unfamiliar with eating raw meat, the experience was also nerve-racking. I told my husband that we would pay for the meal and go eat at McDonald's.

The one thing that I don't like about Korea is the air quality

When we first moved here, the air outside was so thick that it was hard to breathe, and we felt trapped inside because it was almost unbearable to even open a window because of the pollution.

It's also difficult to find public trash bins. Korea has a strict recycling system, and you can get fined for using it incorrectly. To avoid getting fined, many places don't have public trash cans.

I miss the ease of going to a single store to get everything you need

Stores and shops in my area are locally owned and only sell their own items, although there are supermarkets in Seoul. But here, if I want to pick up a coffee, a new set of bedsheets, and some diapers, I have to go to three different stores. In the US, I could just go to Target.

And because of the language barrier, when I find fast-food places like McDonald's and Starbucks with drive-thrus, I can't use them because I don't speak the language well enough. I have to go inside to order and use my translation app to help me.

I ran a baking business in Texas, but I can only sell my goods on base now

The hardest part was trying to decide the pricing of my baked goods. For example, butter is considered a luxury item, so it costs about $8 a pound.

Then there's flour. I'm used to all-purpose or cake flour. Here, there are dozens of different types of flour. I look for the pictures on the package to work it out; some will have a picture of a croissant or a chocolate chip cookie.

Trying to figure out temperatures in Celsius and baking times was also tricky.

We've made so many good memories that I'm dreading going back to America

I didn't think I was going to love living in another country as much as I do. I had never lived outside America before this.

We're stationed here for a minimum of two years, and after that, we don't know what we'll do. If I could choose anywhere in the world, it would be Australia, as I've always wanted to visit there, but they could send us anywhere.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyuu9Wem2ato2K6qrjIrZirsV2XrrSxjKymrqyYYriwvsSaZJ2qlZaxqrrGZp6ooZ6ceqOtwqRkmqWVp7akrYxrZ2trXWZ9

ZBlogY