The Runners
Since moving to Korea, I have encountered people who have come here and after a couple of years of living, have decided to make it their permanent home, and not return. They are called "Lifers". Some stay because they've met someone, or a person who has the same affinity for the country, or met a native, or simply enjoyed what the lifestyle had to offer as opposed to what they knew was awaiting upon their return back home. Being a "Lifer" however comes with these notions that anyone who travels for a year or more, or isn't interested in working just yet or getting married, must be running away from something. They are running away from life, escaping it. They must have been leading miserable, awful lives back home, or experienced a traumatic event that made them want to never look back. People assume that people who travel long term are running away from problems, from the inevitability of life. My own family and friends have asked me "Are you su