Do What You Love — Fabien Yoon

Do What You Love — Fabien’s Labor of Love

Fabien Yoon’s background and path are anything but ordinary. Since choosing a life in Korea entirely of his own accord, he has learned Korean, taken up acting, published a Korean cookbook, and dived into Korean history. Through all of it, his guiding question has always been, ‘Is this something I love and find worthwhile?’ We met a man who keeps learning and taking on challenges with boundless curiosity and no prejudice. Perhaps this is what we imagine an ideal traveler to look like.

Interview and Text Pyo Youngso
Photos Shin Gyucheol
Interviewee Fabien

First, how have your days been during the COVID-19 era?
I’m doing pretty well, actually. (Laughs) You could look at it negatively if you wanted to. Work and money aren’t what they used to be, and it’s hard to do the things I love, like exercising and traveling, as freely as before. But last year I read a lot of books. I think it was almost the first time in my life I’d read so many. Besides, many people have it harder than I do. Small business owners are struggling, and some people have lost their jobs. I don’t feel I’m in a position to complain, so I try to think positively. Thanks to COVID, I’ve been getting to the things I’d put off, so I think I’m making good use of my time.

It’s been a long time since you went home, hasn’t it? Did you used to go to Paris often?
Yes, it’s been quite a while. I had actually booked a flight in advance to go last March. But then COVID hit, so I postponed it once to the summer, and with cases rising and Europe in lockdown, I just couldn’t see any opening. Luckily, the ticket’s validity was extended by another six months, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to go within that time. Even if I went, I’d have to stay home the whole time, and if I caught COVID I’d be putting other people at risk, so for now I’m waiting. I used to go to Paris twice a year on average.

When you’re in Paris, is there a place you like to go to unwind, one that’s all your own?
It may all look the same to Koreans, but the French like what’s familiar. In France, new restaurants and cafés don’t keep popping up the way they do in Korea. Most people just go to the places they’ve been going to since childhood. I’m the same: when I eat out with my family, we always go to the same place and eat the same things. Even at the bakery I went to as a kid, the same old woman is still there, just as she was back then. (Laughs) I’m from the 19th arrondissement of Paris, and there’s a park there called Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It isn’t as well known as other parks in Paris, but it’s a really beautiful one. It’s quite large, with a small waterfall, and the scenery changes beautifully with each season. It’s only about a two-minute walk from my home, so I go there often. I also go often to Canal Saint-Martin, which appeared in the film ‘Amélie.’ It’s near my home, and it holds memories of my parents and friends, too.

In Korea, you’ve worked across many fields: taekwondo athlete, model, actor, TV personality, museum docent. What matters most to you when you take on these challenges?
It may look as though they have nothing to do with one another, but I think there’s a consistency to them. I don’t want to put boundaries around what I want to do. Whatever the outcome, if it’s something I love and consider worthwhile, I want to try it. I’m very curious, I love many things, like music, cooking, and travel, and I’m deeply interested in other cultures.
Rather than talking about what I’ll be like in ten years or about big dreams, I want to keep doing what I love. But once I start something, I think it takes diligence. I take on a lot of different things, but once I begin, I see them through with diligence, and, in a way, a bit of tenacity, down to the end. When I get hooked on something, I stick with it to the end, you could say. I don’t even know where I’ll be living in ten years, just as I couldn’t have imagined who I am now ten years ago. In times like these especially, predicting the future is impossible. I’d rather focus on the present and do it well. I don’t want to hold vague expectations about the future, either.

Are you ever afraid or hesitant when you take on such challenges?
Not really. Maybe because I’m French, I don’t pay much attention to what other people think. When I first came to Korea, I think I was truly reckless. At the time, I had finished a decent major at a decent university and, like my friends, gone straight into a job before coming to Korea. In France, it’s common to get a job right after graduating and stay with one company, so if you say you went abroad after graduation, people look at you a bit disapprovingly, as if to say, ‘Were you just playing around?’ But I had no such worries at all. A challenge requires making a choice, and that choice is the hard part. Still, I think failing after taking a challenge is better than regretting later that you never took it.

In 2016 you published a Korean cookbook in French, and in 2018 you hosted a Korea–France friendship concert in Paris, right?
As a French person working in Korea, I naturally become interested in introducing the two countries to each other. Having lived in Korea for more than ten years, I’ve found that Koreans have basic knowledge of France but often don’t know much about French culture in greater depth and detail. There are a lot of prejudices, too. The French perception of Korea is the same. As someone who has lived in Korea and learned its language, culture, and history, I want to share more of it with others, in proportion to how much I love it, and I enjoy being able to do that through various media and activities. Again, it’s something I do because I love it.

You seem to have been very active on YouTube lately.
I opened my channel (www.youtube.com/user/fabientkd) a long time ago, and I’ve only recently started working on it seriously. I always had it in my mind that I should, and in a way COVID became the catalyst. I’ve written about 30 scripts on topics like French and Korean culture and history. I do everything myself: the scripts, filming, editing, and subtitles in both French and Korean. I’d love to hand it off to someone else, but it’s not easy to find a person who understands the culture, history, sense of humor, sensitivities, and sensibilities of both Korea and France. Each episode runs about seven minutes, and I think it takes about ten hours to edit one minute. Luckily I have plenty of time these days, and the response has been better than I expected, so I’m enjoying it. What makes me happiest is that people in both Korea and France watch my content together and leave comments for one another.

In 2020, you also passed the Test of Korean History at Level 1.
I’ve liked Korean history for a very long time, but the turning point was 2015. That was when a big change happened in my life: I started reading books written in Hangul. Until then, speaking was fine, but reading was difficult. Honestly, even my speaking only ‘seemed’ good; it wasn’t really. My vocabulary was limited, and my expressions were almost all alike. That’s true of many foreigners. I’ve always loved reading, and I’d mostly read books in French and English, but once I started reading books in Hangul, I think my Korean improved exponentially. When I began reading in Korean the Korean history books I’d been reading in English, the range of what I could learn grew much wider, too.
As I said earlier, once I start something, I go at it doggedly. And the more I learned about Korean history, the more fascinating it became. After reading countless books, I’d built up a certain amount of knowledge, and my friends joked, “Why don’t you take the Korean history test?” I didn’t even know what that was then, but one day I found a study book for the test at a bookstore, skimmed through it, and found it incredibly difficult. I couldn’t even understand what it was saying. That made me want to take the challenge. That was at the end of the year before last. Once I actually started studying, I realized the content wasn’t hard; it was the format of the test that felt unfamiliar. Multiple-choice tests are foreign in France. It was the first time in my life I’d taken this type of exam. Once I got used to the way questions are asked and the question types, it turned out I knew all of the material. People think I studied Korean history for this test, but it would be more accurate to say I studied what I already knew in the way the test requires. I just practiced the knack of identifying the key words in a question and finding the answer. Once you know that, anyone can pass. (Laughs)

Is there a story or part of Korean history that you especially like or find intriguing?
From a French person’s perspective, every aspect of Korean history is different and fascinating. It’s fun to compare the histories of the two countries in the same period, too. Korean history in particular is dramatic in every era. Just like getting hooked on a drama, I got addicted to Korean history. I kept thinking, ‘I need to know more.’ As I learned history, I came to love historical dramas and films even more. They’re so much more fun when you know the background. Recently, I found it fascinating to learn the meaning behind the names of kings. Unlike in France, Korean kings are all called by different titles: Taejo, Taejong, Sejong, and so on. And their actual names are separate again. I wondered why, and once I learned the reason, I found it really interesting.

How important is it to know history when trying to understand another country or culture? Do you have any experiences or memorable moments from your travels related to this?
I think knowing history is key, because people carry their history in their bodies. A country’s history is reflected in its language and in its behavior. The history I love most and know best is Korea’s, and since I’ve lived here for a long time, it’s also something I’ve experienced firsthand. Why do people say this, why do they act that way, why does the Korean language have this expression…? As I learned the history, those questions were answered one by one. Life in Korea became easier, and it became much easier to understand what my Korean friends were feeling. It’s been a real help in my life. I think that’s one reason to study history.

I understand you love traveling. What is your usual travel style like?
My travel style is distinct. First of all, I’ve never taken a package tour, and I don’t really like resort vacations either. Lying under a parasol doing nothing is something I can’t do for more than a day. When I travel, I get up early, walk a lot and go at a really punishing (!) pace. I have a childhood friend who always travels with me, and I think he’s probably the only person in the world who can keep up with me. We have to like similar things and have good stamina. (Laughs) When I visit a country, I usually go to the big cities and the famous cultural heritage and historic sites, but what I especially love is visiting universities. You get to meet local students and catch a glimpse of everyday life. I also like getting around by bicycle, since you can cover a relatively wide area in a short time. When possible, I try to do some seriously tough trekking or climbing, too. And I always play soccer with locals. Looking back at the places I’ve been, I’ve mostly gone to regions that fewer people visit. Part of it is that I’m still fairly young, so I try to travel actively.
The best place I’ve ever traveled to is Oman. My first visit to the Middle East was in 2017. I already liked Arab culture, but that trip got me completely hooked. Oman has beautiful nature and kind people, and contrary to what people often assume, it’s as safe as Korea. I stayed about two weeks, and I think I felt in my skin what freedom really means. When I was playing soccer on the beach, a fisherman called out to me: “Want to go out on the boat?” Out at sea, dolphins were swimming right beside us, and when he asked, “Want to swim?” I jumped straight into the water and swam with the dolphins and huge sea turtles. Things that only seem possible in a movie happen there as if they were nothing. After that, I studied Middle Eastern culture and learned Arabic, and I’ve now visited almost every country in the region. Only one is left: Saudi Arabia.
What would you say is the appeal of Seoul as a travel destination, and as a place to live?
Many foreigners would probably give a similar answer, but as a destination, Seoul’s appeal is the ‘aesthetics of coexistence.’ When Koreans go to Europe, they find medieval buildings and streets beautiful. For me, it’s the opposite: a tall skyscraper standing next to Gyeongbokgung, giant LED screens flashing. That feels like Seoul’s beauty to me. I love that it’s a modern city that has also preserved its traditions well, and there’s the Han River and the beautiful night views. It feels like very different things blend together well. As for living here, I’d say it’s the passion of the people. Paris is a busy, complicated city in its own way, but it can’t compare with Seoul. In Seoul, everyone is rushing toward their own destination.
Do you have a favorite travel destination or place in Korea?
The first is Sokcho. I can’t eat seafood, but I love the sea. Sokcho was probably the first place I traveled to after coming to Korea. It was 2007, when there weren’t many foreigners around. I went to Naksansa Temple, and the view looking down over the sea was so beautiful. Being easy and convenient to reach from Seoul is another part of Sokcho’s charm. The second is Jeju Island. I love Jeju so much that I’ve often thought about wrapping up my life in Seoul and moving there to pick tangerines. I don’t know if I’ll live in Korea for the rest of my life, but if the chance comes, I think it would be nice to move down to Jeju someday. Honestly, I think I have that thought once a year. (Laughs) I’ve read a lot of books about living on Jeju, too. When I was in France, I used to go three times a year to my grandfather’s house on the Île de Ré. It’s a small island near La Rochelle, and everything about it is so charming and pretty that you could call it the most beautiful place in the world. I think those memories of the island may be part of why I love Jeju.

What does sustainable travel mean to you, Fabien?
To travel at all, you have to take a flight, and the pollution that causes is unavoidable. Instead, once I’m at a destination, I try to get around by bicycle or on foot. I eat at small restaurants where locals go, and I try to spend my money in ways that benefit people in the area as much as possible. I choose eco-friendly accommodations over big hotels, and I make small efforts like keeping the same sheets during my stay instead of having them changed. That’s also part of why I don’t like package tours.

Do you have a personal travel ritual?
I write everything down. It’s almost on the level of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. (Laughs) When I get back to my lodging at night, I go through the photos I took that day and organize every tiny detail into notes. After a trip, you usually need time to readjust to everyday life. That’s when I write a book. I’ve written five so far, recording in detail the feelings I had on the road, the people I met, the food I ate, the conversations we had, the good and the bad. I usually travel for about two weeks, and a single day’s record runs about 10 pages. The longest is India. I stayed there a month, so I experienced a huge variety of things. I do take photos on trips, but I prefer to look back through writing. I started in 2016, and when I reread it now, I think, ‘Oh, so that’s how it was then,’ and it feels fresh and wonderful.

Finally, where would you most like to go once the pandemic is over?
That’s already decided. As I said earlier, I’m going to Saudi Arabia. My Middle East journey will only be complete once I’ve been there. I originally planned to go last year, but I’ll go once COVID is over. Until September 2019, Saudi Arabia was a closed country. Unless you were going for business or the pilgrimage to Mecca, it was hard to visit. When Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) took power, the country began issuing tourist visas for the first time, as part of Saudi Vision 2030. But then COVID broke out right away, so in reality not many people have visited yet. It’s almost a blank slate. Until I can go, I plan to keep studying Arabic hard.