I woke up early to the sound of roosters crowing “cock-a-doodle-doo” from all around. Opening my eyes, I found myself lying inside a large box. For a moment, I was dazed, wondering where I was. Snapping back to reality, I checked the time on my phone—it was 5 a.m. I was at Yeongjongdo Campground, having slept in my car. Lately, I’ve been waking up around 5 a.m. without an alarm. It seems like a good habit I picked up over the past year working as a delivery driver. I guess it means my body’s gotten healthier too? Instead of a luxury camping caravan, I’ve been car camping with the kids in my delivery van. Following Gapyeong, Paju, Anmyeondo, and Taean, this week marks the fifth consecutive weekend camping trip at Yeongjongdo. Is there anyone else besides me who uses a delivery van as a camper? I love this time—recharging from the week’s fatigue and preparing for the next while enjoying camping with different friends each week and experiencing the unique features of each campsite. I’m so grateful for it. Today, I need to hurry home to watch over my youngest son. My wife finally exploded with nagging yesterday!

Looking at my social media, I see my last post was in 2018, and there are no records after that. So much happened, but I went through such a difficult and incomprehensible time that I couldn’t bring myself to write about it. Only now do I feel like I’m recovering and getting back to normal. I started working as a delivery driver last July, so it’s been about a year now, and I’ve experienced firsthand what hitting rock bottom in life feels like. Sleeping just 4-5 hours a day, eating bread in the car, delivering packages in the morning, handling studio apartment moves and freight deliveries in the evening, doing Coupang Flex deliveries at night, and squeezing in selling used items on Karrot Market whenever possible – it felt like I was filming an episode of “Experience the Real World” every single day, just surviving day by day for the past year. My friends saved me. They carved time out of their own busy schedules to hike with me, came to help with my delivery work, and even traveled all the way to distant Songdo with their families to look after my wife and kids. I owe them all so much, and I’m so sorry. Now, I need to wake the kids up, feed them some instant noodles, and head home!