This blog post introduces sample sentences that effectively express experiences and strengths gained through travel in the hobbies and special skills section of a self-introduction essay.

Stories Made Through Travel

I absolutely love traveling. During high school, I didn’t have much time to actually go on trips, so I mostly enjoyed travel indirectly by spreading out maps or reading travel books and magazines. While it wasn’t as vivid as walking the paths and seeing things with my own eyes, I gained a lot in my own way. I especially enjoyed scrapbooking favorite travel books or magazine articles. After entering university, I often used those materials as references to actually visit those places.
I find greater appeal in seeking out lesser-known spots than famous tourist destinations. So, rather than skimming through multiple regions, I prefer to deeply explore one area, examining every nook and cranny. Surprisingly, there were many places boasting outstanding scenery that weren’t well-known in the media. Whenever I discovered such a place, I captured it with my camera, treasuring the moment, and began introducing those photos and stories one by one on my blog. At first, I had limited resources and few visitors, but as my records gradually accumulated, my audience grew, and now quite a few people visit.
My dream is to travel not only within Korea but also to various places around the world. I believe it’s truly wonderful to share the emotions and insights gained from encountering unfamiliar landscapes and cultures with others. The computer skills I’ve acquired through running my blog and the diverse experiences gained through travel will be valuable assets in whatever I do in the future. I hope that new stories accumulate wherever my footsteps lead, and that those stories become seeds that inspire someone else’s travel dreams.

From Map to Reality: My Travel Stories

I absolutely love traveling. During high school, I didn’t have much time to actually go on trips, so I mostly enjoyed travel vicariously by spreading out maps or reading travel books and magazines. While it wasn’t as vivid as walking the paths and seeing things with my own eyes, it still offered its own unique rewards. I especially liked to clip out favorite travel articles or magazine pieces. After entering university, I’d use those materials as references to actually visit those places.
I find greater appeal in seeking out lesser-known spots than famous tourist destinations. So, rather than skimming through multiple regions, I prefer to deeply explore one area, examining every nook and cranny. Surprisingly, there were many places boasting outstanding scenery that weren’t well-known in the media. Whenever I discovered such a place, I captured it with my camera, treasuring the moment, and began introducing those photos and stories one by one on my blog. At first, I had limited resources and few visitors, but as my records gradually accumulated, my audience grew, and now quite a few people visit.
My dream is to travel not only within Korea but also to various places around the world. I believe it’s truly wonderful to share the emotions and insights gained from encountering unfamiliar landscapes and cultures with others. The computer skills I’ve acquired through running my blog and the diverse experiences gained through travel will be valuable assets in whatever I do in the future. I hope that new stories accumulate wherever my footsteps lead, and that those stories become seeds that inspire someone else’s travel dreams.

Spontaneous Day Trips

I love taking spontaneous day trips without a big plan. That morning, I decide on a destination based on how my body and mind feel, load up my favorite music, and grab the steering wheel. Watching the scenery pass by the car window calms my cluttered mind and recharges my energy for the next day.
I call these day trips ‘creating space for myself.’ I believe it’s crucial for designers to carve out breathing room to embrace new things. When design work becomes just another task, it inevitably turns into repetitive routine. That’s why I intentionally create my own space, leaving room for fresh ideas to seep in. This allows me to generate innovative concepts during actual design work and gives me the distance to step back and review my own creations.
Small museums or exhibitions encountered by chance while traveling can also become sources of new ideas. The vibrant colors and lively expressions of people discovered at a rural market, or the sunrise and sunset viewed from a quiet fishing village beach, provide fresh stimuli rarely felt in daily life. Time spent examining traces of the past at ancient ruins or artifacts becomes my own profound moment of reflection, prompting me to reconsider the present and imagine the future.
Thus, these unplanned day trips are not merely ‘brief respites,’ but precious time that renews and expands me. Perhaps the freedom of that single day will make many days ahead more creative and abundant.

The First Journey in My Mind, and the Real Journey

Travel has always been a part of my life. I traveled quite a few times during my university years and after graduation, and even now, planning trips remains both my hobby and my specialty. Before I was old enough to save money and travel abroad myself, I would endlessly rewrite plans, dreaming of the overseas trips I would one day take. For my younger self, travel plans existed more in the realm of imagination than reality. Without considering transportation or distances between cities, I’d create itineraries that were almost like teleportation: ‘Eat this food in this city, move to that city to see the famous tourist spot, and then head to another city in the evening to watch a beautiful sunset.’
Gradually, as my knowledge grew and I learned about each country’s transportation systems and travel methods, my plans became more concrete. But it took well over a decade to actually put those mental plans into action. Over those long years, the travel plans I repeatedly sketched and erased in my mind like a hobby became my own habit: even before the actual trip, I’d review transportation and attractions dozens of times and create various scenarios tailored to the trip’s purpose.
Many people say the excitement of travel begins even before departure. But for me, travel goes one step further. It involves two distinct experiences: the ‘first journey’ of meticulously planning and enjoying the trip in my mind before departure, and the ‘second journey’ of physically setting out on the trip. This way of enjoying even the planning process shows that travel has become more than just a hobby; it’s deeply embedded as a part of my life.

A Journey Toward Difference

I am someone who enjoys traveling. During my childhood, while gathering the opinions of various children, I came to realize something: I felt a deep fascination with the very essence of ‘human diversity’. Many people, when encountering someone whose opinions are diametrically opposed to their own, often feel discomfort or antipathy first. But I, on the contrary, felt curiosity in such situations. The question ‘How could someone think that?’ blossomed in my mind, and I would strive to understand the reason. It felt like encountering a missing half, filling out my own one-sided perspective.
Even if I ultimately couldn’t understand them, listening to people who viewed the world from a completely different perspective provided me with great stimulation and learning. It was around that time I realized that the more I experienced other worlds and ways of thinking, the broader my horizons became, and the more my inner capabilities and maturity grew.
The reasons for traveling vary from person to person. Some go for rest, others to enjoy new cultures. But for me, the greatest purpose of travel lies in breaking free from my preconceptions and notions to encounter entirely different ‘new worlds’ and expand my horizons. That’s why I’m drawn most strongly to countries whose values differ sharply from my own. This is precisely why I deliberately avoid popular tourist destinations many people flock to, and instead seek out unfamiliar countries untouched by civilization without hesitation.
Such travel isn’t merely movement; it becomes a profound experience that deepens my growth. Sometimes it requires enduring discomfort or facing completely unexpected situations, but every step of the process strengthens the world within me. I believe these experiences enrich my heart and mind, becoming the fertile soil that allows me to grow into a greater person.

Walking the World, Feeling Architecture

I have a hobby of traveling to various countries around the world to see and feel with my own eyes unfamiliar and novel forms of design, or buildings possessing diverse and intriguing elements. Architecture is a three-dimensional art that gives a completely different impression depending on the angle from which you view it. Therefore, I believe it holds far greater value to appreciate it on-site than a two-dimensional painting. Only when standing before a building and feeling its scale and atmosphere with your entire being do you truly grasp its genuine charm—something photos or videos cannot convey.
From ancient structures that have endured alongside nature and human history for centuries to futuristic buildings embodying the vision of emerging designers just making their mark, every architectural piece I’ve personally sought out and encountered possessed a profound reason and value for standing exactly where it does. I’ve even spent an entire day in one place, simply to appreciate the 24-hour expressions an architecture creates amidst the ever-changing surrounding landscape, shifting with time and weather. Witnessing those moment-by-moment transformations resonated far deeper than any simple journey.
Through these repeated experiences, I too began to dream of one day creating architecture that conveys an emotion so profound, it needs no words to move those who see it. My aspiration is to create architecture that moves people’s hearts simply by existing, not merely something I take pride in myself. That is the goal I am determined to achieve someday. Even now, I continue traveling, anticipating the day I can grasp that opportunity.

Cultivating an Aesthetic Sense Through Artworks, Architecture, and Nature

To cultivate my aesthetic sense, I consistently appreciate diverse artworks and maintain a keen interest in architecture. Sometimes, to refresh my gaze amidst nature’s inherent beauty, I hike mountains or invest generously in time for journeys seeking outstanding scenery. This hobby simply cannot be cultivated while staying indoors, so whenever I have free time, I rarely stay home. Whenever opportunity arises, I spare no time or expense, actively setting out to seek new beauty.
To refine my discerning eye for beauty, I also take a keen interest in architecture. The world of architecture, which enhances the ability to interpret the intentional arrangement of objects and spaces, feels like another realm of art to me. Yet, above all else, what captures my heart most deeply is nature’s own masterpiece, completed by its own hand. Standing before the landscapes created by towering mountains, vast oceans, and endless forests and fields, we realize we are merely beings rushing to chase that beauty—far more so than any garden or landscape crafted by human calculation and technology.
Yet humans are creatures who endlessly challenge their limits. Even if we cannot perfectly capture nature’s majestic beauty, we strive tirelessly to draw closer to that realm. I believe human beauty manifests itself in this very process. That is why I always maintain a mindset of constant dedication, embracing new sensations, seeking to see and feel more deeply. Experiences in art, architecture, and nature accumulate within me, strengthening my aesthetic sensibility. I will continue this journey without pause, seeking out the hidden beauty scattered throughout the world.

Travel widely and broaden your horizons!

My hobby is backpacking. While most people travel through package tours offered by agencies, I don’t prefer uniform travel programs accompanied by guides. Of course, such trips have the advantage of having a pre-set schedule, eliminating the need for separate planning. Additionally, the presence of a guide and insurance cannot be overlooked, as they help mitigate various risks that may arise during travel. However, I much prefer travel where I plan and move around on my own, rather than moving within a predetermined framework. This is because the joy derived from packing my own bags, choosing my own destinations, and personally finding and designing restaurants and travel routes is immense.
The reason I insist on this kind of travel is because it offers unique value found only in the process. My primary reason for traveling frequently is to broaden my horizons and expand my perspective on life. Living only within familiar surroundings makes it difficult to imagine the lives of people in other regions. If you always stay in the same school, with the same friends, in the same neighborhood, the breadth of your world inevitably narrows. That’s why I deliberately seek out new places I’ve never lived in before, to meet and interact with people who have completely different values and outlooks on life. Not preparing sufficient travel funds is also a deliberate choice. It’s because I can feel myself growing into a person with a more open mindset through the process of actively searching for and solving what I need on the ground.
Of course, I don’t only travel alone; I often plan trips with close friends. But even then, I strive to ensure the journey isn’t just about simple enjoyment—I aim to learn something and return enriched. Experiencing new landscapes, meeting diverse people, and solving unexpected situations on my own become vital assets in life. That’s why I want to keep traveling, learning about the world, and discovering a more mature version of myself within it.

The dream of traveling the world that began on a map

Traveling around the world is a major goal in my life. A large world map poster hangs on one wall of my room. These days, such posters are easy to find, so I bought one, put it up on the wall, and looking at the locations of different countries whenever I have a moment has become my own little pleasure and habit. Traveling the map with my eyes makes me realize anew just how many countries I haven’t visited yet.
So far, I’ve traveled to seven countries. I’ve visited various regions like the Americas, Southeast Asia, Asia, and Europe, yet the list of countries I still want to see is endless. In fact, since childhood, I’ve held the dream of “one day traveling around the entire world.” That dream gradually solidified, leading to journeys where I chose my own destinations, made my own plans, and set off. For me, traveling with plans I researched and created myself—rather than through a travel agency’s package tour—felt far more exciting and liberating.
Anyone with even a little travel experience will agree: backpacking, where you go wherever your feet take you, is much freer than following a predetermined schedule. Also, traveling alone or with just one or two companions suits my personality better than group tours. When planning trips, I don’t meticulously decide every detail like destinations, accommodations, or restaurants. Instead, I set a general direction and move based on the situation and my mood on the spot. Thanks to this, one day I might be rushing around so much I skip a meal, while another day I might leisurely spend the whole day exploring popular eateries. I try to book lodging whenever possible, but if that’s not feasible, I’ve never hesitated to spend a night at a terminal.
Historical sites and landmarks are must-visit spots on my trips. Capturing the emotions I feel there through photos is an essential part of the enjoyment. I meticulously document each place I visit on my blog to preserve these memories. My travel records aren’t just photo albums; they’re a kind of journey diary that captures the atmosphere and emotions of each moment. My long-held dream and goal is to one day compile these records into a book themed around ‘traveling the world’. Until that day comes, I gaze at the map today, imagining my next destination.

Vitality Regained Through Walking in Seoul

I love walking. However, during my school days, my schedule was packed with major studies, liberal arts classes, part-time work, and library visits, leaving almost no time for hobbies. Despite this, I made an effort to carve out time whenever possible to walk, even if just a little. Especially during my university years, since my school was in Seoul, I made a point to seek out walking paths near the city. But walking wasn’t as simple an activity as I’d imagined. It required setting aside dedicated time and finding suitable places to walk, making it hard to muster the motivation each time.
So, I started searching for Seoul’s perimeter trails and walking paths to carve out space for walking. Surprisingly, many sites compiled information on small parks and hidden walking paths. Using these as references, I set out to discover them on foot. That’s how I gradually built up my experience, hiking perimeter trails, walking along Seoul’s fortress walls, or strolling riverside paths in the suburbs. I took the metro to walk near Namhansanseong Fortress far away, and I also walked around Mongchontoseong Fortress. Walking along Gyeongbokgung Palace and Insa-dong streets, I felt the history and culture within the city center. Walking atop the Hanyangdoseong Fortress walls, I imagined Seoul’s past.
This process wasn’t just about walking; each time, I documented the route and my impressions in blog posts. I took photos to preserve the memories and felt a sense of accomplishment upon receiving ‘Conquering the Perimeter Path’ certifications. Especially, the ‘Metro Travel’ using the subway revealed another charm of walking tours in Seoul.
Above all, these walking activities rejuvenated me. Having been largely inactive for a long time, I felt sluggish and low on energy, but walking regularly brightened my mood and gave me a boost. Thanks to the leisure and sense of accomplishment that walking itself provides, I could feel both my body and mind becoming healthier.
Seoul walking tours became more than just a hobby for me; they became a vital source of energy in my life. Even amidst a busy routine, pausing my steps to walk slowly while observing my surroundings has become an important part of my life. I look forward to discovering new paths and documenting more stories along the way.

I’ll go anywhere for a local festival

I absolutely love local festivals. I’ve attended festivals held in Korea, and since I was around twenty, I’ve made it a point to visit overseas festivals whenever possible. My initial interest in local festivals was sparked by the ‘Horizon Festival’ held in my hometown of Gimje. When I first participated, I was captivated by the endless fields, golden rice paddies, and the vibrant energy and laughter flowing among the people. It was in those moments—sharing makgeolli, flying kites, and running freely across the fields—that I discovered the true charm of local festivals.
Truthfully, regional festivals used to be seen as something like a declining industry, or events enjoyed only by the elderly. But the atmosphere has changed recently. Younger generations actively seek out these festivals, traveling long distances without hesitation. They also participate enthusiastically in the preparation process, injecting fresh ideas. Thanks to this, the form and atmosphere of festivals have become much more diverse and vibrant.
I, too, have become a festival enthusiast, traveling to various events across the country—citrus festivals, trout-catching festivals, silver grass festivals, lantern festivals—taking photos and documenting those moments. The same holds true for my overseas travels. In France, I participated in a wine festival, lending a hand in the winemaking process. In Spain, I felt the passion with my whole body right in the middle of the tomato festival.
Now, the keyword ‘festival’ is indispensable in my travel plans. When choosing a destination, I first check the festival schedule, and timing my trip accordingly has become both a habit and a pleasure. Laughing and enjoying myself with new people in unfamiliar lands, deeply immersing myself in their culture, offers me meaning beyond simple travel.
Local festivals are more than just events. They embody the lives and traditions of the people there, along with the warm spirit of community. That’s why, whether in Korea or abroad, I want to keep seeking out festivals without hesitation, fully embracing each moment. It’s a special way to enrich my life.