I’m Korean.
People who have visited Korea on a rainy day might have noticed this—
Koreans don’t really like getting caught in the rain.
That was exactly what surprised me when I saw foreign tourists.
They seemed completely unbothered by it.
I’ve even seen videos where a Korean living abroad gets teased
for using an umbrella in light rain.
In Korea, we grow up hearing that getting wet in the rain is bad.
Acid rain is harmful,
you might lose your hair—
things like that.
So for a long time,
I always made sure to carry an umbrella when it rained.
But one day,
I was doing food delivery on a bicycle.
It wasn’t raining when I left,
but halfway through,
it suddenly started pouring.
I couldn’t use an umbrella,
so I had no choice but to ride through the rain.
And strangely,
it felt amazing.
Even the streetlights looked romantic,
and as the rain fell, people disappeared into buildings.
The streets emptied out,
and I was riding my bike alone.
It felt… freeing.
Thinking about it now,
there was another time I enjoyed the rain.
At an amusement park.
I was on a swinging ride when a sudden downpour started.
The ride was supposed to stop when it rained,
but I guess it couldn’t once it had already started.
The rain was so intense
it felt like someone had turned a shower on full blast
right in front of my face.
I was completely soaked,
but I remember laughing so much.
Even now,
it’s one of the moments I remember most vividly.
This morning,
I went running in the rain.
And I realized
it doesn’t bother me anymore.
While running, I suddenly wondered—
when did I become okay with this?
Looking back,
it started after that day on the bike.
It wasn’t because I saw foreigners enjoying the rain.
It was because I experienced it myself.
That one moment changed everything.
New experiences matter more than we think.
They can turn something you’ve avoided your whole life
into something that feels completely natural.