About Rob

Rob O Seyo, author of the blog Roboseyo, has lived in Seoul, South Korea since 2003, and blogged about life here since 2006. He writes about the ins and outs of Korean society, cultural change, blending and assimilation, expat life, community and isolation, and the interesting interactions between them and a staggeringly fast-changing Korean society... when he's not wandering wildly off topic and talking about koalas, weird internet phenomena, loud music, or zombies.

Now a husband and father, and committed long-term resident of Korea, Rob took a Masters' degree in Korean Studies from Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies to broaden and deepen his understanding of Korea, and now balances blog and family time with a job teaching English to first-year students at a university in Seoul.


The name:
Originally, Rob would answer the phone by saying "Roboseyo" instead of "Yoboseyo," the normal greeting.  Eventually this became his nickname. Yes. His friends actually do call him Roboseyo. And you may too, if you meet him.

Hey can you tell me (personal detail)/What's the name of your wife/workplace/kid/etc.? 

Wifeoseyo, Juniorseyo and other important people in my life are not the writers of this blog. Nor is this blog an official representation of my workplace, wife, alma mater or anything but my own opinions. I tell my stories in a way that keeps the story's theme and point intact... but because they involve people I care about a lot, or places in which I have a real stake, and many of them know where to find my blog, I'll protect their dignity and privacy, through pseudonyms, concealments, strategic massaging of details, and misdirections. This allows me to write about them in a way that is much more free, fun, and entertaining, than if I have to run everything by everyone before posting.

Will you sign in blood that every opinion on this blog is your ironclad opinion for all time?


"'Do you believe what you're sayin'?
Yeah right now, but not that often."
- Modest Mouse, Satin in a Coffin

The posts on this blog, and especially those ones you disliked, represent my opinion at the particular time I wrote them. Publishing an opinion here is no guarantee I still hold that opinion, nor that it is correct, and I reserve the right, without notice, to adjust, amend, or abandon any of the views I have expressed at any time on this blog, no matter how emphatically I originally stated them. I generally don't delete posts here, so don't count on everything here being an intensely committed view I still hold. People change their minds.