Changing Seasons – June 2026

Hello friends from a muggy Sunday in Seoul. There’s rain forecast for all this week, it seems the monsoon season is soon upon us. I’m afraid I haven’t been doing a good job of leaning into the summer and truly enjoying the season. More like sheltering in place, staying as still as possible to avoid sweating. But it’s a new week this week, I can try, try again. We can always try again.

BTS Arirang in Busan

The biggest event of the month for me was going down to Busan to see BTS in concert. This trip was made special by the addition of my friend A from Malaysia. A and I met through YT before I became ARMY actually, and she acted as my ARMY guide as I joined the fandom. We met up briefly once a few years ago in KL when I visited for work, and then again this trip!

I had brainstormed and daydreamed about freebies for the concert, but it wasn’t until the week of that I finally sat down and carved a quick lino and block printed these mini prints. The bridge shown is Gwanganli, an iconic vista in Busan. I kept to my constraints of not spending any money on making freebies, utilizing the back of a previously-carved rubber block, and printing with ink pads and paper I already had. I think they turned out quite nice!

I had a reservation for the ARMY Madang in Busan as well, so we stopped by Haeundae to check out the sponsor booths there. I may have been quite disappointed to wait for nearly an hour at the Gemini booth, only to find out they had run out of the phone straps. Here’s the haul from the ARMY Madang in Busan. Luckily they still had a Busan-themed ribbon left. (The ribbon… it seemed so important to get it at the time, and now I’m like, what am I going to do with this?)

Did a bit of sightseeing as well. Stopped by the Busan Museum for the first time, and quite enjoyed walking through the Busan exhibit. I liked how this map was drawn:

And stopped by Oryukdo Islands. The name literally means “five-six islands” because you can see five or six, depending on the tide. You can see six when the tide is in, and five when it’s out.

After the concert we also took the beach train from Mipo to Songjeong. We got lucky and got to ride the BTS-themed one!

Got off at Songjeong and admired the beach as I walked towards my lunchtime destination. If you look closely, it’s a dog and their owner sitting under that umbrella. It was a cute moment.

Lunch was mulhoe, or spicy raw fish in cold broth. It doesn’t sound appetizing but it was quite good.

And stopped by a gallery to check out an art exhibit too.

As for the concert, what can I say? There’s no place like a BTS concert, and I’m so lucky I got to see them again, and on FESTA too. I was up high on Day 1 and pretty close on the second floor (first floor off the ground) on Day 2, I think possibly the closest I’ve ever been.

The best part of BTS concert season, besides the actual concert of course, is getting to reunite with ARMY friends. It’s been wonderful to have concerts and friend reunions this first half of 2026.

Crafty makes

The crochet class I was taking finished up this month. I can’t believe how much I learned during this class. Four months ago I didn’t know a thing, and now I can make dolls and bags and hats. I finished my glitter net bag this month:

I also came across this fun, neon cord at Daiso and had a go crocheting with it. Looked up how to make an adjustable sliding knot, and voila! A fun bracelet for summer. The first one I made I gifted to a classmate from crochet class, but I quickly made two more.

And my jacket that I added a tomato applique to was included as part of the sewing atelier’s exhibit on visible mending and repair. It was very cool to see it exhibited (I felt like an artist!) and it was even used in the promotional materials.

Birds

Alas, my birding journey came to a near standstill this month. I’m pretty sure I saw seagulls at a distance in Busan, but I haven’t added them to my life list yet. The only new ‘bird’ I saw was this common duck. It was quite exciting to see at the time, but now I’m not sure if it should be added to the list since it’s a domesticated duck, and so also probably poultry?

Birding-related, I stopped by an exhibit on bird guides put on by a local birding group, and it was actually a lot more interesting that I expected. I liked seeing how the different guides organized information, most scientifically but others more through personal storytelling. Of course, it made me want to make my own personal bird guide. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I hope to join the birding group on an outing soon.

And that about wraps up June for me. I know I said I’d do a half year review this post, but I think I’ll end here for today. Wishing you all a wonderful July!

This post was written as part of the Changing Seasons challenge. You can visit Ju-Lyn’s post to see how other creatives around the world spent their month.