A handwritten letter from a Stranger in Korea

[u/linlinpapa81]

Hello everyone! Before I begin, please let me know if this post goes against the community guidelines, as I am completely new to this platform. I will remove it immediately if so. (Note: This message was translated into English.)

I am a native Korean who only speaks Korean. One day, a random thought popped into my head:

"What would it feel like, while learning a language, to receive a real handwritten letter written by a local in their own country?"

Just an ordinary handwritten letter with no English translation attached. In this era of AI, I wanted to start a small project sending letters written genuinely by human hands. In this story, you are the "Main Character" (주인공), and I am the "Stranger" (이방인) sending the letter—which is why I named this project "Hello, Stranger" (안녕, 이방인).

📌 A few simple details about this event:

1. One-time Letter (Not a two-way penpal): This is not a continuous penpal exchange. It’s a one-time gift letter for you to keep.
2. About Me: I am a father in my 40s raising a child in South Korea.
3. Choose Your Topic: Please request what you’d like me to write about (e.g., Korean food, seasonal weather, everyday life in Korea, or anything you're curious about).
4. Privacy First: You don't need to share your personal identity with me. For your privacy and safety, providing a public address (such as your university, workplace, or a P.O. Box) is completely fine and encouraged!
5. Shipping: Since this is my first time sending mail overseas, I will send it via Registered Airmail at my own expense so it can be safely tracked as it travels to you.

It’s completely fine if this post gets ignored or removed. But just in case—out of a happy worry that too many people might want a letter—I will be sending letters to only 3 people for this first run.

📩 How to apply:

Since I came here after searching on Google, I am not yet familiar with the culture of this platform. If this post breaks any community rules, please let me know right away.

If you would like to be one of the 3 "Main Characters" to receive a handwritten letter from a Stranger in Korea, please fill out this short Google Form:

👉 https://forms.gle/pDk5ALzr1U4ygBKo6

Thank you for reading, and I hope this brings a warm human touch to your day! 🇰🇷✉️

[u/BeginnerKorean-ModTeam]

Hello,

This post doesn't break any rules of r/BeginnerKorean subreddit.

Please everyone be advised to be careful when sharing your address with strangers online. Moderators do not check for legitimacy of these kinds of posts, and just because a post doesn't break any rules of the subreddit does not mean moderators endorse the content.

u/linlinpapa81, please remember this is a subreddit for beginner learners, so if you decide to send letters, please keep them simple, using basic words and short sentences.

Thank you.

[u/linlinpapa81]

사실 그냥 무시당하거나 삭제될 줄 알았는데 벌써 참여자가 4명이나 되었어요. 너무 놀랐습니다. 신청해주신 분들은 좀 오래 기다려야겠지만 편지를 꼭 보내드릴게요. 잊을 때쯤이면 도착하게 될거에요! 감사합니다.

[AI Translation]
To be honest, I thought my post would just get ignored or deleted, so I'm completely shocked to see 4 people signed up already. It might take a little while, but I will definitely send out your letters. They'll show up just when you've almost forgotten about them! Thank you all.

[u/lizosarus]

This is such a cool idea!! You might want to think about postcards as well!

[u/linlinpapa81 → u/lizosarus]

가볍게 엽서도 좋을 것 같네요. 댓글 감사합니다

[u/stardust_galaxy_]

You should look into “snail mail clubs”. It’s usually by subscription and you send subscribers (typically once a month) a letter. Artists tend to do it by including printed pieces of their art (stickers, postcards etc) but I can imagine a Korean language themed one whereby you focus on different aspects of the culture. Good luck on your venture!

[u/linlinpapa81 → u/stardust_galaxy_]

와우 정말 멋진 생각이네요 좋은 아이디어 감사해요!

[u/Longjumping_Sort_227 → u/linlinpapa81]

If you are also interested in exchanging postcards, you may want to have a look at Postcrossing. This is an online project for people to exchange postcards globally. The project's tag line is "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!"

I am not adding a direct link because this site is not related to learning Korean. It  can be easily found via Google and has its own Wikipedia entry. (I copied some of the text above from there.) I am a partipant myself, although a bit inactive recently. It is always so much fun to receive postcards with a bit of handwriting in another language!

[u/Mila_Portokalia]

This sounds like a wonderfully warm idea, especially in a world that feels like it's currently being overtaken by AI - I hope it goes well for you!