On 1 June 2026, I will arrive in Seoul for a six-week internship at a Korean beauty company. I expect to learn about skincare, branding and business, but I also want to learn something quieter: how to move through another country without leaving careless footprints behind.
Seoul feels like the right classroom for that lesson. It is fast, bright and deeply urban, yet it also gives visitors practical ways to make lower-impact choices every day. My first sustainability decision will be transport. Instead of relying on taxis, I plan to use the metro, buses and walking routes for my daily commute into central Seoul. I will use Naver Map (map.naver.com) and KakaoMetro to plan efficient public-transport journeys, connecting my placement to SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
I also want my routine to reflect SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. The beauty industry is exciting, but it also raises important questions about packaging, samples, overconsumption and waste. During my internship, I want to observe how a Korean beauty company thinks about these issues and reflect on whether sustainability can become part of beauty itself, not just something added afterwards. At work, I will keep notes digitally where possible, avoid unnecessary printing, and be mindful of how products, materials and samples are used.
Outside the office, I will carry a reusable water bottle and cup, avoid single-use plastics where I can, and follow Seoul’s recycling rules using guidance from the Seoul Metropolitan Government (english.seoul.go.kr). If a short journey can be made safely by bike, I will consider using Seoul Bike Ttareungi (bikeseoul.com), the city’s public bicycle system. These choices may sound small, but sustainability abroad is often built from repeated ordinary decisions.
I will also use the UN Sustainable Development Goals website (sdgs.un.org) to keep my actions connected to a wider framework, especially SDG 13: Climate Action. For me, sustainable travel does not mean pretending travel has no impact. It means being honest about that impact and making intentional choices to reduce it.
By the time I leave Seoul on 10 July, I hope to bring back more than internship experience. I want to bring back a sharper understanding of how cities, businesses and individuals can share responsibility for sustainability. If beauty is about care, then my time in Seoul should also be about care: for the city hosting me, for the students I will share my experience with, and for the environment that makes all international learning possible.
