At Yonsei University I spend most of my time thinking about water — rivers, reservoirs, and how rainfall becomes the flows we try to predict. My current project uses machine learning to forecast inflow at Damyang Dam. Maybe that’s why I can’t picture Bristol as just a place to visit. It’s a city shaped by the tidal River Avon, and water there tells a story I’ve trained for years to read.
That perspective is also how I think about travelling responsibly.
I’ll be honest about the uncomfortable part first. A one-way Seoul-to-UK flight releases around 1.3 tonnes of CO₂ from fuel alone, and closer to 2–3 once high-altitude effects like contrails are counted — more than some people emit in a year, and I won’t pretend that isn’t real. What I can control is what comes after I land. Within Britain and Europe, I’ll rely on trains and coaches instead of short flights wherever reasonable — a Bristol-to-Edinburgh train produces roughly six times less CO₂ than flying. I’ll also offset my outbound flight through Gold Standard, less to cancel the cost than to keep myself honest.
Bristol makes this easy to care about. It was the UK’s first European Green Capital (2015), and its harbourside flood defences are a working example of SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities). The goal closest to my own work is SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). I hope to visit the city’s sustainable drainage systems and learn how Wessex Water manages supply, linking my Korean modelling work to how water is handled in the UK. Even small things — not wasting water in my self-catered residence — are SDG 6 in practice.
Some of this is already habit, not plan. I carry a reusable filter bottle every day and refill it rather than buying plastic, and I’ll keep that up in Bristol, where the tap water is genuinely good. I chose self-catered on purpose, so I can shop at zero-waste stores and the Tobacco Factory farmers’ market, eat seasonally, and lean mostly plant-based, which roughly halves a diet’s footprint. I’ll get a second-hand bike and cross the compact city on foot or by cycle instead of taxis. For European trips, my rule is simple: rail over budget airlines whenever the journey is under eight hours.
I also want to keep a sustainability log as a water student and share it with others — small habits travel better between friends than through lectures.
Ahead of arriving, I’ve started collecting tools that make sustainable living in Bristol easier:
1. Trainline (www.thetrainline.com) — compares rail routes and shows CO₂ saved versus flying
2. Gold Standard (www.goldstandard.org) — verified carbon offsetting
3. Too Good To Go (www.toogoodtogo.com) — rescues unsold food from cafes and shops
4. Refill (www.refill.org.uk) — maps free water-refill points across Bristol
5. Olio (www.olioapp.com) — shares surplus food and items with neighbours
Studying one of the planet’s most precious resources is reason enough to move through it with care.
