In 2014, ten years after I joined AMOREPACIFIC, I had the chance to visit South America through the company project "Hye Cho." It's now been four months since I first came to Chile, a country that seems to hug the long Pacific coast of South America. What follows is the story of my four months in Santiago, Chile.

I knew three things about Chile before coming here. First, its wine. Second, you have to transfer in Chile for a flight to the Antarctic King Sejong Station. Third, the country is prone to earthquakes.

Chile is one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world, as it is located along the so-called Pacific ring of fire, with the country traversing an active tectonic plate division. I checked the record before I applied for the project and found that there's a major earthquake once every four to five years with a magnitude of six or greater and an earthquake of that magnitude has already happened this year. I volunteered to go to Chile as I reckoned that there'd be no more earthquakes of that severity. However, I was soon proved wrong.

It was ten days after I touched down in Santiago, Chile. I was staying in a hotel at that time. From nowhere, I felt a tremor in the chair I was sitting in: from then on, I realized, this was it, an earthquake. In the aftermath, I moved from a hotel to renting an apartment on the 14th floor and I have lived there ever since. I didn't consider the chance of earthquake re-occurring. It had slipped my mind.

On Saturday afternoon, Aug. 23, I was at home compiling data. Then, everything blacked out. Literally, all lights in my neighborhood went. Soon, the building began to shake. My house is on the 14th floor of the 23rd story building. 'Should I take the elevator? Or run down the stairs? Is it possible to make it out before the building collapsed?' Many thoughts flooded my head. 'Anyway, I'll die.' So I gave up escaping and tried to calm down. Fortunately, the shake relented with my mood. I was relieved with the thought that 'I can live!' One hour later, the electricity came back with the news reporting the magnitude of the earthquake as 6.8. Nature had humbled me yet again.

On the next day, Santiago went back to normal. It was a huge earthquake but no buildings had collapsed and no one was injured. It was clear that some people were already very familiar with earthquakes. I'm still afraid of earthquakes, but now I've got used to it to the extent that I can fall sound asleep after waking up during a light ground tremble.

Night in Santiago overlooking from the 14th fl. balcony

Chile is commonly known to be the most secure country in Latin America. However, theft and robbery are on the rise these days with the inflow of migrant workers from neighboring countries. Thieves mostly target obvious foreigners, such as travelers, meaning the threat is often exaggerated. Beware the thief, not the terrorist. However, you have to beware of terror as well.

According to the Chilean government, there have been about 200 cases of terrorist bombings since 2005 and most of them have been committed by anarchists. It was a bit odd to me as I thought the word 'anarchist' existed only in textbooks. In August, a bomb exploded in front of the police station in downtown, but no one was injured. The records show that most terrorist attacks have been committed in protest against the government, rather than to kill people. However, a terrorist attack in September was different. A bomb exploded in a trash can in a subway station located one stop away from my house and fourteen people were severely injured. The anarchist targeted the station where the Escuela military (military academy) is located. The criminal was arrested within a week, but it was enough to make people realize that terrorist attacks had become more violent in intent.

The next day, the government took away all trash cans in subway stations. That reminded me of Seoul, where all trash cans have been taken away from subway stations due to the terrorist threat. The two incidents led to the same conclusion, but the level of fear was quite different.

Such threats like theft, robbery, and terrorist attack made me constantly cautious and worried.

Trash can on the wall before the terrorist attack (left) / mark on the wall after the attack (right)

I left Korea in the middle of summer and arrived in Chile where I had to endure midwinter. Here, I could see the Sun only once a week. Thought the warmth still remained during the day, the cold at night was hellish. Most homes in Chile have an ineffective heating system. (Believe me, I've checked already.) It is better to stay at home when a chilly wind blows from the South. Even on a sunny day, the cold wet wind from the Antarctic made me question whether I was in fact in a refrigerator. It's like putting ice on my bare skin.

There's a mountain behind my home. It stands over 3,000 meters. The mountain is covered with snow during winter when there's no snow in Santiago. Local residents come to visit on the weekend for picnics and sleigh rides. There are also world renowned ski resorts, with many skiers from the North visiting during the summer. However, I suffered from altitude sickness when climbing the mountain. It's like a hangover and I will never get used to it.

Winter in Santiago is humid, as it is rainy season. People in Santiago say it rains only in winter. For me, however, winter still seemed dry. Sometimes my skin cracked from dryness right after a shower. I have to find a way to adjust myself to such rainy, but dry winter.

Snow covering the Andes in July

The reason why I fond of Latin America is that I have learned Argentine tango years before. I remember listing tango as a special skill on my resume. At that time, an interviewer asked me about the meaning and I said that tango was a special skill for me, as I was preparing for to play a role in a more globalized world. That was ten years ago.

Unlike the countries I visited for tango in the past, what I noticed about Chile was that many seniors enjoyed their lives here. I don't know the reason this was so noticeable. It could be a good national pension plan. Or the cheerful spirit of Latin America might be the reason to live happily and healthily into old age. People here are very good at tango, salsa, swing and many other dance genres. It's not that their dance is elegant and sophisticated. Rather, they happily dance with their partners. They seem to stagger at first, but soon they fly on the stage once the music starts.

I saw many seniors visit Milonga (a place where tango is danced) with their spouse. If I want to ask a woman to dance, I must get permission first from her husband. They first looked at me curiously as a young Asian man coming to Milonga alone is unusual. (I'm not saying that I'm young. People here have difficulty in guessing. They figured I was 28.) But now they adore me. They try to understand my poor Spanish and make small talk with me. Then, I ask for a dance again in return.

Elderly enjoying Tango

I spent my days with elders for a while and began to wonder about the lives of young people here. I could mostly find the answer while I research on the Korean wave in Santiago. Many young women teamed up for their favorite K-POP stars and practiced the dance while the music was played on. They said they liked the dance even though they couldn't understand the lyrics. They were kind because of the fact that I am from Korea. This helped a lot for my research. They danced on the street watching show windows mirroring them as they couldn't find a place. That made me smile but felt sorry for them. Anyway, I liked it as they are still young.

Wannabe K-POP stars in Santiago

Ever since I started writing this column and set the title as "the treasure hunt," I've been thinking a lot about the true treasure of Chile. Finally, I came to the conclusion that all these mentioned above constitute the treasure, even if it means terror.

One day I was taking pictures of people on the street of Santiago. I saw a teenage couple waving their hands at me across the street. At first I thought they were not pointing at me as I didn't know them. But actually, they were asking me to take a picture. They also knew that they would not get the picture. I took a picture and sent a signal that the picture was taken, and then they thanked me and walked away. I should thank them first.

Lovely couple met in Santiago

9 ways to be a citizen of Santiago 1) Say "Hola" whenever you make eye contact with others in an elevator, shop, or elsewhere; and say "Chao" for good-bye. 2) If you are getting to know someone, hug them and offer a cheek to make a smack sound like a cheek kiss... 3) You have to wait for a long time for waiters to turn around in a restaurant. Patience is a virtue in Chile. 4) You can freely show your love on the subway, park, street bench, etc. Age is no limit. 5) Lunch starts around 1 PM and dinner is around 8 PM. 6) Drink pisco sour with meals. 7) Eat salty food. 8) Do not freak out about earthquakes. 9) Speak fast.