Retiree circles globe at 73: ‘I tore up my return ticket’

Ahn Jung-hoon, who began traveling the world at 65 and has since visited 117 countries, says, “Walk to the end of the earth, do everything you want without hesitation, and spend the little money you have before you go.” Korea Times photo by Kang Ye-jin

“I thought waking up the next day itself was a miracle of resurrection. So I tore up my return ticket, saying, ‘I can’t go back.’”

At 73, Ahn Jung-hoon calls himself a nomadic traveler. He recently published a book, “Unplanned Road Trip Across the U.S. and Canada,” recounting his 75-day journey covering 44,230 kilometers across North America — roughly the circumference of the Earth.

Departing June 14 last year with travel companions in their 30s and 60s, Ahn booked only three days of accommodations before setting out.

Ahn is a veteran traveler who has journeyed to 117 countries through three world tours and has published four travel books. His first backpacking trip was in 2017, at the age of 65, just after retiring from 30 years as a soldier and 10 more in the corporate world. Carrying a one-way ticket, he flew to Russia alone to fulfill a lifelong dream of traveling the world.

“Package tours didn’t suit me. My daughters once booked one for me and my wife — the meals, buses, everything was arranged and she loved it. But I felt like I didn’t need a babysitter at my age,” he said. “The root of the word ‘travel’ means suffering. Staying at five-star hotels and eating fancy meals isn’t travel — that’s tourism. Not wrong, just not for me.”

Ahn Jung-hoon’s camper breaks down in a bear-prone area of Yosemite National Park, and another traveler, Anz, rushes to help. Courtesy of Able Books

Journeys shaped by loss and people

Since that first trip, Ahn has traveled solo through more than 50 countries without returning to Korea. His second world tour began in 2021, after his wife died suddenly from post-COVID complications. Against his family’s wishes, he crossed Africa.

On his third tour, after the North American road trip, he tore up his plane ticket home and spent another seven months in Latin America.

His car once broke down in an area known for bear activity at Yosemite National Park, but fellow travelers rushed to help. “Travel is people,” Ahn said. “I’m happiest when I meet good people on the road.”

Ahn prefers simple, affordable travel — staying at motels that cost less than $100 a night, cooking pork belly on a campstove and selling his own car to fund trips. He also carries medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes.

“People think they can’t travel because of money, language or health. But there’s never a perfect time,” he said. “Even if you only know nouns in English, it works. And if you lose your passport, don’t quit — I take it as the country wanting me to stay longer.”

He stresses humility as essential. “If you walk around with your shoulders squared, you’ll only get muscle pain. I approached young people first, asking about things I didn’t know — Skyscanner, Booking.com, Uber, even ChatGPT. I learned it all from them.”

Ahn Jung-hoon grills pork belly on a camp stove during his road trip. Courtesy of Able Books

Aging in reverse

“Back in Korea, I’m just an old man. But abroad, I feel younger. I get curious, excited, healthier from walking, more confident, more courageous. My capacity to understand others has grown,” he said.

Ahn plans to head abroad again next spring for a “one city, one month” stay. Before that, he will hold book concerts in Seoul on Sept. 24 and in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 29.

“I hope an old man’s travels can give dreams, hope and courage to those who think age is an excuse not to go.”

Ahn Jung-hoon, right, sits by the side of a lake in Brunswick, Maine, at the invitation of his American friend Mateo, whom he met while traveling in Africa. Courtesy of Able Books

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.