Love, Lagos to Seoul

If someone had told me a year ago that I’d leave lagos and end up falling for a K-drama star in real life, I would’ve laughed, rolled my eyes, and gone back to binging Crash Landing on You. But this—this right here? It’s real. And messy. And magical. And nothing like the fairytales I grew up on.

My name is Ayotomiwa Adebayo—Tomi, for short. I’m Yoruba, born and raised in Nigeria, where the heat is loud, the jollof is hotter, and dreams often get pushed aside for “more practical things.” But I’ve always been a dreamer. The girl who imagined her life in another language. The girl who memorized K-drama OSTs like they were scripture. The girl who believed love could feel like the soft flutter of subtitles on a quiet night.

So when I got a full scholarship to study Media and Communications in Seoul, I jumped. Not without fear, but with full faith. I thought I was just chasing education. I didn’t know I was also walking straight into a new world entirely.

Min-Jae Seo. Korea’s golden boy. Actor. Model. The kind of man whose jawline could cut glass and whose smile has healed hearts—including mine. But the real Min-Jae is nothing like the character he plays on TV. He’s guarded. Lonely. Exhausted by the expectations of a world that worships him but doesn’t know him.

And me? I’m just a Black girl trying to find her footing in a place where I’m stared at more than spoken to, judged before I even speak. I didn’t mean to meet him. I didn’t mean to talk to him. And I definitely didn’t mean to fall for him. But somehow, somewhere between awkward conversations, stolen glances, late-night ramyeon runs, and long silences that said more than words ever could—we happened.

But love like ours isn’t cute. It’s complicated. It's headlines, hate comments, rumors, secrets. It’s the kind of love that tests you, breaks you, makes you question if it’s worth it. And yet, even with everything stacked against us… I can’t seem to walk away. Neither can he.

Love, Lagos to Seoul is not your typical K-drama fantasy. It’s real. It’s raw. It’s a story of two people from completely different worlds, trying to love each other in a world that doesn’t know where to place them. A Nigerian girl who never thought she’d be seen. A Korean boy who’s tired of being looked at but never truly known. And the messy, breathtaking, heartbreaking beauty of the love they never saw coming.

This isn’t just a story. It’s my heart, unfiltered.