Burned-Out Aussie Quits Corporate Life To Binge K-Dramas IRL In Seoul

KEY POINTS

•Jane Newman, a 60-year-old ex-consulting manager from Brisbane, burned out physically and mentally by mid-2024.
•She first tested South Korea with a two-month stay in Gwacheon, joining local support groups and English clubs.
•By February 2025, she moved permanently to Seoul, secured a Dongdaemun apartment for about $1,000 monthly, and started a coaching and tech startup.

Meet Jane Newman, 60, Brisbane’s corporate burnout poster child, who went from bossing spreadsheets to fangirling over K-dramas on her recliner during the pandemic—that’s right, Netflix got her flying halfway around the globe. After her back, shoulders, and mouse-wielding arm all sent her sabbatical RSVP by mid-2023, she traded tedious consulting hours for Gwacheon's Airbnb life and community events supporting former US military 'comfort women.' By February 2025, she snagged a cozy two-bedroom Dongdaemun apartment for roughly 1.43 million won ($1,000), a steal compared to her 60-hour workweek rent paid in misery. Now she juggles public speaking, startup dreams, and making new friends—because nothing says reinvention like fan clubs for Korean actors and Starbucks-sourced morning rituals.