Life
Enjoy Korea's founder adds wellness to roster
As social distancing protocols lift, travelers flock to Busan. The city, known for being an international tourism destination, floods with domestic and international visitors. As local life and seasons change, Stacey Kim Pellegrin, founder of the our company "Enjoy Korea," sees an uptick in both her tour and wellness businesses.
Stacey Kim.
Both "Enjoy Korea" and "Yoga with Stacey" are geared toward English speaking participants, but have Korean options available upon request, making travel and health comfortable and convenient for all. Let's prepare for summer by meeting this business Busanite.
Q. Please introduce yourself.
A. Hello Busan! My name is Stacey Kim Pellegrin; I'm a 300-hour Yoga Alliance Certified teacher based in Busan. I teach a variety of group-style classes, including Vinyasa, Ashtanga, PT Yoga and Kids Yoga, all from the Soon Yoga Center. I also host Wellness Weekends around Korea with my travel company, Enjoy Korea, as well as classes around Busan. I've been practicing yoga for over 10 years, which has honestly changed my life. It has strengthened my mind, body and soul. I started teaching yoga in 2019. I love the community that yoga helps me to create and that there's a space for like-minded people to come together to move, breathe and connect.
Q. How did you begin your businesses? Can you tell us a bit about them?
A. When I moved to Busan, I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate its natural beauty into my yoga classes whenever possible. I hosted my first Surf Yoga Flow on Songjeong Beach back in August 2021 and I just knew this was something I wanted to do regularly. The most memorable Surf Yoga Flow Class I hosted was the Breast Cancer Research Benefit in October. All proceeds from the class went to the foundation. This was the third yoga event for breast cancer research that I've hosted, but it was my first one in Busan. Local businesses donated prizes, surfboards (by "The Surf") and my talented friend SP (@anungyo) generously donated his time to photograph the entire event; we raised over $1,200 for the foundation. It's always so moving to see how a community comes together for such a great cause.
Q. What kind of events do you hold?
A. My newest event is Glow and Flow Yoga, which I host from Soon Yoga Studio. My first class was this past May 21 and it was amazing! Flowing together under black lights with day-glow paint to the uplifting and melodic house music being spun live by DJ Bruis, it was beyond beautiful. This will definitely be a regular event.
Q. What do you think about Busan hosting the World Expo in 2030?
A. I went to the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 and it was so interesting! I think Busan would be an amazing city to host the World Expo in 2030. It has so much to offer to incoming tourists. There is endless natural beauty from the mountains to the beaches, fascinating cultural lo-cales, great shopping and interntional food. I hope Busan wins the bid and I can't wait for the world to see how amazing Busan is.
Q. What are your future plans?
A. I'm on a never-ending wellness journey, continuing my education with different yoga disciplines, we-llness therapies and mindfulness tra-ining to better serve the commnity here in Busan and all over Korea. I'm grateful to get to call Busan home now and look forward to the endless possibilities for holding events in this beautiful city.