As an introvert, I sometimes prefer attending meetups over conferences. The smaller group helps me avoid feeling overwhelmed by the sight of hundreds of people in a single hall.
I have never attended a meet-up outside of my country, and somehow, instead of landing on the 23rd in Incheon, I decided to land on the 22nd of October so that I could hang out with Klemen Košir, a dear friend I made before the conference. I hope to see him again at Swift Tokyo!
That one decision led to me learning about the iOS meetup in Seoul.
Discovering the Seoul iOS Meetup
On October 23rd, I only had one plan: visit Lotte Tower and hang out with Klemen again. Since he was also attending the meetup, I had seen posts from the RevenueCat team (Charlie and Mark) that they would also be there. I knew I would at least see three familiar faces, so in the worst-case scenario of getting anxious talking to developers, I knew I had a safe space to return to.
I had gotten much better at taking the subway system in Seoul in a single day, so I had no problem switching trains and heading to the AWS office for the event.
However, once I arrived, confusion set in.
Multiple events were happening, and I was unsure which room to enter. My shy ass was too timid to ask anyone, either.
After probably five hundred steps added to that day of roaming in circles, I recognized Florian from his profile picture in their Slack group. I entered the room and told them I was there for the Seoul iOS meetup.
Switching from Introvert to Extrovert
Afterward, everything was smooth sailing because once inside, I decided to switch my MBTI (that personality test, yes) from INFP to ENTJ, especially the extrovert part.
I pushed myself to converse with developers with diverse interests and backgrounds. Some were exploring new job opportunities in iOS development because of the challenging economic situation in South Korea. Some did iOS development as a hobby and regularly attended the meetup.
They were intrigued by my experience of winning the WWDC scholarship, interning at Apple Cupertino, and then getting into freelance straight out of college.
And that I was coming all the way from India to South Korea for the conference.
I knew that English was not people's first language here, so I was extremely patient when I listened and slowed my speaking pace.
I have practiced enough now to autocomplete their sentences like Cusor when I meet a Korean.
Still, I was not experienced enough then, so I took my time deciphering their accents and words, trying to be very clear and use simple English to make conversations more accessible.
Learning from the Talks
The meetup featured two talks.
The first was about memory management and provided a simple example of how a retain cycle happens and how to break it. It was a good refreshment for me because there are times when I can see the memory spiking up in freelance work, and I know: Ah shoot, here we go again.
The second one was completely new to me because it discussed how AWS uses IoT sensors, has a dashboard, and a project you can play with. I did not know AWS also did this, but there are so many things I didn't know about AWS in the first place.
There was a small break between the talks, and I could talk to Mark from RevenueCat then. I have been following him on Twitter for a long time, but this was the first time I saw him in person!
Shared Interests
After the talks, the meet-up ended, and I was able to network with more people there. I stumbled upon Han, who recently won the ProductHunt giveaway from the RevenueCat #ShipATon. Talking to him felt like fresh air because his English was proficient, and I could articulate all my thoughts without processing them in my head again to simplify them.
At that time, it felt like we were talking as long-lost friends who somehow got to meet in Seoul. We discussed his app, Sunrise, the growth and retention strategy, how to grow on X/Twitter, and everything in between.
After the meet-up ended, we decided to go to a nearby pub for an after-party, where I could open up more to the people I met and talk to David, the presenter from AWS.
I will omit the details, but it was a night filled with great conversations, local drinks, and laughter. And I will cherish hanging out with some new and old friends that night!
Moving Forward
This experience was a good lesson to change my personality according to the situation. I have mostly regretted being an introvert in social settings but never had a regret to step outside my comfort zone and engage with people, putting a new veil in front of me and being an extrovert.
The iOS community is always more welcoming than I have imagined, and I am never disappointed.
When I go to a new country the next time, I will ensure that I see the schedule of their local meetups; maybe the next one I attend is in Tokyo!
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