After being struck by cars, robbed, and kidnapped on his worldwide bicycle tour, Okhwan Yoon has reached the southwestern US where he's continuing his solo trek.
Yoon, 46, has been on the road for seven years, travelling through 169 countries on his quest to ride his bicycle in nearly every country on Earth.
The South Korean is quite the media hound, as there are many stories about his travels online. Googling his name, I could follow him into Brazil (where he was struck by a hit-and-run driver), then Central America and Mexico, where an interview appears at YouTube.
After crossing the border and riding to San Diego, he continued to Los Angeles and is now in Tucson, where he was interviewed at the local newspaper. He told the reporter:
“When I began this journey, I didn't know about the real importance of every single life. Nowadays, I feel every single person is my family.”
Businessman
Yoon owned a trading company in South Korea before he set off on his adventure. He was sickly, suffering asthma, hepatitis B and stomach ailments. Contemplating his life, he decided to start bicycling, which he enjoyed as a child. His tours around South Korea led to his current pursuits.
Yoon told the San Diego Union Tribune that he's been to 169 countries and plans to visit more in the next three years to reach a total 195. He stays in hostels and motels, although he slept under a park bench in San Diego.
The Trek he rides now is his fifth bicycle.
Gear
Although there are more than a dozen stories about him, none mentioned his gear. Pictures of him posing with his Trek don't show panniers or handlebar bags. Not even a front or rear rack. Curiously, they do show an aerobar on the bike.
From checking some videos, it appears that he carries everything in a backpack which he attaches to the aerobars. The video from Titancast Network TV shows him pedaling around with the backpack on his handlebars (above).
Also, a video shot in Brazil shows him being tended by paramedics after being struck by a hit and run driver. The bike is on the ground, and the only luggage is that backpack sitting nearby.
Adventures
The stories talk about his kidnapping in the Sudan and malaria and dengue he contracted in Africa. He also bicycled through Europe, where he described France as:
“A furnace of ethnicities. Whites, Hispanics, blacks, Christians. They live together harmoniously.”
Yoon doesn't hold much hope for peace in the world. He told the reporter for the Union Tribune:
“I think that is not possible. Every human being possesses instincts. The yin and the yang. The shadow and the light. We need to care for each other as family.
“But mostly people think about my country, my society. People are too materialistic, too selfish.”
Let's hope he has better luck travelling around the US than he has in other countries, although I see from the Tucson Citizen article that he already has been mugged in Phoenix.
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