I frequent Chung-Ang University these days because I live in proximity to the Campus. On Campus it is not surprising to see families and individuals exploring the space next to professors and students. However, sometimes you might encounter some slightly more sinister guests: scammers and cult members.

This sounds super scary but don't worry, nobody is getting hurt. However, falling victim to either of those groups never has a happy ending. You could shell out a bunch of money, or become involved so much that you are isolated from all other social connections. Before that all happens - and it happens more frequently to unknowing foreigners - let me tell you about my most recent encounter.

Walking past the entrance of Chung-Ang Campus most people are aiming for a building to enter, especially in this hot weather. People are streaming into two directions, the inner heart of Campus, or away to a cool cafe, bus, or house. So when somebody taps my shoulder and I have to take off my headphones, I am startled! It is a man my age, wearing glasses and a mask and doesn't really call up any warning signs in me. I wonder if he will tell clumsy me that I dropped something or that my shoelace is untied.

Instead, he asks me if I am a student here and wraps me into a short conversation. I tell him I am actually attending KU but live close-by, yada, yada, yada. I ask him back about wether he studies at CAU and learn that he graduated here for informatics. He tells me he is working on an app. That is interesting enough to me. He asks me about my thoughts on mental health in Korea to which I answer that I am aware of stigmas and less awareness than maybe in Europe, where people talk about mental health quite openly, even to their parents at times. He agrees and tells me about this mental health check-in app he is developing. I tell him about similar apps I have been using and he asks me if he could sit down for a chat with me another time to learn more and improve his app design. Technically this is a bit of a red flag, but it is also difficult to gauge to which extent a start-up has to go for information in Korea, so I agree. We struggle for a bit to get connected on Kakao Talk and he asks me about my availabilities. Over the app, after he asks, I inform him that I will be away on Wednesday and busy on Thursday. We tentatively say that maybe Tuesday, so tomorrow, might work. However, that would not happen in Dongjak, which is a bit shady, and instead in either Hongdae or somewhere else. I say that I can do Chung-Ang and put my phone aside to focus on the school work I came to do. I go about my day and don't really think about the encounter much more.

At 1:49 in the night he texts me to ask if I am available for the Tuesday evening. I don't respond because, well, I am asleep. I text him back later and after I don't reply for a bit, I get a phone call that I just stare at because I don't do phone calls with people I am not comfortable with but text him back. In the end we postpone the meeting and I honestly feel better about it. When he asks me how long I will be in Jeonju, my instinct tells me to lie. I will be in Jeonju for one day, but I make it into six. I feel like I might have a better grip on interacting with this guy I only met once for 10 minutes with some more time to compose myself. During my stay at Jeonju he sometimes checks in, asks me how my stay is, gives me a food recommendation and in general is quite pleasant. What you might have noticed -hopefully- is the following: I am the offering more personal information about my whereabouts. But I try keep it super general, and I recommend you to do so, too. Even better not to say anything at all.

Back in Seoul, the following monday, he checks if I am available and I say yes, I could meet on CAU Campus. What he tells me then is a bit confusing, he would send a "teammate" to come talk to me. The teammate is a Korean woman and this is a biiiiit of a red flag if you know something about how recruitments usually go. Usually if you encounter cult members or scammers on the street they come in pairs of two: a man and a woman, or two women. This makes them seem more harmless in their approach.

Now, the meeting set instead with the woman is still handled by me and the guy over kkt, it's a bit weird but basically he tells me if she might be late, where she is, and so on. At first I am asked if I could meet at the McDonald's near CAU but I simply reply that I prefer Campus. I know the area, I can identify people around me, I have continuous access to wifi and don't have to buy anything for me stay. So instead we meet inside the Centennial Memorial Hall, building 310 in the lobby.

I arrive early, which is good because it gives me time to familiarize myself with my surroundings, identify people who I could ask for help and can sit in a way that is comfortable to me but also exudes confidence. To be aware of how you enter such situations is important.

At this point, I am 50/50 about wether this is a genuine app that is being created or just a pretext. On my way to the building I had scenarios in my head about how I would react once I am invited to a group meeting or church and how I would start recording or writing something down or ask if I should inform building security but truly, all of this is just in my head and maybe these two are really just a start up team that needs more real life input.