Before I knew it, living in Laos for over 10 years has turned me into a bit of a "local fixture." Back when I didn't know any better, I was shaken down for bribes by the police countless times, but nowadays, even the cops shake my hand as they pass by.

Lately, I’ve lost interest in golf and haven't been going, which has the caddies and front desk staff at my home course wondering where I am. Time has a way of making you accustomed to life. Now, Laos feels like my own country. The only catch is that I have to renew my visa once a year, and of course, I pay taxes just like I would living anywhere else.

Laos is a one-party communist state, but it’s not the kind of communism people think of back in Korea. You could call it "Capitalistic Communism"?! It’s a country where money rules. You see Rolls-Royces and Bentleys cruising around casually, and Range Rovers are as common as taxis. Now, in 2026, all of Vientiane feels like a massive construction site. New buildings and apartments are going up on every street, and the roads are being repaved. It's almost mind-boggling. Massive amounts of Chinese and Russian money are being invested. I don't know why Korean companies aren't coming in; I guess the profit margins just don't pencil out for them.

A few years ago, I happened to play a round of golf with a married couple who spoke excellent English. The husband's name was Paul—his American name. It turns out he used to be an interpreter at the White House in the U.S. He probably translated Lao into English. After the Vietnam War ended, many Hmong people immigrated to the U.S., and it seems he was one of them. Now he’s returned to Laos and spends his life just enjoying golf. He's not the only Hmong person coming back, either. They say about 30,000 return every year.

So, Paul came up with an idea: since the returning Hmong don't live here permanently, but just stay for a few months before heading back to the U.S., he figured building Time-Share Condominiums would be a great business. He's looking for investors, but is that ever easy? I took a look at his business proposal, and the scale was pretty massive. He wanted to build 100-unit complexes in five different locations, which would cost $20 million, so I told him to take it one at a time. $4 million—which is about 5.8 billion KRW right now. That way, the financial burden is lower, and if the first one succeeds, he can reinvest. I advised him to go step-by-step. Listen to me, acting like some consulting firm~~~ lol.

Everything in Laos is still on the cheaper side compared to Korea, but because it's a landlocked country, logistics and shipping costs are very high. That's why most goods are imported from Thailand—which is just across the bridge—as well as from Vietnam and China. Construction costs have gone up a lot too. However, the one big advantage Laos still boasts is cheap labor.

Paul usually plays a lot of golf with various foreign ambassadors. He's also friends with the Lao Prime Minister’s right-hand man, and he seems to be the highest-ranking Lao-American around. He occasionally invites me to tag along, so I've gotten to play with quite a few ambassadors too. Paul is a fantastic golfer, practically a single-digit handicap. He’s two years older than me, but his drives go unbelievably far. Paul is organizing Laos' very first Couple’s Tournament, which debuts in March. My wife and I are planning to participate. Since I haven’t played in a while, my body is probably stiff. I need to hit the driving range at least.

I have a feeling Laos is going to transform into a very popular country in the future. Here's why: we are heading into the AI era. Fast-paced, cutting-edge countries like Korea will adapt to this AI era even faster. What’s the good thing about AI? It makes life convenient for people. And human beings naturally derive a sense of presence and value through that convenience. But when everything becomes mechanized, humans become mechanized too. I feel a quiet, unsettling sense of dread about it. I can't help but ask myself: is art created by a machine true art? However, historically, anything new is initially dismissed but eventually takes root. You can't stop change.

But in Laos, change comes slowly. People can still live like human beings here. And in the future, people will flock to Laos searching for that lost humanity. I guarantee it.

I actually just renewed my passport and am on my way back from picking it up. It feels like it was just yesterday that I got my 10-year passport, but somehow, an entire decade has already slipped by.