[My First Real Estate Purchase Review – Part 1] It was quite a while ago. I still remember the feeling of the day I got my first paycheck after starting my job. I was happy. But strangely, a part of me felt heavy. “I won’t be able to live the life I’ve always dreamed of with just this.” At the time, my salary wasn’t actually that low—it was quite good by standard corporate worker standards. I had no trouble covering basic living expenses. But it seemed far from enough to turn the vague future I’d imagined in my late twenties into reality. That’s when I started reading books about real estate. I think I read about one every two weeks. During that period, I frequently traveled between Korea and abroad for work; whenever I was in Korea, I spent every weekend attending real estate seminars. I read books, attended lectures, and even visited auction sites. Looking back now, I was fearless. Once, I went to inspect a property up for auction—an apartment building. As I stood outside the front door, scanning the area, the resident opened the door and yelled at me. I was startled at first. But on my way home, I felt something strange inside me. Perhaps to that person, the apartment wasn’t just a real estate asset. Maybe it was their last pillar of support. For some, a home is an investment. For others, it’s a place worth fighting to keep. I began to understand that, then. As I kept reading, attending lectures, and visiting auction sites, the method I ultimately chose wasn’t auction—it was the housing lottery. The reason was simple: I didn’t have much money. I’d just started my job, so I had almost no savings. And frankly, I didn’t have the financial support from my parents that others might have had. The money I had was my entire capital. So the housing lottery seemed like the most practical option. If you won the lottery, there was still time before moving in. That gave me time to save more money. Of course, desirable areas everyone wanted would require substantial upfront funds—but if I looked a little further, there were places I could realistically aim for. Eventually, I applied for a small apartment in Gyeonggi Province—and luckily, I won. From then until move-in day, I worked hard to save every penny. I hated paying interest on the down payment, so whenever I saved even a little extra, I paid it off early. Having a clear goal made me cut back on spending. Strangely, it wasn’t the thought of “I need to save money” that drove me— it was the feeling that I was slowly getting closer to owning my own home. And so, in my twenties, I acquired my first home. It was a small apartment in Gyeonggi Province, far from my workplace. Commuting was tough. But it was worth it. Because it wasn’t something someone else gave me— it was my own result: built through study, personal choice, and perseverance. Best of all, I now had a space where I could live with my parents, who had struggled so hard for me. It wasn’t a magnificent home. But to me at that time, it was the first tangible proof that my life was finally moving forward.