What Does It Mean?

 711 Run @ 3AM: What does it mean?

One aspect of Asia I will always hold near and dear to my heart is the convenience store culture. 

Upon entering, you're greeted by a welcome jingle in the country's native language and the smell of delicious in-house made food. The shelves are lined with exotic and interesting snacks, drinks and prepackaged meals. You can print things like you can at a Staples, drop off and pick up packages, buy concert tickets at the kiosks, pay your bills, mail things, and buy household essentials when in a pinch. Best of all is that most of these convenience stores are open 24/7 for you know... your convenience.

It's something about that night feeling. Something about the empty streets, the starry night sky, buildings silhouetted by the darkness, the encounter of other night owl people, and the feeling of peace and quiet when you're cruising your way to 711 to get your drink and snack on at 3 AM. 

In a lot of Asian tv, movies and travel vlogs on YouTube taking place in the city (Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea for example), there's always a part of their adventure where the characters or the vlogger goes to a convenience store at the late hours of the night. Whether it's for food, a late-night meeting of lovers or friends, a pack of smokes - the convenience store is always open, always welcoming.

I'm nowhere making enough to be traveling to Japan and having night adventures after hitting up the 711, but that's the goal. It's corny, but it's a part of what keeps me going every day. Because once I've gotten to that point, it feels like I can breathe easy now. No more financial instability, no more working more hours that my health can handle, no more missed time with family and friends, no more missed time for myself. 

So why name the blog,"711 Run @ 3AM"?

In a way "711 Run @ 3 AM" is my retreat and little slice of comfort.

Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro sitting in a 711 in Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express (Hong Kong, 1994)

Actor Ryo Narita in Satoshi Miki's Convenience Story (Japan, 2022)

Japanese American rapper, Myachi has a YouTube series about the Japan night life scene titling it after convience stores (konbini) there called Konbini Confessions. 

This hip hop group from Chengdu, China called the Higher Brothers made a song titled 711 as a love song to the famous convenience store chain. 

Actor O Yeong-su and Lee Jung-jae sitting at a CU convenience store in Hwang Dong-hyuk's Squid Game (Korea, 2021)