A tribute to a traveler whose journey through Mexico and the rest of Latin America also became a journey into Spanish.

Watching someone learn your language can make you root for them in a very particular way. You notice when conversations become easier, when they understand something they might have missed a few months earlier, and when they stop worrying so much about getting every word right.

That was part of the pleasure of watching Jin of Jin’s Travel. For me, one of the most impressive things about his travels through Mexico and Latin America was how quickly he picked up Spanish. He was traveling, meeting people, and making the language part of his everyday life.

It is heartbreaking to write about him in the past tense.

Cho Jin-woo, the South Korean traveler behind the YouTube channel Jin’s Travel, died on November 4, 2026, after being struck by a cargo truck while riding his bicycle in El Alto, Bolivia. He was 33. According to Bolivian news reports, the driver was detained and the circumstances remained under investigation.

One detail is especially hard to take in: this happened on a city street, in the morning—not on some remote mountain road far from help. After all those miles, and all the difficult places a person might imagine when thinking about a journey around the world by bicycle, his life ended in an urban traffic collision.

But the way he died should not become the whole story of who he was.

Jin had spent years traveling by bicycle and sharing the journey. His travels took him through Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Mexico was part of that story, followed by more of Latin America, including Peru and Bolivia. His videos left a record not only of the places he reached, but of the experiences along the way.

Remembering His Spanish, Too

For a site about Spanish, I want to remember the language side of that journey, too.

Jin and I talked several times about his Spanish, and he asked me how I thought he was doing. I told him he was doing great. He understood what people were saying to him, could answer back, and could carry on a conversation with locals. To me, that mattered much more than getting every word or verb ending right. He was using Spanish to connect with people, and it was wonderful to see.

What stayed with me was how quickly his Spanish developed as he traveled. As a viewer, it was something to admire: someone entering a Spanish-speaking world and gradually becoming more at home in it.

Anyone learning Spanish can appreciate what that takes. There is a moment when you have to use what you know, even when it is incomplete. You may not have the tense you want or the exact word you need. You speak anyway, listen to the answer, and try again.

Watching Jin brought that side of learning to mind. The Spanish mattered because there were people to talk to. It was part of the trip, not a separate assignment.

That is the part I want to hold on to: a young man who wanted to see the world, and who made room for another language along the way.

My condolences to his family, his friends, and everyone who followed his travels and felt they had come to know him.

Thank you, Jin, for sharing the journey.

Descansa en paz.
Rest in peace.

You can find his videos on Jin’s Travel on YouTube.

Reporting on his death:
Erbol
and
Red Uno de Bolivia.