Living in New York makes traveling to Europe a bit easier compared to Korea.

With just a few hours on a plane, you can be in Europe, and you can easily go for a weekend without taking time off.

I often travel this way, but there was one time I had a really big issue.

Looking back, it was a case where I let my guard down for just a moment, and it messed up my entire trip.

This happened when I was in Rome, Italy. I was at a small café near the Colosseum, sitting at a table by the street, briefly looking at the menu.

I had my bag next to my chair and stood up to look at the menu for maybe 10 seconds.

But when I turned back, my bag was gone. Since it was a street-side table, there were pedestrians everywhere, and in that brief moment, someone took it.

At first, I thought maybe I had put it somewhere else, so I checked around several times, but by then, it was already too late.

The problem was that my passport was in that bag. At that moment, my mind went blank, and the first thought that came to me was, "Aren't I going to be able to fly?" To clarify, that thought was correct. Without a passport, you are almost 100% denied boarding on international flights.

Many people have a misconception. Nowadays, everyone keeps a photo of their passport on their smartphone and uploads a scanned copy to the cloud, thinking that should be fine. I thought so too. I actually had a photo of my passport on my phone and a scanned copy in my email. But at the airport, none of that is useful. Photos, scanned files, and even notarized copies are not recognized as "travel documents."

The reason is that the airline is responsible for boarding on international flights. If a passenger is denied entry at their destination, the airline bears the cost.

So airlines only check the physical passport. If there's any ambiguity, they will simply deny boarding.

So ultimately, there was only one option. I had to resolve it locally.

This is what I did. First, I found the nearest U.S. embassy. I reported the loss of my U.S. passport and filled out the DS-64 and DS-11 forms. This process went faster than I expected. Then, I received an emergency passport. I was told it wouldn't be processed the same day, so I got it the next day.

With that, returning to the U.S. was not a problem. However, depending on the situation, there might be additional checks during the local departure process. Still, it's a much more realistic option than going to the airport without a physical passport.

After this experience, my travel habits completely changed. Now, I never just leave my passport in my bag.

I either put it in the hotel safe or use a pouch that I keep on my body. I also save a photo of my passport not only on my phone but also separately in the cloud. I keep a copy as well. This is to ensure I can get a replacement quickly if I lose my passport. You can't board without the original passport or an emergency passport.

When you travel frequently, you might think, "There's no way that would happen to me."

I thought so too. But after experiencing the situation ending in just 10 seconds at a café in Rome, I realized it's not a matter of luck; it's a matter of probability.

You can't fly without the original U.S. passport. Photos, scans, and notarized copies are all meaningless. The solution is to get an emergency passport.

For those traveling abroad, please make sure to take care of your passport. I've had experiences where I lost a lot of money due to canceled flights and extended hotel stays.