He Returned to Taiwan After 53 Years, And Found His Old Apartment

What does it feel like to return to a place that helped shape you, after more than half a century away?In 1973, TC Brown left Taiwan. He had arrived as a young American serviceman during a radically different era, lived through the final years of martial law, and experienced a country that was still far less developed than the Taiwan of today.Fifty-three years later, he returned.TC's Taipei Times Feature: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2026/06/23/2003859565In this conversation, TC reflects on encountering a Taiwan transformed almost beyond recognition, from the rice fields he remembered to the modern city stretching toward the mountains. He talks about rediscovering old places, Taiwan's extraordinary hospitality, convenience stores, scooters, night markets, music, martial law, and the surprising interest Taiwanese researchers have in the period when large numbers of Americans were stationed on the island.Then came one of the most unexpected moments of the trip.After TC shared an old photograph, local researchers managed to find the apartment where he had once lived with his girlfriend. Standing outside it decades later, something suddenly hit him.For a moment, he says, he felt as though he was there again.This is a conversation about Taiwan then and now, but also about memory, the places that shape us, and what it means to return to a part of your own past.TC Brown is a journalist, author, and Vietnam War veteran. His memoir, Made in Taiwan: A Naive American's Chaotic Journey to Manhood in an Exotic Culture During Radical Times, tells the story of his years in Taiwan as a young man. In 2025, he returned to Taiwan for the first time in 53 years.Topics discussed include:• Returning to Taiwan after 53 years• How Taipei has changed since the late 1960s and early 1970s• Rice fields, skyscrapers, scooters, and Taiwan's rapid transformation• Finding the apartment where TC once lived• An unexpected emotional moment outside his old home• Taiwan under martial law• Taiwanese disco music and cultural resistance• American music and AFNT radio in Taiwan• The historical memory of the American military presence• Night markets, food, convenience stores, and Taiwanese hospitality• Returning to places that helped shape who we become• Why TC says Taiwan could feel like home againIf you enjoy long-form conversations about people, places, memory, and lived experience, please consider liking, subscribing, and sharing the episode.#Taiwan #TaiwanHistory #Taipei #TaiwanTravel #Podcast #History#TravelStories #MadeInTaiwanTaiwanTaiwan podcastTaiwan historyTaiwan travelTaiwan then and nowTaiwan 1970sTaiwan 1960sTaiwan martial lawTaiwan under martial lawTaiwan American military historyAmericans in TaiwanUS military in TaiwanCCK Air BaseTaichung historyTaipei historyTaiwan nostalgiareturning to Taiwanreturning after 53 yearsTaiwan after 50 yearsTaiwan transformationTaiwan developmentTaiwan memoriesMade in Taiwan TC BrownTC BrownTC Brown authorVietnam War veteranAmerican memoir TaiwanTaiwan memoirlife in Taiwan 1970sTaiwan cultureTaiwan music historyTaiwanese discoAFNT TaiwanAmerican Forces Network TaiwanTaiwan travel podcastTaiwan storiesTaiwan personal historyreturning to your past