I'm a total newbie to folding bikes but am considering trying one out for some light touring in Asia. I've spent a fair number of hours reading threads here and have been checking craigslist for used folders. The Dahons I've seen on craigslist in my area have been stupid expensive for used bikes, with asking prices just a hair below retail.

Here are my plans for using the bike:
1. Explore Jeju Island in Korea for a week, staying in hostels
2. Explore several places in China, staying in hotels, hopefully taking the folding bike on trains by carrying it on in a soft bag (China no longer allows bikes on the train, so it has to look like a piece of luggage)
3. Ride from Seoul to Busan Korea on the riverside bike trails, maybe some camping
4. Possibly explore Japan next year

About me:
Late 50s, 5'11" tall, 175 lbs
Former USCF cat 2 roadie, BMX and MTB rider. During college I worked at a bike shop and a distributor. I'm comfortable working on my bikes, but am behind the times as I haven't paid much attention to bikes since the mid 1990s and don't even ride mine very often anymore. To stay fit, I tend to run and hike nowadays.

I've never done bike touring, so I'm trying to budget a max of $600 for the bike.
I'm estimating that I'll carry about 30 lbs of stuff if I ride from Seoul to Busan, maybe 20 lbs for the Jeju trip and touring some cities in China. In Korea, I can use rear panniers. In China, my stuff may need to be carried in a backpack that I'll strap to the rear rack. I plan to remove the wheels and pack the bike into a 62" suitcase for flying. For trains in China, I plan (hope?) to use a soft bag that will hold the folded bike w/o removing the wheels.

I've narrowed my search down to the following 20" bikes:
1. A new Solorocks/FSIR Spin 5
---- since I'm a newbie here I can't yet add a URL but you can see the bike at: fsirbike dot com
2. A used Novara Flyby (2014/2015 version with 7speed Nexus hub)

I love the looks of the Solorocks/FSIR Spin 5 and the way it folds. It's lightweight, the 9 speed cassette has a range of 30-90 inches and the frame has a rack mount on the head tube which might come in handy. It has quick releases front and rear, which will make removing the wheels a bit easier for when I pack it in a 62" suitcase for flying. The cons are that this bike is pretty much an unknown - I've found very little info about it on the interwebs and haven't seen anybody using one beyond as a city commuter bike.

The Novara, being a used bike, is way under my budget, even after I replace the tires and the junky folding pedals. The Nexus hub only has a range of 34-84 inches, the bike is about 4 to 5 lbs heavier and doesn't have a rack mount on the head tube.

I'd love to hear the thoughts on these two bikes from the experienced folding bike guys here, and also your thoughts on other bikes/options that I might have missed.