No Counting to the End
But then the form asked me to provide my “Duration of stay in Korea (days).” I put my pen down and looked up. It hit me then that I had no idea how long I would be here.
But then the form asked me to provide my “Duration of stay in Korea (days).” I put my pen down and looked up. It hit me then that I had no idea how long I would be here.
We’re immersed in an rapidly evolving environment, demanding from individuals more entrepreneurial energy rather than trusting an institution like a company, academy, or government, to carry us from cradle to grave.
What’s left if and when we stubbornly hold onto a strictly individualistic notion of our identity, expression, and self? I think we risk ending up alone.
In the face of wrong in which we have a share of the implications, I hope Koreans—and people of other societies alike in their own contexts of crisis— feel a sense of shame.
My own body felt like it was about to become a steamed bun. But I needed to stay long enough so that the older gentlemen in the room don’t think I was a silly wuss.
In a strange twist of fate, English has now become my first language, and I’m trying to bring my Korean up to a similarly fluent level.
When I wake up in the middle of the night, the first thing I do is check my legs. Often, during the night, I kick off my covers and wake up with my legs cold to the bone.
In my most profound experience of joy at the Savior’s arrival, perhaps there rang on heaven’s side a blow of sadness and pain wrought from the reality of impending suffering, separation, and death.
As I’m forced to reconsider the value of these objects, especially my books, I’ve noticed that I tend to place more value on familiar things, precisely because I think I can exercise control over them.
As we took turns praying, my father, mother, and brother would say a special prayer for me. Hearing them say sentimental things about me was embarrassing, but I tried to keep my eyes shut.
For our minds to keep up with the data deluge, we require tools like the infographic, engineered to squeeze the gap between our complex environment and our curious yet limited cognition.
They’d gasp at the dishes stacked in the sink in my apartment, and my mom would chide me about how I hadn’t bought any fresh kimchi for so long.