Why Are Stories Important?
People often think stories are something we consume. But I think they’re something we live. Long before we understand language, we inherit stories. And the first story isn’t a grandmother’s fairy tale. It’s our name. Before we know who we are, someone tells us where we came from, who our family is, what we celebrate, what we fear, and what we hope for. We don’t remember hearing those stories, but they quietly become the architecture of our identity. Every community is built the same way. A nation begins with a shared story. A company begins with a founding story. A movement begins with a story people choose to believe. Even…
A Korean Word That Transcends Culture & Time
Grief has been stitched into every life on this planet. Different languages describe it in different ways, but sometimes I wonder if grief connects us even more than love ever does. It is one of the few experiences that quietly reminds us that, despite our different histories and cultures, we are all human at the end of the day. The internet will tell you that han (한) is a notoriously difficult Korean word to translate into English. Maybe that’s because some feelings simply refuse to be confined to a dictionary. Instead, they seep into ordinary moments, becoming part of how we carry ourselves through the world. Han (한) isn’t simply…
