I am staying in Sydney on my half-year study leave, which used to be called “sabbatical”. The notion of staying idle on sabbatical is from a bygone era. Relieved of teaching this semester, I have been doing research and recharging myself for the coming semesters. When people ask me what I am doing h

It is hard to answer. Then, how about this question, ‘who do you think you are’? Please don’t answer like “My name is ~” or “I am living in ~”. Answer the question that I asked in the way who you’re as you think yourself. Though people are asked to answer in that way, most people, if not all, are pr

Five years ago, when I first came to work at Ewha, most of what I knew about Korea was from books. I was born in the United States to Korean immigrant parents and had never lived in Korea before long-term. When I told my grandfather that I had been hired to teach courses on Korean society, he found

For me, this semester is an exceptional experience in personal as well as professional respect. I decided to come to EWHA, because this is particularly valuable to broaden my cultural horizon, that means to dive in the Korean traditions, way of living and the academic system. As our universities hav

No matter with whom we talk these days, we are bound to talk about COVID-19, aka the coronavirus. It’s on the news, it’s in our conversation, it’s constantly on our minds. Although the situation is starting to get better in South Korea, the crisis is still very serious in many Western countries. The

What do you see on the road when you drive from Gyeonggi-do to Seoul? A sign that says “Welcome to Seoul,” of course. What do you see when you walk onto the Ewha campus? A sign that says, “Please refrain from unauthorized entry,” plus a bunch of icons with big red lines drawn over them.I don’t know

Are you living the life you dreamed of?Everyone has at least a vague feeling or image of how they want to live. This is what you may call a “dream.” This dream may be something from succeeding in a diet, to what you want to achieve in your future career. Usually, we assume this dream to come true la

A television series named ‘I Live Alone’ aimed to broadcast common interests among those who live alone. It gained huge popularity amongst oneperson households.Recently, the number of people living alone increased drastically and is expected to grow. The companies are trying to figure out the causes

If someone asks my favorite word, I would answer ‘Valiant’ without any hesitation. Being ‘valiant’ means to act with bravery or boldness when things are difficult and the situation gives no cause for hope. Curiously, the meaning of this brief word has worked as a strong driving force for me to get b

What is the status of U.S. diplomacy toward North Korea? The problem with the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore was that it did not achieve sufficient denuclearization commitments to empower working-level implementation. The problem with the Hanoi summit was that it failed to realize sanctions relief an

‘How many likes will I get this time?’ I would ask myself every time I post my drawing on Instagram. It has been about one year since I actively used Instagram as a platform to share my art. However, this question, which captured and stressed me out all along, never failed to make me feel uneasy abo

One day, my fourteen-year-old daughter, who grew up mostly in the US tells me my name Heidi is one of the whitest name there is. I laughed.In fact, I had a visceral encounter with this “whiteness” at an international conference. Casually striking a conversation with a German scholar, I told my name

Hello, I am an undergraduate of Ewha Womans University studying English. Since the major will greatly influence my future, I chose what I like the most as my major. Consequently, I am always very delighted to hear lectures, participating in diverse programs exist in my disciplines. In other words, I

One early morning, I saw a person putting on makeup standing in a very crowded subway. I often saw people putting on makeup while seated on public transportation, but it was the first time to see someone doing so on feet. My first response in thought was admiration of the skill. My second thought ra

Have you ever wondered about what the purpose of life is? This is a question that has been on my mind for as long as I can remember. From the day we start elementary school or, perhaps even earlier, we are told to work for the highest grades and attend the best universities. After that is done, we s

“You don’t smoke?”Yeah, I get that a lot. (Disclaimer: I do not have anything against smokers, as long as he, she or they doesn’t blow the fume in my face.) And the reason I get that comment is because I have a LOT of tattoos. And this isn’t just my assumption, because I have asked people why they t

I sometimes wonder if people still believe in free speech. It is often attacked these days as an unnecessary concession to political adversaries when one has power over them. Or such freedom is cynically defended when one is out of power. On the positive importance of free speech, I can do no better

I write a diary every day. Even if I draw a single smiling face, it is my habit to record every day. Entering Ewha Womans University and coming to Seoul, I brought some of the diaries I wrote during the three years in high school. It was to actually do things that I wrote while I was preparing colle

Is there a guitar club looking for help? I play acoustic, electric, and bass. Does anyone want to start a cribbage league? I’ll bring my board. Is there a campus baseball team that needs a batting coach? After a couple of trips to the cage, I’ll be ready to roll. These may sound like the words of a

Time is like a clock that keeps running, but one that will stop at one point. This stopping point, however, is different for everyone. So why should people be running a race against each other? Life becomes a pointless race when one starts comparing it to those of other people.Unfortunately, there a