It’s 7:32 AM. I unlock my phone and there are 47 unread KakaoTalk messages waiting. Not on Instagram. Not on Slack. KakaoTalk alone. A family chat. Two work department chats. A college group chat that’s been alive for 12 years. A chat with the parents of my daughter’s daycare friends. My in-laws’ family group. Scroll … Read more
The first time a foreigner asked me how old I was, I froze for a solid two seconds. Not because the question was rude — it wasn’t, at least not to me — but because I genuinely didn’t know which answer to give. My Korean age? My international age? In Korea I’d just say a … Read more
When I was in elementary school, I watched a movie called Hackers. You know, the 1995 one with Angelina Jolie and rollerblading through New York. I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. Then I watched Live Free or Die Hard and decided — yeah, I want to be that person. The one … Read more
7:00 AM. The alarm goes off. I know I should get up. I don’t. I hit snooze for ten more minutes. The second alarm hits at 7:10, and now there’s no negotiating — I have to move. My wife and daughter are still asleep. They don’t need to be up until 8:00. My daughter’s 7, … Read more