18. Back in Philly with Notes from South Korea
thoughts from abroad
Sending this from Philly but I wrote this draft while I was in Korea. Enjoy!
Woops, I missed and forgot to sent out a newsletter in August. Truthfully, August was a full and busy month. Not with work (seems like it was slow for a lot of people) but full of seeing people, celebrating birthdays, and reuniting with long-distance friends and family.
So, hello from South Korea! By the time this lands in your inbox, I’ll be packing up and getting to go home. I arrived here early September to work on a project about displaced people from North Korea who settled in Abai Village in Sokcho. The project is funded by the National Geographic Society which gave me the freedom to explore, make mistakes and be creative in ways an assignment wouldn’t allow for.
From the beginning, things were not going according to plan. Strangely, it didn’t bother me. I felt like I had no choice but to resign myself to the situation. In Korea, broadcast companies will often pay their sources and characters to be featured in their documentaries. My main character, Ms Kim, thought we would pay her even though we had confirmed with her earlier in the year this was not the case.
I took a day to separate myself from the situation and went for a long walk at Seoraksan National Park which has some of the most beautiful mountains in Korea.
As corny as it is, the serenity prayer became a guiding mantra at this time. grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I didn’t give up and buy a ticket to come home the next day, but I also didn’t scramble to remedy the situation. My fixer, Yoola, was coming the next day so we decided we would come up with a plan to find a solution. Long story short, we were able to clear up the misunderstanding and I was able to continue with my project. Here are some sneak peek/outtake images from my past week with Ms Kim and some other displaced people.
It’s been almost 9 years since I entered the wild world of freelancing. It’s been a decade of learning to embrace failure, seeing plans go awry and being in a constant state of uncertainty. That’s how it is with freelancing which is why this isn’t for everyone. But, for me, it’s been a humbling and edifying experience - I have to constantly check my own ego, question my competitiveness or jealousy, and at times, the desperate need for external validation.
Since being in Korea, I’ve had a few random revelations.
Ambition has a different meaning now. I don’t want to sacrifice the time with my loved ones for work anymore. I’ve become ambitious with how I spend my days with my family and friends.
My work can be important even when it isn’t all consuming.
I like the idea of traveling alone, but it’s not for me. I like to experience sights and food with people. It was a bit lonely being in Korea on my own especially since I was with my whole family on the last trip
Being away from my family for three weeks has me wanting to find ways to work on projects locally or at least in the US.
My work may not change policy or impact someone’s life circumstance, but I know it is a record of history. This is why I do what I do
Also, I’m figuring out the direction of this newsletter - I don’t know if I want it to be purely about my work or if it’s a place for me to work on my writing. Either way, thanks for spending time with me as I ramble and share random photos.
Published Work
Random Recommendations
Hidden Brain - You 2.0 Slow Down (A two part series on savoring our days and being in the moment)
The Ezra Klein Show - Boundaries, Burnout and the ‘Goopification’ of Self-Care
We Can Do Hard Things - Why Are We Never Satisfied ft. adrienne maree brown
The Cut - Adorable Little Detonators. Our friendship survived bad dates, illness, marriage, fights. Why can’t it survive your baby? (A hilarious, somewhat dividing piece on why friendships change after someone has a baby. My take - it’s not the baby’s fault. The friendship maybe wasn’t that strong to begin with… ok, I could go on and on about this but that’s not what this newsletter is about)
Thank you Hannah for your openness in sharing your thoughts and growth along the way.
I love the photos and updates :)