1. Growing Up in Korea: But First, Why Korea?

🎧 What does it really mean to grow up in Korea—a country of stunning success, crushing pressure, and profound contradictions? This episode unpacks the history and heart behind it all.

This episode is based on my first Substack post from the Growing Up in Korea series.

I do a lot of research for each piece—far more than what ends up in the newsletter. So I’ve started turning some of that unused material into conversational audio using Google’s NotebookLM.

While the voice is AI-generated, the content is entirely drawn from my research notes, reflections, and writing.

In this episode, I reflect on what it means to grow up in one of the most densely populated, academically competitive, and culturally complex countries in the world.

📖 Read the full post here: Growing Up in Korea: A Country of Contradictions—Success, Pressure, and Identity

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yoonjiwon.substack.com