Feb 16, 2007  •  In Finance, Korean, Personal

Kye

When I first started working full-time my parents knew that I would have trouble saving without a rigid plan in place. And so they asked me to join a kye. The Korean kye, which means contract or bond, is a credit rotating system built on trust and honesty. It dates back hundreds of years when it was first used […]

Sep 27, 2006  •  In Korean, Personal

My Name

Growing up in Korea, I hated my given name, 효진 (Hyojin). I’m not sure exactly why, but it always felt a bit 촌스러워 (the closest definition I can think of is rustic, unrefined). In addition, the name itself was unusual. I was named by my grandfather, who combined two Chinese characters, 효도할 효 (孝 – filial piety), and […]