ESSAYS
Writing
Essays written in Korean and translated into English. Each page links back to the Korean original.
ALL ESSAYS
22 essays,
translated.
Sustainability rarely arrives as a framework. It arrives as a decision someone has to make. These essays start there.
The ESG Era and the Heart
A quiet reflection on the sadness and helplessness that can arise in the ESG ecosystem, and on moving forward together.
Once Your Hands Are on the Vault
A business journey seen through the vault: a pause or loss of balance before landing is not the same as failure.
[The Joy of Ignorance: Tatsuru Uchida] The Essence of Scholarship
A brief note on developing intellect by enduring the unease of not knowing rather than settling too quickly into certainty.
Writing Together, a New Universe with Countless Beginnings
A memory of starting a writing group and discovering how writing together opens countless beginnings in people’s lives.
[Siddhartha: Hermann Hesse] Shall We Work Some Magic?
A reflection on Siddhartha, purpose, solitude, and the practice of thinking, waiting, and emptying oneself.
One-on-One Meetings in the Second Half of 2024
A record of one-on-one conversations with ECONINE colleagues, and of what it takes to meet one another honestly within an organisation.
Setting the 2025 Strategy
After one-on-one meetings and time spent listening to stakeholders, ECONINE begins shaping a sharper strategy for 2025.
“We Are in the Same Boat”
While carrying out a public-sector project, I reflect on the field, the year-end mood, and the boat we share.
A Sense of Time
After a season ruled by alarms, I clear them away and try to recover a more conscious sense of time.
Sustainable Small Gatherings
A reflection on a year of learning communities, small deep relationships, and the quiet strength found in gathering together.
Experience Rather Than Certifications for Becoming an ESG Professional
A short note on why I am uneasy with the label “ESG professional” and why I call myself a SUSTAINER instead.
My Letter of Reflection
A quiet return to reflection as a path from self-reproach toward improvement, gratitude, and a calmer 2025.
Twenty Sit-Ups to Raise the Heart
Reading, writing, and exercise become small practices that lift the heart and return a person to themselves.
Choosing Where to Direct My Effort
A December reflection on past and future effort, held together by the one thing that protects us: questions.
The Best Way to Solve Problems
The best problem-solving method is creative confrontation: saying things as they are, without excuses, in how we deal with people.
Why ESG Assessments Are Worth Seeing Through
ESG assessment is not a score chase but a disciplined process for helping an organisation practise sustainability management.
[HDI Forum Reflection] The Challenges Facing Korea
A forum reflection on Korea’s challenges and the need to keep studying across micro, macro, financial, and non-financial fields.
[Korea Economic Daily ESG Magazine] What Matters More Than an ESG Assessment Score
A brief pointer to a contributed article on what matters more than the ESG assessment score itself.
“Business Is Love.”
A Jeju workshop reflection on business as a language for practising love, beginning with the difficult work of loving oneself.
Explaining Myself
A reflection on how explaining oneself may require a solitary journey through relationships, memory, principles, and meaning.
A World Where Only Reading and Writing Exist
A reflection on reading, writing, tacit knowledge, companions and the desire to begin another book.
AI and ISO
A note on meeting AI as a language and connecting it with ESG, organisational work and human judgment.
PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE
Some pieces live
at their original home.
These were first published on another platform, so only the title and a link are shown here.