The Meaning of 'Geunyang' (Just) in Korean: Is It Really Without Reason?

Oct 19, 2026 12 min read --

Many have likely answered ‘geunyang’ (just) when asked why they came somewhere. If you examine the meaning of ‘geunyang’ for Koreans, it is not a declaration of having no reason, but rather an expression that holds back a reason one chose not to voice.

Gimje Smart Farm Innovation Valley Demonstration Complex: The Two Faces of a 100 Billion Won Greenhouse

Oct 03, 2026 9 min read --

When driving down toward Jeonbuk, somewhere around Baekgu-myeon, Gimje, you suddenly see a complex of glass and plastic roofs filling the horizon.

How to Apply for the Primary Care Innovation Pilot Program and Find Participating Clinics

Sep 28, 2026 8 min read --

If your local primary care doctor asks, “Would you like to register as a primary care patient?”, what should you consider first?

Does Being Labeled a 'Key Talent' at Google Make Work Life Easier?

Sep 17, 2026 12 min read --

When news broke recently that Google’s star developer Noam Shazeer moved to OpenAI, my initial reaction was, “High-value people always jump ship, don’t they?” But as I thought about it, something seemed off.

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Cider vs. Sprite: A 120-Year History of the Carbonated Beverage War

Sep 13, 2026 7 min read --

From Stolen Names to the Zero-Calorie War: A Rivalry Between Two Giants In the spring of 1992, an unfamiliar green can began appearing on the shelves of supermarkets and local corner stores across Korea.

5 Behavioral Economics Concepts, in the Order Judgments Are Formed

Sep 12, 2026 5 min read --

Prospect theory, mental accounting, and nudges. The names are familiar, but when your own judgment goes awry, it’s hard to know which one to reach for.

FSD Lite Deemed Non-Compliant: It’s All About the Timing

Sep 04, 2026 5 min read --

Late last year, a question was posed to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) regarding Tesla’s plans to introduce FSD in Korea.

Rational Choice: Is It Always the Best? What the Jam Experiment Tells Us

Sep 01, 2026 8 min read --

A few days ago, I stood in a grocery store for ten minutes just trying to buy a jar of jam. There were eight different types of strawberry jam alone: low-sugar, organic, imported, domestic, with seeds, seedless. As I eventually grabbed one and headed out, I couldn’t help but wonder: Did I just make a rational choice, …

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3 PM Dismissal and Essay-Type CSAT: Will Private Education Costs Really Decrease?

Sep 01, 2026 8 min read --

A few days ago, my niece grumbled, “Aunt, they say I have to stay at school until 3 PM.” I wondered what she was talking about, and it turned out to be news she heard. Currently, first and second graders in elementary school usually finish around 1 PM, but the National Education Commission is reconsidering a plan to …

Asia's Ultra-Low Fertility: Is It a Solvable Problem?

Aug 26, 2026 15 min read --

18 years. 378.1 trillion won. And a total fertility rate of 0.80. Looking at the numbers alone, it’s strange. Common sense suggests that pouring policy funds into a problem should improve results. However, South Korea’s budget for responding to low birth rates has grown 4.7 times since 2006, while the total fertility …

Chaos Died the Moment It Was Understood

Aug 26, 2026 6 min read --

There was only one way for a being that was complete in the story to die: to become completed. At the end of the “Fit for Emperors and Kings” chapter in Zhuangzi, there is a short fable. The ruler of the Southern Sea was called Shu (儵), the ruler of the Northern Sea was Hu (忽), and the ruler of the Center was called …

Why Logical People Always Fail in Relationships: Escaping Winning Addiction with a 3-Step Solution

Nov 28, 2025 19 min read --

Part 1: The Drug Called Winning - Why We Obsessively Strive to Win? Chapter 1. Opening: A CEO’s Dinner Where Logic Won and the Deal Was Lost In a dimly lit Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan, two men sit across from each other.

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Turning Emotions into Strategy: Mastering the 5-Step Law of Conflict Resolution

Nov 27, 2025 10 min read --

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” — European Proverb Self-Narrative

It's Not Always Best to Endure: 5 Rational Languages to Master the Situation

Nov 25, 2025 10 min read --

Have you ever witnessed scenes in life that you simply couldn’t understand? A team leader helplessly crumbling in a petty emotional fight with a team member.

The Psychology of Relationship Conflict: Active Listening and I-Messages

Nov 22, 2025 11 min read --

If a 10-year colleague turned their back on you because of a one-second facial expression, whose personality is the problem?

Workplace Conflict: Trying to Win with Logic Leads to Ruin - Crucial Skills for Saving Relationships

Nov 21, 2025 10 min read --

Workplace conflict “I just can’t get through to that person.” This is the most common phrase heard at after-work drinks, and it’s the biggest culprit driving us to seek psychological counseling.

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Deceive Your Pretending Brain: Stephen Covey's 5 Steps of Listening and the Psychology of Empathy

Nov 20, 2025 12 min read --

Empathic Listening In a world full of noise, how sincerely are we listening to each other?

5 TKI Conflict Management Styles and How to Use Them

Nov 18, 2025 11 min read --

Some people are technically correct, yet their presence only deepens conflicts. The TKI (Thomas-Kilmann) conflict management model categorizes responses into five types—competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating—and posits that no single one is always the right answer.

Emotion, Reason, Intuition: Decide Like the 'Miracle on the Hudson' with the E-R-I Model

Nov 11, 2025 16 min read --

E-R-I PROCESS Conflict is not something to avoid, but a starting point to discover new opportunities.

Why Do We Rationally 'Fail'? Understanding Reason with the E-R-I Model

Nov 11, 2025 13 min read --

Do you remember the ‘MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) Outbreak’ that swept through South Korea in 2015? It was quite a chaotic time. Despite the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcing ‘rational’ data and stating they were controlling the spread… well, society moved in a completely different …

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Neuroscience to Change Your 'Angry' Self: The Space Between Stimulus and Response

Nov 11, 2025 13 min read --

The moment trivial conflicts escalate to catastrophe

The E-R-I Model: How to Decode Conflict with Emotion, Reason, and Intuition

Nov 10, 2025 11 min read --

갈등 Has anyone lived without experiencing conflict? Probably not. From minor disagreements to major disputes that shake the fate of an organization, conflict always makes us uncomfortable.

NASA's $160 Billion Mistake: The Essence of 'Error' Behind It

Nov 06, 2025 22 min read --

Mars Climate Orbiter

How to Replace 'Yes, But' with 'Yes, And': Practicing Psychological Safety

Nov 02, 2025 10 min read --

“That’s a great idea. However…” When this sentence comes up in a meeting, you can pretty much predict what follows. I have rarely seen a truly good story come after that. A newborn idea gets tripped up by a single conjunction, and the meeting just returns to the status quo.

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Hindsight Bias: Why "I Knew It" Keeps You Repeating Failures

Nov 02, 2025 12 min read --

Hindsight bias creeping determinism

The Prison of Perfectionism: How to Escape the Inner Tyrant That Strangles You

Nov 01, 2025 15 min read --

To you who dreamed of perfection and lost your way.

'Nudge's Two Faces: Design That Helps You vs Deceptive Traps

Oct 30, 2025 21 min read --

The whole story, believe it or not, began in the men’s restroom at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. At the time, the airport managers were struggling with a chronic problem: men missing the urinal and splashing urine outside. Beyond the cleaning costs, it was just too messy. They tried putting up warning …

Buying Worry: Why Smart You Is Unusually Anxious and the Perfect Escape Plan

Oct 30, 2025 16 min read --

Buying Worry “Buying worry”… it’s an odd phrase. How your mind locks itself up, and how you can get out of there. Shall we talk about that escape?

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Salieri Syndrome: 5 Ways to Break the Habit of Comparing Yourself to Others

Oct 29, 2025 10 min read --

Salieri Syndrome “Mozart, forgive me. It was I who killed you!” The film Amadeus begins with this cry from an elderly Salieri.

Culture Reflected in a Drinking Glass: A Comparison of Eastern and Western Drinking Cultures

Oct 29, 2025 6 min read --

🥂 Culture Reflected in a Drinking Glass: A Comparison of Eastern and Western Drinking Cultures Alcohol is a medium that lowers joy, loosens tension, and binds speech. But how people drink and what they share differ in texture by culture. This piece places Korean, Chinese, and Japanese Eastern drinking etiquette beside …