Sojin Park

I took some time to look back on the things I experienced in 2023.

Experiences

I rated the things I started or experienced in 2023 that were good, on a scale of 1 to 10, and listed them from highest to lowest.

9 points.

I’m happy when I create positive changes that last a long time in my life.

By the end of 2023, I had carved out more than 6 hours of fully focused time — before 2 p.m. and after 7 p.m. In early 2023, I struggled to control my work hours, and meetings would run from morning to night. I couldn’t focus for more than an hour and was often distracted. Now, by restricting meetings to the 2–7 p.m. window, I’m able to dedicate meetings to meetings and deep work to deep work.
My girlfriend and I started consistently writing daily journals and doing weekly retrospectives. Having felt the power of reflection, I’d wanted to journal regularly since last year, but it turned out that finding just 5 minutes a day was harder than I expected. The answer was my girlfriend. Once we agreed to share our journals with each other and nudge each other when we skip, I finally managed to build the habit. Being curious about each other’s entries naturally draws us back into each other’s journals, and the social pressure to write seems to help.
I started a study group with middle managers at the company to learn and practice coaching. With communication approaches like coaching and motivational interviewing, studying the theory alone doesn’t bring change — you have to practice in real situations and receive feedback. A culture of mutual coaching and feedback took root, which made it possible to receive feedback on a consistent basis.
I got comfortable enough with cooking that making lasagna became easy for me. Originally someone who could only make instant ramen, I worried whether I’d ever be able to cook a proper meal, but after consistently taking on new recipes since moving out on my own, it seems I can now manage light Italian home cooking.
I went to San Francisco for a two-week “live like a local” trip, and I think it may have been the single best decision I made all year. It gave me clarity on whether I want to live in the US. And I realized that the things I had been worried about regarding living in America were actually nothing to worry about at all — if anything, there were different things I should have been thinking about.

8 points.

I’m happy when I create positive change but it remains somewhat sporadic rather than fully routine.

I’ve been jotting down everyday thoughts on my Naver blog whenever something comes to mind. Before, when an idea struck, I had no real place to write it down and no particular incentive to do so, which made it easy to stop. Now that there are neighbors who respond to my posts, I have an incentive to write. Even so, I often don’t have the energy to revise and polish, so it hasn’t quite become a habit yet.

I’m happy when I resolve something that was causing me unconscious distress without my even recognizing it as distress.

I borrowed a window cleaner and washed the outer windows of my apartment. Since the outer windows were dirty when I moved in, I had just assumed that was how they were supposed to be. But once I actually cleaned them, I was struck by how clear they were and how much more open the view felt.
I ended up staying at EO House for two weeks. I generally prefer to be alone in the evenings and don’t particularly enjoy lively, bustling atmospheres. But I discovered that living in a nice place with colleagues who have a healthy mindset is better than I expected. When living alone, the happiness you get from cooking doesn’t quite justify the cost, and the pressure to use up ingredients before they go bad makes it hard to feel motivated to cook. But with six people together, a flat of eggs would vanish in no time, and cooking became something fun we all did together — which I really liked.

I’m happy when I visit somewhere newly open and expansive.

In 2023, I visited quite a few new places. I stayed at Rak Kojae, a hanok hotel, and read quietly at a bookshop called Deo Sup Choso Chaekbang, which sits at the end of a path leading to an octagonal pavilion. I also took walks through Buk Seoul Dream Forest, Namhansanseong Fortress, and Seoul Grand Park Zoo. I think I like being somewhere open and airy with fresh air to breathe.

I’m happy when I’m focused on work in a good café.

In 2023, I discovered two new cafés: Protocol in Yeonnam-dong and Cheongpa Chaekgado. Both were stylish and quiet.

I’m happy when I have a great experience at a restaurant I’m visiting for the first time.

When staying at Josun Palace, I visited a Chinese restaurant called The Great Hongyeon. The experience was better than I expected. Watching dusk settle over Lotte Tower in the distance and across Teheranno while eating an unusual take on sweet-and-sour pork — it’s somewhere I’d love to go back to.

I’m happy when I have a warm exchange with someone who gives me genuine insight.

There was a time I met up with Y, an old childhood friend, at Seouldae-ipgu for shabu-shabu and then sipped whisky at a bar nearby. We’d grown a bit apart — physically and emotionally — but catching up after so long reminded me of why we were once such close friends.

7 points.

When I try a new experience I’ve never had before.

The first time I went to Lotte World with my partner. A one-night trip to breathe the crisp air in remote Cheongsong. My first visit to Gyeongdong Market in Jeigi-dong. New experiences are always good.

When I receive recognition at work or in the broader professional community.

There was a fierce debate at the company about React Native. During the adoption process, it was an extremely sensitive issue for the other side, and I believe the process was far more difficult than it needed to be due to gaps in my communication skills. Fortunately, after resolving many technical challenges, we officially decided to adopt React Native. I even received a word of appreciation from the CTO for the hard work.
I had a conversation with T at FEConf. It made me feel that Toss has grown a great deal in the meantime and is now earning real recognition in the industry.

6 points.

When I have a good but entirely expected experience.

I visited Tokyo again in 2023. I also went to see the special theatrical edition of my all-time favorite anime, Sound! Euphonium. It was genuinely wonderful, but I think I could already picture exactly what the experience would be like before I went.

When I’m working hard to solve a problem that needs solving.

There were many things I “had to” do to get React Native adopted at the company. I set a three-month deadline and ran toward the goal. I arranged regular dinner meetings with team leads and ran more than ten React Native onboarding sessions.

5 points.

When I have an ordinary experience at a place I already expected.

I visited a steakhouse called B on a special occasion. Having been to a high-end steakhouse in New York before, I had a rough sense of how the meal would unfold. The actual experience matched that expectation pretty closely.

4 points.

When I have to responsibly do something that “needs to be done” and it has to go on for a considerable amount of time.

The financial industry is a regulated sector, so companies must comply with strict regulations set by the government. There were cases where changes in supervisory policy required us to significantly overhaul the company’s development processes. It was work that had to be done, but it didn’t feel like work that was creating real value at its core — and it had to go on for quite a long time.

Books

Books I Enjoyed

Books of 2023

Books that opened my eyes to new domains

Reading works by Choi Eun-young — Bright Night, Shoko’s Smile, and Even the Faintest Light — made me feel the reality of discrimination against minorities in a visceral way.
Reading This Is Not Art completely turned my way of looking at art upside down.
Reading Sustainable Aging made me think far more seriously about what it means to grow old in good health.
Reading The Fifth Discipline allowed me to view organizations not just through my own perspective but from a broader, systemic vantage point.

Books that changed the way I see the world

Reading Quit made me see that quitting quickly isn’t a bad thing, and made me think more seriously about how the inability to quit is itself a problem.
Reading How Numbers Can Be Your Best Friend made me think that even everyday decisions — from where to live to who to date — could be approached with data.
Reading Peak made me realize that simply putting in 10,000 hours isn’t what matters; what matters is creating the conditions for “deliberate practice.”

Books that helped establish frameworks for me

Reading Made to Stick got me thinking about the SUCCESs principles that help when writing copy.
Reading Influencer got me thinking about motivation and capability when trying to create change within an organization.
Reading How Minds Change showed me that people’s minds aren’t changed by being persuaded — they change when people arrive at realizations on their own.
Reading Getting Things Done showed me that without the habit of saying no to tasks, no amount of time management will ever create breathing room.
Reading The Inner Game of Tennis moved me away from judging and flogging myself over my actions, toward simply accepting them as they are.
Reading Robert’s Rules of Order led me to adopt a variety of procedural meeting behaviors during discussions.

Things to Try Next

It would be good to rate each book.
I can tell whether a book is interesting or not within 5 minutes of starting it. I should stop trying to finish books that aren’t interesting.
To encounter more books in areas I don’t know, I should meet people who read more often, or take actions like subscribing to Jeongikaori.

Travel Destinations and Hotels

Focusing on the travel destinations and hotels that stood out.

9 points.

When there’s an experience that shifts my thinking beyond what I already knew.

January, Egypt. I remember the smell of soil and dust in the city of Cairo. I learned how to haggle. Camping in a quiet desert with no one else around was an experience I loved deeply.
December, staying at Rak Kojae hanok hotel. I got a feel for the elegance of living in a modernized hanok. It made me want even more to live in a standalone house.
December, visiting San Francisco. It was an experience that made me think about living in the US in a completely different way. Having a picnic on the grass on January 1st, and running through a beautifully wide-open wetland watching wildlife — it was the best.

When there’s a powerful visual impression.

December, Jeongdongjin. I remember stepping off the train and seeing the blue sea spread out before me. In front of the station, I ate squid sundae and drank makgeolli at a cozy pojangmacha run by a warm grandmother.

When the experience feels like living like royalty.

October, Da Nang. Eating delicious food, swimming, and running around at a beautiful resort. It’s a shame the weather was rough because it was the rainy season.

8 points.

When I do something I enjoy in an open, expansive setting.

March, BMW Driving Center. I drove a Mini Convertible for the first time and breathed in the fresh open air.
April, Yeouido cherry blossom run. At 6:30 in the morning, I ran with cherry blossoms as my backdrop, breathing in the calm, settled air.
September, Lotte World. The weather was perfect. Under a wide-open sky, we walked around and rode the charming monorail. We rode the gyrodrop after a long time, and had warm, meandering conversations.
October, Sky Park. I took a walk with my family while looking out over the white silver grass fields.
November, Namhansanseong Fortress. I walked along the fortress wall and looked out at Lotte Tower in the far distance.
December, Buk Seoul Dream Forest. The park was absolutely beautiful.

When I have meaningful conversations with people I care about.

May, Majang Lake and Red Bridge Café. We walked the beautiful lakeside path and looked out at the suspension bridge from a lovely café.
June, Yeoncheon. Z, M, D and I rented a house and had warm, meaningful conversations together.
November, Yongin. Z, M, D and I shared meaningful insights over girautti and at a wonderful restaurant with a lovely Christmas atmosphere.

AC2

2023 is hard to talk about without mentioning the AC2 course. After taking it, I think I’ve changed — maybe not 180 degrees, but at least 90.

The version of me who used to work late into the night and wake up groggy around 10 a.m. now wakes up sharp at 7 with a clear head. The version of me who dreaded icebreaking in interviews now starts conversations naturally and with ease. The version of me who kept failing to journal now writes a 5-minute diary entry every single day without fail.

As these changes accumulated, I think I developed a belief that anything can be changed.

The version of me who used to think “as long as I do my part well, that’s enough” now genuinely values working as a team. I’ve come to want to engage with more people and build social capital.