On Language and Life: How this Korean Word has Changed the Way I Think | by Aidan Gurung | Cansbridge Fellowship | Medium

In middle school, I tried to define a word by giving examples. I still remember the disappointed look my English teacher gave me as he said, “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know what it is.” Seven years later, I think of this interaction as I reflect on this past summer having received the Cansbridge fellowship and moved to Korea. In Seoul, I worked as a marketing intern at an EdTech company called Eggbun. At work, I would ask my coworkers to define Korean words for me any chance I got. I’d constantly bring up words I heard throughout my day — in an elevator conversation I wasn’t part of, a kdrama I skipped through, or some advertisement plastered on my commute to work. It was a month into my internship when I asked my coworkers what Jeong meant. I expected them to answer in the same way they answered all my questions before: I expected them to explain it to me simply. Instead, they gave me examples. At the end of the conversation, I still didn’t understand. “So, it’s like c

In middle school, I tried to define a word by giving examples. I still remember the disappointed look my English teacher gave me as he said, “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know what it is.” Seven years later, I think of this interaction as I reflect on this past summer having received the Cansbridge fellowship and moved to Korea. In Seoul, I worked as a marketing intern at an EdTech company called Eggbun. At work, I would ask my coworkers to define Korean words for me any chance I got. I’d constantly bring up words I heard throughout my day — in an elevator conversation I wasn’t pa