SDF

As a professor, I am often considered someone with power, but in reality, I spend much of my time catering to the whims of my higher-ups. I generally try to keep a distance from those who would lord their power over others, and even stand up against them if necessary, but my personal preference is to not make such distinctions of rank and title in the first place. I like to live with less; I commute on foot, without even a cell phone or briefcase, and indulge myself with simple home-cooked meals. For the last 30 years, I have studied how civil society is built on the efforts of ordinary citizens, and I recently took up charge of a research project that looks at how individuals are changing the world. I work with various civil society groups and volunteer groups, and serve on a government committee, but am sometimes frustrated at the slow pace of social change. I sometimes dream of returning to the rural town where I grew up, and escaping the suffocating, fine-dust-ridden confines of Seoul, but I am content for now to take pleasure in teaching, learning, and meeting new people.