I'm a curious kid, trying to understand life, rockets, computer science etc. And I love Learning.
This is the English version of the original Korean version of the article in KUAC Naver Cafe. Intro I hadn't been back to Chamonix for climbing since the summer of 2022, a year and a half ago. It was quite a memorable trip in that I came to climb actual major faces and organized my … Continue reading Surviving the deadly Chamonix Climb: KUAC Ice Hunters Expedition (2024 Feb 18 ~ 24)
About Since March 1st, I've been living in Germany for 2 weeks now, and I wanted to post a little update on what it has been like. Deutsch Intensivkurs Photo of a Whiteboard redacted: Requested by the teacher! I am here for the intensive German course, and so I have been undergoing 30 hours (45 … Continue reading 2 Weeks in Germany Review
South Korean Military Conscription https://m.sedaily.com/NewsView/29S3NID61Y As an able-bodied man between the ages 18 - 28 born in South Korea, one is obligated to serve military service for a minimum of 18 months, up to 21 months (roughly). As I have scrambled across the world for the last 4 years, most of my friends have either … Continue reading Overview of the South Korean Military Conscription (Regulations & Life in Military)
Couch Potato We hear this term a lot, "couch potato". According to Wikipedia, it means: Couch-Potato (anhören?/i) (aus dem US-amerikanischen Slang) ist das Klischee einer Person, die einen Großteil ihrer Freizeit auf einem Sofa oder einem Sessel mit Fernsehen, Junkfood-Essen und Biertrinken verbringt. Der Begriff hat eine negative Konnotation. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couch-Potato Sorry for the German, as I am living in Zurich and this is the default Google Search result … Continue reading [Unfinished] Time is Subjective
Everytime I come back to Korea I have an intense period of reverse culture shocks and adaptation period. And as always, just as I aimed to do so in Lessons back in Switzerland – Week 3 (July 7 – 13) series, I wanted to preserve that feeling in a post. It's part of moving between countries … Continue reading [Unfinished] Thoughts being back in Korea – September 2023
Key Insights at Once After living on and off outside Korea for 2 years, I have formulated my perspective on the uniqueness of Korean Culture several times, and currently, I think it comes down to: Being less comfortable with strangers Being more chaotic, with fewer regulations among the people. More forgiving to exceptions. Social pressure … Continue reading Retrospective on Korean Culture, after 2 years being an expat
Oh, Chicago! Chicago is an interesting city. I've only heard of it as a title "Chicago", the musical. So why did I visit here? For 3 reasons: To visit Andrew, founder of a drone consulting firm, who is super friendly and fun to hang out with Meet Gene, a middle school friend now studying in … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – Chicago (Oct 16 – 18)
Reunion Korea, 2013 10 years is a long time, and that's how long I haven't met the host family since 2013 when they visited Korea. As I was waiting at the airport (and oh it is a small airport), I was wondering what it would be like to meet them again! And soon I spotted … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – Omaha, Nebraska (Oct 13 – 16)
SFO > Florida Flight I tried the Frontier Airlines for the first time (that my friend Hayato recommended not to take), as it had a pretty cheap flight at $160 for Florida. And the first stop was Las Vegas. Since I didn't get any seat assigned, I got the emergency seat (since it's the most … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – Falcon Heavy, Orlando, Florida (Oct 12 – 13)
Las Vegas > San Jose Flight After having hard time deciding what to take for breakfast, as most things seemed over-priced & I was counting on having lunch with my friend & another senior member of my middle-school in San Jose, I boarded with an empty stomach. Honestly it wasn't so bad (Spirit Airlines), and … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – San Francisco, Fremont, San Jose (Oct 7 – 11)
The Vegas! These buildings are just absolutely outrageous. Since forever, "Las Vegas" was always my destination, just from the shear amount of media / stories about it (gambling, strip clubs, drugs, etc) that I heard since childhood. So I originally planned to go through Las Vegas (to visit Mojave desert & Death Valley), but actually … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – Las Vegas (Oct 6 – 7)
It's LA! Santa Monica Beach Everyone knows LA, as it's a massive city with rich history of Film industry, Hollywood, and the luxurious lifestyle (and inequalities). For me, I chose LA for destination for 3 reasons: Falcon Heavy Psyche mission was delayed by a week (was supposed to be Oct 5, but now Oct 12) … Continue reading 2023 USA Trip Notes – Los Angeles (Oct 3 – 5)
The Cycle Do you also realize that most meetings/initiatives fall apart after the first meeting full of excitement and promises? You (and others) dream of doing something incredible and exciting (why else would you organize such a meeting?). Then a week goes by, and people start to reply slower, and it becomes "one of those … Continue reading Promises don’t get kept
Last 2 months I haven't been posting my "Lessons back in Switzerland" weekly post for 2 months now, so what happened? I will explain. I was experimenting a new concept of bringing back radiosondes from stratosphere, the project R2Home: https://www.r2ho.me/, in Lausanne for 2 months now. It almost feels surreal thinking about the beginning, when … Continue reading Lessons at the end of Switzerland (July 14 – Sep 17)
Moving out of Zurich Flat - Friday After a morning walk with the dog (which I went to, because I knew I won't be doing anything if I don't get my ass out of the door in the morning) with my girlfriend. We did a lot of cleaning and selling furnitures as we are moving … Continue reading Lessons back in Switzerland – Week 4 (July 14 – 20)
Best Flight ever! https://youtu.be/qpeiAD5Fz-s Amidst the XC flight, I had a great idea to film it with the phone haha This Friday I finally achieved a 2+ hour flight in Jura, and achieved around 12.5km out & back, and thermalled up to 2400 meter AMSL. What a flight! It was especially memorable because the day … Continue reading Lessons back in Switzerland – Week 3 (July 7 – 13)
You never know what's coming There are no perfect decisions. This is something I pondered on throughout my stay in Geneva during the Weekend, due to the following incidents: I thought I was going to Montreux Jazz festival with my friend on Saturday, but he meant the week after! I felt stupid and thought it's … Continue reading Learnings back in Switzerland – Week 2 (June 30 – July 6)
Junwoo Hwang 