WRITING SAMPLES
(All blog graphics created by me)
EDUTAINMENT BLOG SAMPLE
EXCERPT:
“Over the years, Hollywood has produced many a historical movie “based on a true story” that takes the whole concept of artistic liberties too far, usually in the form of cramming an unconvincing and unwanted romance plot straight through the center of an otherwise perfectly good action film (looking right at you, Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor).
Fortunately for the historically inquisitive, some cinematic gems come out of Asia, and the Korean Cultural Centre has afforded me the opportunity to see one of them.
Hansan: Rising Dragon isn’t just any gem though. It’s a crown jewel.
Just for context, I was born and raised in Canada, and therefore my education in history was always very Eurocentric. As a result, when I think of the late 1500s, my mind conjures images of Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, and 16th Century London’s last major plague outbreak – which, funnily enough, peaked in 1592; the very same year of the main battle depicted in Hansan: Rising Dragon (한산: 용의 출현).
There are so many aspects of this film to appreciate, I had trouble choosing what to highlight here, because if I tried to write about everything I noted while watching, this would be the length of a novel (and it’s already really long. As it is, the topics I decided to concentrate on are so rich with fascinating information, this blog will be broken into three posts.
The movie begins with bloodied Japanese soldiers explaining to their new commander, Wakisaka Yasuharu (脇坂 安治), that in their last clash with the Koreans, Admiral Yi Sun-sin unleashed a warship so powerful and horrifying they call it “bokkaisen” (a sea monster from ancient Japanese mythology).
The ship is 거북선 (Geobukseon), a large, fully-enclosed battleship so deadly effective it was used by the Korean navy for five centuries, and a crucial piece in Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s halting of the Japanese invasion.
…”
EVENT BLOG SAMPLE
EXCERPT:
“Intense Difference Of Its Own (모두의 어떤 차이) is a multi-medium, multi-faceted art installation that opened at the Korean Cultural Centre of Canada’s Gallery on September 5th 2023. Make sure you go check it out before it closes on the 29th, because my photos do not do justice to the beauty of the work!
Before I get into the details of the exhibition opening I attended, I just want to say that it really warms my heart to see an exponentially increasing number of people in attendance at every event hosted by the KCC. Since this is my fourth year as an Honorary Reporter, and I’ve attended many Ottawa-based celebrations of Korean culture in that time, I can honestly say it’s emotionally moving to witness something I love so dearly gain wider recognition.
I’ve mentioned in many (if not all) of my blog posts that this year, 2023, represents the 60th Anniversary of Korea-Canada Diplomatic Relations, and as part of celebrating this wonderful milestone, Canada’s capital has the honor of hosting the work of Canadian and Korean artists using a variety of mediums.
Always evolving, this month the KCC gallery has transformed to showcase the pieces which make up the collection Intense Difference Of Its Own (모두의 어떤 차이). The remarkable installation will remain in Ottawa at the Korean Cultural Centre until September 29th.
Intense Difference of Its Own is a project focused on the often-overlooked artistic talent of those with disabilities. It demonstrates through visual art, sculpture, and music how potent these voices can be.
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ESSAY-STYLE WRITING
EXCERPT:
What’s being measured when “the economy” grows— or declines —is completely propped up by “stocks”. That’s the only area where there’s noticeable growth, and what’s terrifying is, to oversimplify for the sake of brevity, stocks are simply a speculation of the future. There’s nothing material tied to them at all.
At least in the past, to a certain degree, stock performance was associated with or directly tied to a product being manufactured or a service being provided.
If a company made the best thing, had the newest technology, provided a service other people couldn’t, that was what drove the stock performance. That was what incentivized businesses to prioritize doing the best thing for the customer.
It was generally understood that the whole purpose of stock valuation had to do with these real physical products/services, along with how much revenue you’re generating and how much it costs you to build those things. And when you find new technology or become innovative, you used to be rewarded for that by your stock price going up.
But now, every American company is a bank.
Now, it’s market manipulation. Businesses are almost exclusively incentivized to prioritize making money for shareholders based on these manipulations, and no longer care what the general public thinks, feels, or even needs.
Tesla is a great example. Obviously this year in specific (2025) has seen some slight downturns, but looking at the bigger picture from the time it went public, Tesla is a perfect expression of this exact kind of manipulation.
From the perspective of shareholders, Tesla is not regarded as an automobile manufacturer, it’s a tech company. Tech that can be basically infinitely speculated upon whether or not it comes to fruition in the long run. In this environment, Elon Musk can announce some new initiative Tesla is “working on”— whether or not it ends up happening, whether or not it’s even possible —the stock price goes up, and it has nothing to do with the cars they’re making. It’s all based on what the richest of the rich people say when they’re thinking aloud. Pure speculation.
Watching the stock market is the same as watching a bunch of rich guys hand each other huge stacks of money and getting each other hyped up about how much theoretical money is coming their way in the future. They don’t care about anything else.
The economy’s success being measured by the stock market is like trying to measure the grades of students by testing the members of the school board. How can anyone think this makes sense?