Jeong is a big part of Korean culture, but it’s not only limited to or experienced by Korean people. Jeong gives you the courage and conviction to reach goals that you never thought you could achieve. It teaches you to invest in the community. It encourages you to give without expecting anything in return. It inspires you to be more empathetic, and it results in bonds that will last for a lifetime. I believe we live in a society that is inundated with shallow social media interactions, and we’ve forgotten the importance of what it means and what it takes to build meaningful connections. We need more jeong in this world because, as human beings, having jeong is extremely fulfilling and brings happiness.

I can’t stress enough how challenging it is to be a parent and I give so much kudos to those who manage to juggle both a demanding career and raising kids. I haven’t really felt 100 per cent like myself since giving birth, due to postpartum hair loss and other bodily changes. It’s also a new role and new mindset that still takes some getting used to! The silver lining, however, is that I’ve rekindled jeong with friends who have also recently become new parents.

My skincare ritual in the morning has really become sparse after having a baby because there’s a lot of things to prepare for and something’s gotta give. But in the evening, that’s my special self-care time. You don’t have much time during the day to care for yourself, so in the evening it becomes that much more important to practise self-care. 

I feel completely grateful for the fact that we have been able to work safely at home. Working from home also means I have been able to see many of my daughter’s milestones, which is another blessing. But still, I’m not going to discount the fact that Covid-19 really was a challenging time for my mental health. The pandemic is especially cruel in that it has caused us to isolate ourselves from friends and family. There’s no substitute for quality time spent in person but we searched for other ways to connect, such as through Facetime and Zoom. One thing that I know for sure is that I’m not going to take in-person moments for granted after the pandemic.

Our team launched two new skincare lines, Good (Skin) Days and The Klog, in the middle of the pandemic. When I was in my hospital bed during labour, I was in the middle of final edits of The Little Book of Jeong. After seeing us work through the past year, I’m convinced that we can do anything.

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