I didn't expect to feel Jung (정: a Korean word describing a warm, caring connection between people) in an American conference room. But there I was, in a Zoom meeting with my team, saying goodbye to colleagues who were leaving. Something about the moment felt deeply familiar.
I am a translator. My career began in Korea, where I worked on a translation team that helped shape who I am today. Those years now feel almost unreal. We worked hard, but we also celebrated birthdays together in the conference room. We ate lunch together every day. We shared stress, deadlines, and laughter.
But life took me in a different direction. I came to America, finished my studies, and found a job. I entered the workforce again, this time in a completely different language and culture.
It wasn’t easy. The workplace felt unfamiliar. Compared with Korea, it seemed more individual and more reserved. I often wondered if I would ever feel completely comfortable.
But time changes things.
Today, I am a fifth-year in-house translator. It has been nearly 19 years since I first arrived in the United States. Somewhere along the way, discomfort became experience. Experience became confidence. Without even realizing it, I built a career here.
Recently, three colleagues moved on to new jobs, and two had to leave the company. For the first time, our team came together so that each person could share a few words with them.
It wasn’t required. It wasn’t a big event. It was simply a chance to express our appreciation and wish them well.
And that was when it happened.
I felt jung.
In Korea, jung is a quiet bond that grows over time. It can come from sharing meals, stress, work, and everyday experiences. I had always connected that feeling with my early career in Seoul. I thought it belonged to that part of my life and to that particular culture.
But in that American office, I felt something similar.
It wasn’t exactly the same. Maybe here, it appears through respect, gratitude, or simply wishing someone well and truly meaning it. The way we express connection may be different across cultures, but the human feeling behind it can be the same.
That moment took me back to my younger self in Korea. I remembered the new employee who worked hard, tried to learn everything she could, and simply wanted to grow.
And I realized something that took me almost 20 years to understand:
Whether we work in Korea or the United States, or in the corporate or government world, we are often working toward the same things. We want to learn. We want to improve. We want to contribute. We want our work to matter.
Growth is global.
It sounds obvious when I write it down. Almost too simple. But when you experience it yourself, it feels different. It gives you a sense of perspective and reminds you that you are on the right path.
For years, I focused on adapting. I focused on proving myself, adjusting to cultural differences, and building credibility in another language. I thought I had to start all over again in America.
But I wasn’t starting over.
I was carrying the same values into a different culture.
Maybe that is what coming full circle means to me.
Coming full circle is not about going back to where you started. It is about realizing that the person you were at the beginning has been with you all along.
The sincerity.
The desire to learn.
The discipline.
The desire to grow.
Now, nearly 20 years into my life in the United States, I see it more clearly.
At its core, being a working professional is not so different from one place to another. We work. We struggle. We learn. We grow. We move forward.
On difficult days, when work feels stressful or overwhelming, I remind myself that I am part of something larger.
Sometimes, the workplace can feel limiting. We can become so focused on what is right in front of us that we forget to look beyond it. But work can also open doors to new relationships, ideas, and possibilities.
The difference is perspective.
I feel that I have come full circle, back to the values that have guided me from the beginning.
For me, coming full circle means seeing the journey I have been on all along with fresh eyes.
