~ thirty things about chae ~

 Thirty things about chae ~

1. I have two really old sisters.

The eldest is 30 and the other one is 28 years old, and they're both medical doctors. My sisters practically raised me, changed my diapers and everything, so I have four parents instead of two. 

Though we fight on a daily basis, my sisters are my best(est) friends and just genuinely amazing people; I could literally fill up all 30 things with things I'd like to brag about my sisters, though I won't for my grade's sake. I actually spent more time living away from my sisters than with them as both mostly lived in Europe since I was five years old and I lived in a dorm for the last six years, but we still make time whenever we're together to hang out and have fun.

As the youngest sister, practically every part of my taste (ranging from being a One Direction fan to loving F1) is an influence from either one of my sisters. I'm just another relatable younger sibling that way--whatever your older sibling does looks appealing.

with Amy at the Toiletpaper Exhibition

with Clara at Yangjaecheon

2. I've lived, in total, a year at my aunt's in Germany.

A really emotional story: my aunt went to Germany as a teenager to work as a nurse there; she was part of a post-war aid pact between Korea and Germany where Korean nurses and miners were sent to Germany to work, instead of at home where the economy was fragile. Her income paid for my dad's school tuition, clothing, and food, because my dad's family (and back then probably 80% of Koreans) was really poor. 

She worked harder than anyone else; she went to medical school during the day and worked as a nurse at night, facing all the hardship and racism alone. She then became a medical doctor and lives in Münich, Germany to this day. All three children in my family has lived in Germany with our aunt at one point in our lives (I lived with her for two months every year in elementary school), which influenced my sisters to become medical doctors as well.

I remember being really creeped out by the Bayern München football fans celebrating their win at the train station as a child. Ironically, I'm planning to visit Germany as soon as I graduate from KMLA, and #1 on my to-do list is to go to a München game. 

Lil' Chae in Germany

3. I'm a dopamine addict, a 'stan' of practically every genre of pop culture.  

Something that my friends will probably say if you ask them for a fun fact about me.

This started out as becoming a Directioner (One Direction fan) as a nine-year-old in Canada, and continues to this day. Every single 'hot potato' reality TV series, new artist, meme, or designer collection, I've already seen it.

It's detrimental to my academic life, but one good thing about being a dopamine-addict is that you have at least one common interest with practically everyone you meet. This comes in handy when you're making friends in a new environment. It's also taught me a thing or two about efficiency, like how to make the most out of my 30 minutes of study time per day.

So, if you want to know the name of Kim Kardashian's yet-to-be-born baby or want a fire hip-hop playlist, come talk to me.

Me at the Habsburg Empire exhibition

Me at the NCT Dream concert

Chasing Atlético Madrid players down the mall is a weekend hobby of mine 🤡

4. My favourite way to spend free time is volunteering.

Throughout the last three years, I've helped North Korean defectors study for the GED & African refugee families apply for a VISA in Korea. I'm very lucky to have been born in a loving family and to have received quality education (from teachers such as Mr. Garrioch), and I like to share that privilege whenever I get the chance to.

Davis' Family from Liberia finally was granted a VISA after a year of documents, pleading the immigration office over phone calls, etc.

Largely, it was my family's influence that got me to value community service as much as I do now. My parents started volunteering & donating to the local orphanage even before I was born, and they have always emphasized the value of giving back to the community/country. In the 'micro' point of view my parents, and in the 'macro' point of view South Korea, were able to reach this point of financial/social prosperity thanks to others (even strangers) that helped, and now it's our turn to give back. 

I also love that volunteering is not only about providing help, but also about learning something back as well. With Yurim, a North Korean defector I tutored for two years, I was able to realize that at the end of the day, although North Korea is a political nemesis, we belong to one nation of people that shared the same history for five millennia.

Though I've stopped tutoring when Yurim passed both GEDs for middle & high school, we're great friends to this day!

5. I have three ages. 

I was born on Jan 9th, 2006, which according to the lunar year system, is December 10th, 2005.

My mom put my lunar birthday when I was applying for elementary school a year early, and here I am 12 years later stuck with y'all 05ers.

Just kidding I thank my mom every day for putting me in school a year early, because the 5th graders when I was in 6th at elementary and the 2nd graders when I was in 3rd at middle school were horrible. 

Anyway, because of this I have (1) my real Korean age, (2) my social Korean age, and (3) my international age.

As a result I get confused when people ask how old I am, and have to think for a moment before responding. This fact was a cause of minor inconvenience in elementary when some bullies asserted that I should call them 'unnie,' but you know me, I'm not one to put up with such bull.

6. I'm obsessed with 4-cut photobooths.

You could say that I'm just addicted to taking photos for Instagram, but these photo booths especially have a special place in my heart. Those who have ever been to my room in 504 would be familiar the part of my desk dedicated to these photos; the best part of the wall is, the photos on there are not even half of the photos I have!!

These photos with my loved ones give me strength to get through school (lol) and a feeling of relief, knowing that I have all these precious people rooting for me (& me rooting for them). What I also enjoy is that you take these photos not only with real people, but with hologram celebrities thanks to technology! Talk about my inner fangirl's favourite hobby, eh ???

Me & Haechan of NCT

it took me 10 whole minutes to convince my dad (부산상남자) to take this photo

the Korean national soccer team special edition; the one at the bottom is my future husband

7. I'm a climate action activist. 

Am I a hypocrite being a F1 fan and a climate activist?

Maybe, but hey, life's about balance. Besides, F1 is planning to go carbon-free by 2030 so you need climate activist F1 fans like me to make sure that they're working towards the goal.

That being said, I don't believe in radical climate activism, though I understand that sometimes there is no choice but to take drastic measures. I'm more of a everyone-should-participate-in-everyday-lives-however-small-their-action-may-be person rather than a destroy-Van-Gogh's-painting-to-have-people-pay-attention sort. 

In the last three years, I've worked to popularize climate activism amongst the younger generation by incorporating Gen Z trends into climate activism with ENvironment_Siders. From Dongmyo second-hand clothes that scream vintagecore to personalized tumblers & aluminum straws, GOING GREEN IS GOING SNAZZY !!

bring your own straws to Starbucks; don't use the pathetic excuse of a straw they give you

8. I LOVE reading, something that I got from dad.

This comes from my dad, who reads all day during the weekends. My mom gets mad whenever he mentions this, but I picked up on reading even before I could read watching dad reading some thick book all the time (when, according to mom, he should have been helping mom with me). Dad's proud of the influence he left on me though. He says that he did it on purpose, though he doesn't dare say this in front of mom. 

The first thick book I remember reading in English (except for kids' books like Dirty Bertie, Ivy & Bean) is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I was late for school the next day because I stayed up late reading the book at night. I'd love to try and write my own novel during gap year. 

all this was buildup to brag that I received a book present from Mr. Oh last year and thus am better than all y'all

9. Call me CHAESCO ~

My roommates came up with this nickname; it's a combination of my name, Chaehyeon, and the pest control company CESCO, because I'm in charge of murdering non-human creatures inside room 504. 

10. I have a niece that's older than me.

When I was at my cousin's house in Germany, I was delighted to meet a girl around my age (as everyone else was not quite Gen Z). Sure, I knew that she was my cousin's daughter, but I guess I didn't really perceive her as my niece. It was after we'd already hung out for hours when I heard her call my uncle Matthias "grandpa" that I realized something was wrong. 

11. I've played the cello for 12 years.

I thought it was cool to carry around something that's twice my height at the age of 8.

12. I love Taylor Swift, but I also listen to Kanye.

My taste in music ranges from pop to hip-hop to kpop, classical, metal, old-school, jazz and more.

13. My celebrity crush (or sports star equivalent of such) is Jude Bellingham.

Jude Bellingham is a midfielder for Real Madrid from Birmingham, England.

People call him Bellingoal (he's scored 13 goals already this season) or BellingHIM because he's HIM.

Tbh who wouldn't?

14. I'm a huge fan of the SWF series.

I'm not much of a dancer myself, but recently I've been addicted to this Mnet survival show where the most talented dancers in the scene (from in and out of Korea) compete. 

I've got tickets to go to their concert on the 2nd of December with Jimin and Deul.

15. My guilty pleasure is watching the Kardashians.

It's fun watching dumb and crazy rich Americans shake their salad and gossip their way around. 

Besides, Kim Kardashian is my spirit animal.

And hey, keeping up with the Kardashians is how I maintain my English skills.

16. I can't decide on an aesthetic.

If you've seen me dress, you'd know.

One day I'm dressed (on most days in dorm, for that matter) as Adam Sandler,

other days I'm following the Barbiecore trend,

and on other days I'm an Asian nerd and an ABG at the same time.

17. I'm a Czennie and a Karat.

My favourite kpop groups are NCT and Seventeen--that's 33 men in total.

Keeping up with 33 grown men do their idol stuff is kinda time consuming, but I'm managing through it all lol.

18. Rachmaninoff piano concerto 2 is my favourite piece of classical music.

Did you know that Rachmaninoff wrote his second concerto for piano while coming out of a slump? 

The music and the story behind it also gives me the strength to push, to take steps towards the world as well.

19. Starbucks is my life.

Self-explanatory. 

20. I love Apple, but I feel bad for using Apple (and I also hate Apple).

I own an Apple watch, iPhone, Airpods, Airpods Max, Airpods Pro, iPad, iPad mini, Macbook, and an iMac,,,, but I feel like I should be using Samsung like a proud Korean.

I hate Apple because their stuff is wayyyy overpriced.

But they're so aesthetic that I can't help but buy them (and go broke). 

21. My role model is Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes AMG-Petronas (F1).

This half-black hero became the GOAT of F1, a sport dominated by spoiled white children coming from money. 

22. I can name all 20 members of NCT.

Jaehyun Haechan Taeyong Taeil Yuta Johnny Mark Jungwoo Doyoung

Jeno Jaemin Renjun Chenle Jisung

Hendry Yangyang Kun Ten Xiaojun Winwin

23. My favourite genre used to be fantasy. I am obsessed with every single fantasy series that exists, including Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Hunger Games trilogy. (Open to suggestions!)

24. I've once dyed my hair pink.

Back when I was in elementary school.

Funny thing is, my mom suggested it. I initially didn't think it'd suit me, but I ended up really liking the outcome.

Thanks mom.

25. I'm a Buddhist.

Unexpected, right? Being the bug-killer of my dorm room and all.

But what I didn't tell y'all is that I say sorry to Buddha whenever I murder one of the jipgaebullaes.

26. I used to believe that my mom was an alien.

I was scared to go to the bathroom alone when I was younger, so my mom told me that she's a princess from the extraterrestrial world, and that she'll call upon her personal (invisible) robot to protect me.

I didn't believe in Santa, nor the tooth fairy, but I believed in that robot, and was able to go to the bathroom no problem.

27. The glasses I used right now are actually not the ones I got prescribed.

They're actually my sister's old glasses I found lying around in my house.

I tried them on and I could see well, so I didn't hesitate to just make it mine.

28. I cry when it gets cold or windy. 

I have very fragile eyes that get red and water whenever it's cold or windy, so often in winter it seems like I've cried. I get a lot of questions asking if I'm okay (people having assumed that I've cried), but I don't really find them annoying; I find it rather really cute that people care.

29. Same thing, I can never go out without sunglasses.

You might think I love sunglasses as an accessory for my outfit,

but I just really, really need them to go around without having to squint all the time.

I really hope sunglasses becomes the norm in Korea like in Western countries as well, so that I can put on my sunglasses even when I look homeless.

30. I used to be a leftie. 

But my teachers at kindergarten got mad whenever I wrote with my left hand, so over five years of kindergarten I began to write with my right hand. I still brush my teeth and eat with my left hand though.