Time to recharge your life

Topics such as psychology, philosophy, health, and healing have become essential for many people’s busy lives, helping them to recharge and keep a positive outlook. Many of the speakers who have visited LINE have talked on health-related subjects, and we would like to introduce two of them.

In March 2019, Professor Chungwoon Kim, a cultural psychologist famous in Korea for his fun stories of human psychology and “happiness,” came to the LINE offices to speak on “The Power to Move People’s Hearts.”

Kim emphasized how people need to study what they like and earn a sense of accomplishment to feel happiness. He especially impressed the audience with his assertion that your level of satisfaction in life is based on how many times you end up in awe each day. And while the theme of the lecture was profound, Kim’s talk was also filled with funny jokes to keep the mood light.

In addition to discussions about the power of mind and happiness, FNL also addressed topics related to the problems facing society. In the second half of 2019, we were joined by Professor Soojung Lee, the first criminal psychologist in Korea and a consultant on “Unanswered Questions,” a famous current affairs and culture program on SBS.

Lee’s talk explored the dark side of our society, looking at why awful crimes occur, along with vivid description of the results of the latest psychological research. In particular, Lee expressed concern over the use of social media in crime, and asked all of us to think about the social responsibility we have as people who work with the LINE Messenger.

Learning about culture to nourish the soul

Psychology, health and healing is important, but sometimes people need deeper, more nourishing content for the soul. That’s why FNL often offers cultural topics, like art, film, music, and literature, and we like to invite speakers who can inspire and enrich LINERs with their work.

Artist Won-Jae Cho — who also hosts the popular podcast Art Museum in the Corner of a Room— gave a presentation called “Crossing the Threshold of Art,” giving LINERs an opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of art.

A lot of us have bad memories of being art history and music history classes, full of names and definitions. But these FNL lectures are a good way to bring these topics to life, making them more accessible through fun stories and clear explanations.

In a totally different cultural vein, one of Korea’s biggest cultural ambassadors participated in FNL in 2020 — the bizarre character Pengsoo the penguin. Well, in fact the FNL guest was Jaeyeong Park, Pengsoo’s former manager and current program director, who gave a talk titled “Surviving as a PD for Giant Peng-TV.”

Pengsoo has become a major phenomenon in Korea, and Park had a lot of fun insights about what it’s like to create such a popular character, going viral and developing creative ideas, and how to create a health team culture.

FNL as a source of learning

In addition to those subjects, FNL presents a lot of talks about interesting, informative subject, like history, futurology, the economy, architecture, and science, in an easy-to-understand and engaging talks to help LINERs develop their knowledge. For LINERs who are curious about how our lives and cities will change after COVID-19, we invited Hyunjoon Yoo, professor at Hongik University and lead architect at Hyunjoon Yoo Architects, to talk about “Post-COVID-19 Space.”

Yoo’s lecture focused on how home and work have been two of the biggest places affected by the pandemic, as people’s behaviors and perceptions have been changed by the disease. For some people, that’s meant leaving the crowded cities and spending more time in the countryside. For others, it’s means replacing sofas and relaxation spaces at home with tables and work spaces. One LINER who attended this lecture left a comment saying, “I’ve been so complacent about living in the present world that I failed to think about how our society will look in the future, but I'm grateful that this lecture gave me an opportunity to anticipate and prepare for the next change in my life.”