I am a fan of Ed Yong. This piece about Delta and the pandemic was informative, action-driven, and it gave me hope.

Everyone should read this. I read a lot about Nikole's tenure battle, but to read her own words about what happened was deeply moving. I'm so glad she was able to say "I refuse." UNC does not deserve her.

A friend of mine wrote this, and I waited awhile to read it. I knew of her grandmother and thought reading it would be painful. It was. But Diksha writes so eloquently of her grandmother, of mourning, of how this wretched pandemic continues, particularly in other parts of the world. An important read.

I loved this essay. Love reading about ghosts, family, ancestral lineages, Korea. It actually sparked an idea for the novel I'm working on!

This essay brought together so many interesting elements -- The Korean film Peppermint Candy, family estrangement, and the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, when the South Korean dictatorship killed hundreds of people protesting for a democratic government. Hannah Bae does a wonderful job tying in her own difficult estrangement with her family into the larger Korean history that may have shaped her father. Loved this read.

I'm Korean American, and this hit me hard. I grew up going to H Mart and eating at the attached food court. I grew up experiencing so many of these experiences. My family also shows their love through food. Michelle Zauner's memoir just recently published, also called Crying in H Mart, and I wanted to read this essay before picking up a copy. I'm glad I did. So good!

Really enjoyed this article. I stayed with family in Korea over the summer, and for the first time, I paid attention to how they got rid of waste. Having to get rid of food waste separately definitely made me more aware and mindful of what I was throwing away. This is motivating me to look into composting in my neighborhood!

This is mostly about the necessity of creative writing majors in college, which I agree with. I loved this line: "A university has two distinct purposes. One is to get its students ready for life in the “real” world. The other is to keep, in a cool dry place, the knowledge and wisdom that the real world isn’t buying at the moment."

This makes me feel better about living in expensive-as-heck NY!

I liked the writer’s advice about creating an optimum physical environment. A lot of helpful tips here that I’ll incorporate into my next writing session!

This was such a fun read. I REALLY want to know which industry is Glitterex's biggest market.

Thank you for sharing this essay! I really enjoyed the honesty with which you examine your past biases, your family's reservations against the Japanese, and how the DNA testing changed your perspective of yourself and your past experiences. I'm Korean as well, and I grew up listening to my grandmother's stories of Japanese occupation. There's bad blood there, and that can easily lead to stereotypes, hatred, racism. It's so easy to gloss over the uglier parts of ourselves & families, so it was refreshing to read such an honest piece. I'm also now intrigued by the thought of doing a DNA test on myself. Maybe I'll buy one of the kits & see if there are any surprises in my own DNA!

Thank you!

Crystal

Hi real readers, this is Crystal. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on my story! I'm happy to answer any questions as well. Enjoy!