About Me

Values Forged in Resilience

My story is defined by how I respond to failure. In 2017, I failed to enter a specialized science high school in Busan despite sacrificing everything for it. I took that failure as medicine, not poison. It taught me that I hadn't truly pushed my absolute limits. Determined to change, I moved to the U.S. to attend Blue Ridge School in Virginia. There, I gave everything I had. I maintained a perfect GPA, led as Prefect and Class President, and earned a starting spot on the varsity soccer team. That relentless drive led me to UC Santa Barbara, where I chose Physics because I believed it was the only major that would expand, rather than limit, my future potential.

The Military Forge

My service in the ROK Army as a 4.2" Mortar FDC calculator taught me profound lessons on mindset. I learned that "anticipation is painful." The dread of a challenge is often worse than the challenge itself. During a brutal 20-mile tactical night march in freezing rain, I realized the only way through was to silence the anxiety of the future and focus entirely on the present step. This "one step at a time" fortitude now drives my approach to complex problems in physics and finance. I also adopted a "Us vs. Problem" leadership framework, writing manuals for my unit and always seeking win-win resolutions in conflict.

Entrepreneurship & Financial Independence

I didn't grow up with financial abundance; I built my understanding of money from the ground up, starting with construction work in Korea. This drove me to master investing and entrepreneurship early. From placing 3rd in the New Venture Competition with my startup "Masterminding" to analyzing business models for 1-person unicorns, I've learned that true wealth comes from capability and ownership. Today, I combine this grit with my analytical background to pursue Quantitative Finance, a field I find genuinely fun because it demands the perfect blend of physics-level rigor and strategic risk-taking.