Diary

(Jun/27/2025)

Finishing up my career as a government employee in the Korean government, I recalled all the moments that I went through during 2012-2019. I was extremely lucky to meet a myriad of great people and colleagues.

My next academic journey would be a series of efforts to connect the dots and piece together the puzzles that I encountered throughout my past experiences in the Korean government.

(Apr/26/2024)

This morning, I was verifying the start and end dates of 300+ startups in accelerator programs (to ensure the quality of my dissertation data). To be specific, I was collecting logs left by those startups on the internet to verify the exact launch/closure dates. Then I encountered one Twitter post that one left when she closed her business in 2013.

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor”

This statement resonated with me, as I have also been experiencing lots of tough times recently. However, I also doubted its validity. Carefully and with fear, I quickly reviewed her 10-year journey following that closure in my data.

After the closure, she never left the scene. She kept doing dauntless trials and resolutions by joining new ventures. In a number of LinkedIn recommendations she received, people who worked with her testified that she was the key personnel in their businesses and projects and that her prior experience in that closed business was the source of her amazing insights, skills, and knowledge.

Finally, she became one of the leaders of NYC’s fashion industry. Her bold statement has finally been verified by her next journey, and thankfully, it gives me the energy to keep walking down this boulevard today.

…

Studying entrepreneurship, sometimes makes me feel so blessed. Entrepreneurs’ perseverance and creativity often tell a lot to me, beyond hypothesis testing and theory development.

Today, I earned one more reason to complete my research. I will try my best to shine and share this great story via my dissertation work to make up for the encouragement that I got from the great entrepreneur in my data.

(Mar/31/2024)

“But I know that I can’t give up //
Tough times //
I just take them in stride //
I’m almost there //
Only one more step //
Left, right, left, right, left //
I’m moving on, I got no regrets //
Left, right, left, right, left … “

One of the lessons I learned during my military service was that the darkest times come right before the sun and that those moments keep breathing in my mind as beautiful memories.

I laugh and smile not because I am happy; rather, I am happy because I laugh and smile.

(Feb/29/2024)

“I don’t like nobody but you, it’s like you are the only one here //
I don’t like nobody but you, baby I don’t care //
I don’t like no body but you, I hate everyone here …”

Yesterday was another leap day, and I recalled the past 4yrs with my son, Seungyoo Simon Oh.

Literally, like the lyrics, he takes me anywhere and makes me feel that I am loved. All the bad things that I struggled with before meeting him disappeared like magic. I can do whatever for him, and he gives me infinite energy to do whatever.

Before meeting him, I did not fully understand the phrase, ‘Children are a blessing, not a burden.’ The last four years made me realize the magic my wonder boy brought to my life.

He was born just three weeks before the beginning of my Ph.D. journey. He has had to be patient for countless moments and incidents. I always feel so guilty about that, while truly appreciating his patience always.

Yesterday, he asked me if he would be able to read my dissertation when he would come to know how to read English words. That was so memorable. My dissertation work on the other window is still in progress and messy, some parts are rejected by a journal. But, indeed, there is a person who wishes to read it next year, and by telling this to me, he made me more persistent.

Simon, you are the greatest blessing of my life. Let’s go for another new 4 years with unparalleled joy!

(Oct/1/2023)

Some songs are deeply rooted in my memory of the impressive scenery I had with them. For me, this song has been the case.

September 30, 2014, was the day when my battalion shifted border duty with another. On our way back ‘home’, I recalled the lengthy six months. When I had been put on duty, the six months seemed to be never-ending. But on that day, with this song, I found I completed it. Admittedly, there were some terrible and horrific moments. Also, I had to experience the losses of some people while I was stuck there. The physical damage I got during the duty was also what I had to struggle with at that moment.

However, while listening to the lyrics, I felt those tortuous memories were washed away, which was very mysterious.

Thereafter, I always turn on this song on September 30 every year, recalling my Spring and Summer even after I finished my military service.

This year, I recalled some daunting moments that I had to take in order to improve my dissertation. A systematic literature review, as well as some topics that I had never explored before, were daunting.

Those daunting moments often made me tell myself, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’… but finally, I went through those steps, and those two became the essence of my current research pipeline.

(Aug/1/2023)

The most amazing experience that I have had this year is the 2023 NBER Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp that I attended last month.

Through the intense learning period, I could have a clearer view of the landscape of entrepreneurship research. The figure is what I summarized. (I believe this is one of the best summaries I have ever made throughout my Ph.D. journey)

I also met a bunch of great people. It was so great to talk about questions buried in my mind (because I could not find anywhere to ask) and discuss burgeoning questions in the field. Also, interactions with fellow Ph.D students were also amazing.

And very luckily, those interactions yielded a ‘literally’ absorbing research topic, which I just began working on.

I thank the organizers, lecturers, and all participants for the amazing boot camp.

(Jul/22/2023)

This summer, I attended the NBER Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp. Right next to Kendall Square, I enjoyed the one-week full immersion in a variety of entrepreneurship research.

Every morning, I jogged along the Charles River. Then one morning, the MIT dome reminded me of the fact that I pivoted. I once dreamed of studying in Cambridge, MA, as an engineer, but I was jogging there as an entrepreneurship policy Ph.D. student.

Rather than dealing with machines, I am exploring institutional and social settings that support tech-based entrepreneurs who strive to create values based on their knowledge and technologies.

I love my current research and life, but pivoting itself was never easy. Navigating through uncertainty, learning from zero-base, frustrations that I felt when hauled over the coals as others do not know I pivoted, … the pivoting process was so scary and daunting.

But I could go through the steps as I was so lucky to be surrounded by a bunch of good people who gave me tons of support. Emotional, intellectual, physical, … the pivoting (of career) required tons of tangible and intangible resources.

Now, I enjoy my life after the pivot. Admittedly I was the person who decided to pivot and went through the whole process; but it would not have been completed (or even initiated) without the great people who walked together (even at least for just a few steps).

(Jan/31/2023)

Tons of bad news, uncertainties associated with dissertation topics, increasing costs of living, and all the other unexpected challenges, … The tides were too high. I just wanted to give up all and return to my home country.

But I was teaching two groups of students at that moment. Their endeavors kindly reminded me of the fundamental motivation that led me to the study of entrepreneurship. Some of them encouraged me to keep going on—just like what they had done. Thanks to their support, I could manage to hold on.

It was unbelievable, but after that point, I began to receive a long series of good news, including emails that told me my new proposals, applications, and papers were accepted. My Ph.D journey has not ended yet, but the conditions are much better than what I experienced in Spring 2022. 

I am writing this post, recalling the memories with those good people, who kindly encouraged me to go one step further. Y’all saved my Ph.D. journey. I cannot know how to thank y’all enough. … 

As I told you in the last class, I will always wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors and keep those precious moments in mind.