What Truly Matters
Most of us inherit a definition of success long before we ever question it. This essay is where my work begins.
Jul 2026 · 2 min read
01 · Kay Yoon
Vancouver, Canada
Consultant by career. Writer by choice. Essays on work, money, parenting and what comes next — in English and Korean.
02 · Why I write
I spent three decades building a career. Now I'm more interested in what we build a life around.
I write for people in the thick of it — building careers, raising children, making money decisions — who want to choose deliberately rather than by default. I've walked some of that road already; here is what it looks like from a little further on.
More about me and this work →03 · Latest thinking
All essays →04 · Watch & listen
All conversations →
05 · The path so far
Full biography →Engineer, then builder, then lawyer. Then free.
YearsWhat happenedTags
1993Seventeen, Seoul to Vancouver Island. UBC Civil Engineering, with distinction, on a full scholarship.Engineering
2000–07Cornell research on seismic bridge systems, cited 500+ times. Structural engineer on billion-dollar infrastructure; Hurricane Katrina recovery.EngineeringResearch
2008–10Management consulting at CH2M HILL; MBA at UBC Sauder. Founded JAEK Co. — president ever since.Business
2012–14Cambridge, MA in Law with Honours.Law
2014–16Australia, Malaysia, motherhood, and the return to Vancouver.Family
At 46Ran the numbers on financial independence. The answer was yes. Now: writer, creator and coach, in Korean and English.IndependenceWriting
06 · Work with Kay
Newsletter
Occasional letters. Written to remain worth reading in ten years.
Occasional essays and questions on what truly matters. No urgency, no noise — three letters, each with its own voice.