Hello 

If you asked me as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, there is a good chance I would have said, “a pilot.” At that time, it was simply a dream of flying. I loved airplanes and wanted to be in the cockpit. Life, however, took me in a different direction first.

I studied Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina and later earned my Ph.D. at Seoul National University. Today, I work as a Principal Research Engineer at Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Research Center, developing semiconductor materials and working on new technologies.

Over the years, my career has taught me much more than technical knowledge. Working in a large organization has taught me how to communicate with different people, work as part of a team, deal with disagreements, and solve problems when things do not go as planned. More importantly, I learned to look beyond the immediate problem and ask why it happened in the first place. Rather than simply fixing a symptom, I try to understand the underlying principle and find a fundamental solution.

While building my engineering career, I never completely gave up on my childhood dream of flying. I eventually decided to pursue it seriously in the U.S. and earned my FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate with a Multi-Engine Land rating. I now have around 400 hours of flight experience, including about 50 hours in multi-engine aircraft such as the Piper Seminole and Seneca. In Korea, I also work part-time as an LSA flight instructor.

Interestingly, my view of aviation has changed as I gained more experience in my professional career. When I was young, I simply wanted to fly. Now, I want to understand how to fly safely, why things happen, and how to respond when something goes wrong.

My engineering experience has made me approach aviation in a different way. When I encounter a problem, I naturally want to understand the principles behind it, identify the root cause, and solve it systematically rather than relying only on experience or intuition. I believe this mindset is especially valuable in aviation, where safety depends not only on technical skills, but also on sound judgment, communication, teamwork, and disciplined decision-making.

I think this combination makes my background a little unusual in aviation. I did not come from a traditional aviation career path. Instead, I bring years of experience from a demanding technology environment together with a genuine passion for flying. My corporate experience has also taught me how to work with people from different backgrounds, listen to different perspectives, and adapt to a team.

I’m naturally curious and enjoy learning from others. I don’t mind being the least experienced person in the room if it means I can learn something new. At the same time, I enjoy sharing what I know and helping others learn. I believe that being able to learn, adapt, and work well with different people is one of my strengths.

For me, becoming a pilot was never about simply fulfilling a childhood dream. The dream started with wanting to fly, but it has grown into something much more meaningful: to become a pilot who understands the aircraft, respects the principles behind flight, works well with others, and approaches safety with a thoughtful and systematic mindset.

A career in engineering taught me how to solve problems. Aviation taught me how to make decisions. And the combination of the two continues to teach me how to become a better pilot.

That is the mindset I would like to bring with me wherever my aviation journey takes me.