Another year went by and yet again I failed to regularly update my blog. Normally I wouldn’t make excuses about it, but I did find out that people actually take the time out of their day to read my scribbles. I don’t want to say I failed, but I could’ve made more of an effort to deliver insights on the Korean, Busan innovation scene. 

You probably expect a big commitment from me that I will spit out x amount of posts monthly from now on. Nothing of the sorts. I’ve learned my lesson and know better than to commit to something I won’t be able to stick to. But also I decided to write a book. And that, I do plan to stick to religiously. 

What possibly can an angry Polish girl write a book about? Truely, topics could range from my 미생 (no-life) corporate adventures to sitcom-y tragedies of being a single woman in Korea. And as much as my personal life is mildly amusing for some, I don’t think it would bring much value to people’s lives. And most importantly such topics have been floated around by much better versed foreigners living and working in Korea. So, no. That’s not what the book is going to be about.

At the end of last year and beginning of this, I had a few interesting conversations concerning the world and the society at large. As we know, the world is not doing great at the moment: armed conflicts (aka. wars), economic stagnation, lethal environmental changes and more have a destabilizing effect on the society. One of the observations, shared by my interlocutors, was that people have seemed to lose natural curiosity and motivation, falling back on basic, individualistic survival instincts. For example, even when political leaders are doing things we disagree with, we tend to just murmur under our breaths a few searwords, before moving onto the topic of getting a mortgage for an apartment. Somewhere along the way, the community spirit has evaporated, ‘give first’ has been replaced by ‘take and don’t give’. Fellow community leaders from across the world have been complaining that they are struggling to find volunteers to support their operations and events – people just want to participate and not engage in the (let’s be honest: gruesome) process of building and growing a community. 

As mentioned earlier, there are multiple geo-political reasons for this, that have been explained and analyzed by much wiser people. But maybe, just maybe, one of the reasons we see a decline in numbers of engaged community leaders, is because people are overwhelmed by this process. And sure, this art and science crossover can be very intimidating at first glance. However, I believe that with an arsenal of tools and frameworks, you too can build and run a community that impacts lives and makes a positive change in the world.

Yes, I plan to write a community playbook, focusing mainly on my experiences in the startup ecosystem. A booklet, free of narcissistic monologues of one’s awesomeness or heavy theoretical indulges into the fundamentals of community, focusing on practical frameworks, canvases and tips on how to plan, build and grow a community. And yes, that has been written before, the great ‘Get together’ jumping to mind. But this book, to be written in Korean, will focus on making something out of nothing in a society that, albeit very group-thinking, is naturally very suspicious of those who step out of the line to create something new and ‘out of the box’.  

Over the years of running Seoul Startups and engaging in the Korean startup and expat ecosystem, I’ve collected an archive of documents, recipes and templates that now is a good time to share with the world. In the world of generative AI and open source codes, I plan to give those who still have the spark in them, the tools and resources to build communities that impact their ecosystems. 

How is that going, you may ask. ‘Slow’ is the truthful answer. The book is currently an envelope with post-its with jotted down ideas for what should be included in the manuscript. These include the community canvas, project proposal templates, icebreaking exercises, community and SNS calendars and much more. I have made a promise with myself, and now with you, that I will sit down for at least an hour every week to push this venture forward. Do I have the strength to do it? Last year, I set my mind to get a driver’s license (16 years after failing for the first time). Low and behold, in about a month and a half I was driving my own car. Therefore I know I have the strength to embark on this new journey. 

But it’s not a sole voyage. I want to hear from you what you would like to have included in a community playbook. Because, at the end of the day, it’s a book for you. For you to be the change you want to see in the world, paraphrasing Gandhi. Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments or drop me a message at marta [at] angrypolishgirl.com.

Here’s to a year of fearless adventure!