Foreword
Our 16-year adventure in Asia began as a trip to Japan. The culture of the eastern world captivated us during that three-week sojourn to Tokyo in 2009. We knew then that we wanted to come back and experience more, and here we are a decade and a half later.
Everyone should spend a period of time living and working abroad. The experience gives you insights into the nature of race, ethnicity, and nationality. These qualities are fundamental aspects of what it means to be human. Spend one’s whole life in your home country, and you won’t fully understand why there is conflict amongst nations, or why a global village remains out of reach. You won’t understand what would be necessary for humans to eventually think of themselves as one people instead of disparate groups vying for dominance on this spaceship we call Earth.
Samjoko Magazine has attempted to create bridges between the world’s people. Started here in Asia, we published content that went beyond the borders of South Korea. It’s been four years since our inaugural issue, and we feel that we have been successful in our goal to bring the world a little closer together. Within this digital zine, we have fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and dramatic writing from every continent. We hope to one day publish content from every country.
In the digital realm, there are no borders, so it makes little difference that soon, we will return back to America where we will continue to run the magazine. This Winter Issue IV, potentially the last to be published in Korea, is the smallest of any we’ve produced. We have been busy these last few weeks getting ready to start the next chapter of our lives. Time and discretionary income have been directed to other pressing matters.
Those who follow the magazine cannot give us more time within the twenty-four-hour day. However, we always like to remind the thousands of people who visit the site and the hundreds of writers who submit that you can help us through donations to our Patreon or by Buying Us Coffee for as little as $3 a month. If only 20 people were to make an annual $36 contribution, the combined sum would pay for the production of a single issue of Samjoko Magazine. You would take a role in sustaining a global village in this world of conflict.
As always, we thank our sole two contributes who have amazingly stuck with us for several years. Lowkey Worlde and B&B Trade winds of Taiwan, we truly appreciate everything you have helped us accomplish.
And with that, please enjoy the Winter Issue IV 2024 of Samjoko Magazine.
