A Performer in Our Midst

Weaver Adventure Blog for Week of July 10, 2012

Performer in Our Midst

One of the advantages our Korean business has is the relatively small geography of the country.  We can get everyone together for a meeting or dinner with ease because the farthest anyone needs to travel takes around three hours.  And only a few employees live that far away.  The bulk of our team here lives within 45 minutes of the office.  So, as we are rapidly expanding and want to build community and foster a strong culture with the new people, we meet once a month in a nearby conference center to discuss themes central to Cook culture. 

After our June meeting, one of the reps from our Endoscopy division, Kwang-Seok Choe, suggested we include a little entertainment into the agenda for the next meeting.  I assumed he was volunteering, so the next thing he knew he was to perform three songs at the July meeting.  He plays the guitar and sings. 

And has for a long time.  He has been playing for 16 years.  And loves it!  As he puts it, “In my life the music makes me feel happy and alive.  The most important thing is to play for others to try to share my happiness with them.”

Kwang-Seok chose three songs for the event.  These were all covers of famous songs from the radio, but he has written over 100 original songs and performs in Seoul about once a month at venues that host acoustic nights and open-mic opportunities.  It is truly a passion. 

And it showed.   Everyone really enjoyed hearing Kwang-Seok, who has only been with Cook for five months, and we also got a glimpse of what makes him fit into Cook so well – after the first song, his beloved guitar amp, which has been with him since his first lesson, died.  So what did he do?  Finished the set “unplugged”!  It was a great performance, and added a fun new facet to our monthly meetings.  We’ll anticipate an encore!  Check out the clip below.  (They are the same clip.  Not sure why there are two.)

Thank you, Kwang-Seok!

Until next time.

Weaver