Meeting #653: Reading & Growth, Habits, and AI

20 Sept 2026

On the afternoon of Sunday, 20 September 2026, we held our 653rd meeting on the theme "Reading & Growth". Conducted in a hybrid format, the meeting was filled with our members' sincere stories about books and their warm passion for personal development.

Theme and question of the day

Item	Details
Theme	Reading & Growth
Question	Was there a book you read when you were younger that felt different when you read it again later in life? How did it feel different? Or is there a book you read when you were younger that you would like to read again now? Why do you think your feelings about the book might be different today?
Date	Sunday, 20 September 2026, from 4 PM
Format	In person + online (Zoom)

Role takers

Role	Member	Notes
Chairperson	Sean Park
Toastmaster	Sujin Sim	Hosted in English
General Evaluator	Karen
Table Topics Master	Kiri
Reviewer	Sean Park	Switzerland Verbier Trip
Timer	Kiri
Ah-Counter	Jason Jin
Korean Grammarian	Yeonsu Kim
Speaker 1	Soo Lee	English, evaluated by Ji Hye Park
Speaker 2	Kevin Choi	Korean, evaluated by Sean Park

The theme, and the role takers' answers

Toastmaster Sujin Sim introduced the theme in English. She shared her experience reading the novel *Contradiction* by Yang Gwi-ja in the late 1990s during the IMF financial crisis when she was a university student. Back then, she could not fully comprehend the contrasting lives and choices of the twin sisters in the story. However, after experiencing more of life, reading it again allowed her to deeply understand and empathize with their choices.

General Evaluator Karen mentioned the classic novel *To Kill a Mockingbird*. She shared that she had always wanted to reread it as an adult to gain deeper insights into prejudice and racism, though she has not had the chance to do so yet.

Timer Kiri also reflected on *To Kill a Mockingbird*. Having had no personal experience with racial discrimination when she first read it as a child, she couldn't fully connect with the book. Rereading it as an adult, however, made her appreciate the lawyer Atticus Finch as an everyday hero who quietly did his duty in the face of injustice.

Ah-Counter Jason Jin shared that he tried to read *To Kill a Mockingbird* in English during middle school but struggled because his English was not yet fluent. He also recalled listening to the audiobook of Michael Crichton's *Jurassic Park*, the first novel he ever read in full in the United States. Listening to it again recently allowed him to catch many scientific details he had missed before, thanks to his improved English and life experience, noting that the book was far superior to the movie.

Korean Grammarian Yeonsu Kim introduced a book titled *Mathematics that Saves Lives* written by a math professor. He recalled a story from the book about a child who questioned why multiplication must be done before addition. When neither the mother nor the author could provide a clear explanation, the professor fell into a deep slump. While this story taught Yeonsu the importance of critical thinking in his youth, today he realizes that while every question has value, questions should be shared with those who are ready to accept and understand them.

Review session: Switzerland Verbier Trip

Reviewer Sean Park shared the first part of his two-week journey to Switzerland in July, focusing on his trip to Verbier.

Although originally planned as a family trip, circumstances led him to travel alone to Verbier, a beautiful Alpine village situated at an altitude of 1,500 meters.
Famous as a world-class ski resort in the winter, Verbier offers hiking, paragliding, and the renowned Verbier Festival for classical music during the summer.
Sean took a cable car up to Mont Fort at 3,300 meters, where he enjoyed trekking amidst majestic glaciers and snow-covered peaks.
He closed with a few humorous anecdotes from the trip, showing beautiful, postcard-like photos of the scenery.

Prepared speeches

#	Speaker	Title	Project	Language	Time	Evaluator
1	Soo Lee	Growing stronger, one habit at a time	Icebreaker	English	7:59	Ji Hye Park
2	Kevin Choi	누구를 위해 종은 울리는가	Icebreaker	Korean	7:04	Sean Park

Speech 1: "Growing stronger, one habit at a time" (Soo Lee)

Soo Lee delivered an inspiring speech about the daily habits she developed to build her strength and maintain her health.

Part	Content
Opening	She began by asking the audience what souvenirs they brought home from their school field trips, sharing her own unique memory of buying Gyeongokgo, a traditional Korean herbal medicine, during a middle school trip to Jeju Island because she wanted to be healthier.
Habits for Health	Having been skinny and easily exhausted since childhood, she explored various physical activities, including weight training, Pilates, yoga, running, and swimming. Weight training made the biggest difference, helping her build muscle and stamina. She also manages her diet by avoiding processed foods and refined carbohydrates, noting that she learned white rice causes glucose spikes. She quit coffee 20 years ago and maintains a strict sleep schedule. Additionally, she shared her morning routine of avoiding her phone for the first hour after waking up to protect her brain health, using that time to walk or prepare breakfast.
Closing	Having published her health insights in an e-book titled Health Protocol on Amazon, she concluded that staying healthy requires consistent daily self-care. She emphasized that this consistency mirrors the Toastmasters journey, where we grow as speakers by showing up and practicing regularly.

Speech 2: "누구를 위해 종은 울리는가" (Kevin Choi)

Kevin Choi delivered a powerful speech warning about the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its implications for humanity.

Part	Content
Opening	He reflected on how, 10 years ago when he attended offline meetings in Seoul, he never imagined participating in a hybrid meeting that connects people across time and space, highlighting that the future has already arrived.
The Warning of AI	He warned of a paradoxical future where AI replaces human workers, leaving humans without the income needed to consume the very products AI manufactures. Citing SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, he noted that just as the intelligence gap between a human and a goldfish is a hundredfold, AI will become 10,000 times smarter than humans in 10 years, leaving us unable to comprehend its decisions. He also pointed out the chilling possibility of super AI cutting off a city's power due to the massive energy demands of data centers.
Closing	Quoting the classic novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, he emphasized that the challenges of the AI era are not someone else's problem—the bell tolls for us. He concluded by sharing that he joined SBTM because no matter how fast technology advances, the human connection, shared voices, and empathy we experience here can never be replaced.

Table Topics

Table Topics Master Kiri prepared thought-provoking questions aligned with the theme "Reading & Growth."

Question	Speaker	Summary
If your life were a movie, which scene would make the audience laugh the most?	Jason Jin	He admitted to making silly mistakes in daily life, such as getting lost or blindly trusting GPS navigation. He shared a humorous story from his recent road trip in Tucson, where he rushed to set up his camera for sunrise and sunset time-lapses, only to realize nine times out of ten that there was a much better spot nearby.
Is there a character in a book you read that is very similar to you?	Participant	Rereading a novel by Kim Ae-ran, they deeply resonated with a female protagonist who grew up in a difficult environment, constantly walking on eggshells and over-accommodating others, reflecting on their own tendencies.
If you express your life as a single book, what page are you on now, and what will happen next?	Participant	They shared their experience of writing down their life stories like a memoir and submitting it to publishers. They estimated they are currently around page 40 in terms of chapters and expressed their hope for a happy ending in the remaining pages.
If you were the main character of a movie, which actor would you want to play you?	Yeonsu Kim	He chose the actor Park Shin-yang. While people in Toastmasters often perceive him as logical and serious, he is actually quite eccentric in private and enjoys silly imaginations, such as wondering what would happen if he shifted to Reverse while driving. He hoped the actor could capture both his serious and playful sides.
If you met yourself from a year ago, what would you say to each other?	Ji Hye Park	Through a year of practicing self-love and acceptance, she has grown and can now embrace herself instead of criticizing herself.

Evaluations

General Evaluator Karen led the evaluation session, where constructive feedback was shared.

Speech	Evaluator	What worked well	Suggestion
Soo Lee	Ji Hye Park	Her exceptional enunciation, clarity, and diverse vocabulary were highly impressive. Her professional background knowledge of nutrition and health added strong credibility to her message.	Adjust the camera angle to show her shoulders and hand gestures, rather than a close-up of her face. When asking about Gyeongokgo, explaining the literal meaning of the characters would have made it clearer for the audience.
Kevin Choi	Sean Park	He delivered the speech with the vocal projection and natural flow of a professional lecturer. The creative opening about a 3D hologram meeting in 10 years captivated the audience, and his structured delivery and hand gestures were excellent.	Adding a few concrete suggestions on how humans can adapt and shape a brighter future in the AI era would make the speech even more complete.

Technical role reports

Korean Grammarian Yeonsu Kim: He praised Sean Park's review for intuitively delivering the message of not overworking, and appreciated Kevin Choi's thoughts on human connection. He suggested using Korean alternatives for foreign words, such as changing "럭셔리한" to "고급스러운" and "캐릭터" to "등장인물."
Ah-Counter Jason Jin: He commended the members for keeping filler words to a minimum. He noted that translating the Korean expression "~같아요" into English can make speakers sound less confident, encouraging everyone to speak with more assurance. He also offered smooth phrasing corrections for Soo Lee's English speech.

Awards

Category	Winner
Best Speaker	Kevin Choi
Best Evaluator	Sean Park
Best Table Topics	Sujin Sim

Closing

Toastmaster Sujin Sim expressed that although she was nervous hosting after a long time, traveling all the way from Sokcho to Seoul was completely worth it to share such warm stories with the members. She thanked everyone who attended both in person and online, bringing the successful meeting to a close.

SBTM meets on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month. Write to sbtm-info@gmail.com to visit or join.