2025: The Year I Learned to Flow — Becoming Yulie (汩璃)

As 2025 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on a journey that began with a phone call and ended with a new name. After living in the EU since 2010, this was the year I finally found a way to bridge my Korean roots with my European life.

15 Years in the EU and the "Two Suns."

I have lived in Europe for a decade and a half. Over time, I felt a growing need to separate my Korean identity from my European one. My Korean name carried my history, but I needed something that could carry my future here.

In October 2024, I did something I never thought I’d do. I called a Korean fortune teller. I had heard about him through a group of Korean women living abroad; he was legendary for his accuracy.

When he saw my Saju reading or birth chart reading, he didn't see a lack of energy. He saw too much of it. "You have two big suns," he told me. While solar energy represents power, he explained that having two (and formerly three in my 20s) was burning me out. It was the source of my negativity, my urge to isolate at home, and my friction with others. He suggested a new name to act as a "cooling" element—a nickname to balance the heat while I live in the EU. At the time, I thought it was too expensive and ignored him. I thought I could handle the heat on my own.

The Scorched Earth of Spring

The first half of 2025 felt like a desert. I lost my job in January, fell ill in March, and struggled with failed connections. The "heat" was real, and I was drying up. In June, I finally went back to get my name.

Choosing Yulie: An International Bridge

The expert provided a list of 12 or 13 names. While all were energetically balanced, most were traditionally Korean (or not common at all even in Korea) and felt difficult to use in my daily life abroad. I needed a name that could be my "English name"—something that sounded natural in the EU but held the spiritual power I needed.

The Meaning of Yulie (汩璃)

The name was chosen specifically to balance my energy:

• 汩 (Yul): This character represents the sound and movement of surging water. It is the cooling element I lacked. It means to flow, to move, and to wash away the stagnation.

• 璃 (Lie): This refers to shining glass or a gem. It means spreading light in a way that is clear, beautiful, and translucent, rather than burning.

Suffering, Resting, and Running

My 2025 wasn't a "perfect" year. I struggled with depression, and there were months where I did nothing but rest. Sometimes I felt guilty, thinking I was resting "too much."

But in that stillness, Yulie began to take shape. I started running and practicing wall pilates to move my energy. I traveled to new places and forced myself to meet new people, breaking the cycle of isolation. I started to meditate, learning how to let my thoughts flow like the 汩 (Yul) in my name, rather than letting them burn me alive.

Looking Toward 2026

I made mistakes this year. I fell down often. But I am entering 2026 with a name that reminds me I don't have to be a desert. I can be a river.

I am Yulie. I am learning to flow, and I am learning to let my light spread clearly and kindly.