Every year, as December approaches, I make it a personal habit to look back on the past twelve months. Rather than writing a long and detailed summary of everything that happened, I try to distill the year into just a few keywords—short phrases that capture what was new to me, what stayed with me, and what quietly reshaped my daily life. This small ritual helps me see the year not as a blur of events, but as a story with a few clear themes.

Once again, that time of reflection has come. After some thought, I have decided to announce this year’s keywords. There are only two of them this time: “Chot-chan” and “nursing home.” Compared with some past years, this may seem like a short list. Still, these two words carry more meaning for me than their simplicity suggests.