Christine Newell spent a challenging yet life‑changing year in South Korea, working with an experimental theatre company. Grieving her father and wrestling with anxiety and imposter syndrome, she arrived in Seoul feeling lost. But soon found exactly what she needed. In this episode, she speaks openly about the mental health struggles that often shadow a career in theatre, noting that around 70 percent of people battle impostor syndrome at some point, with women hit hardest.

Seoul also introduced her to Yak Sik Dong Won - “food is medicine.” Sharing plates of kimchi, galbijjim and soothing rice porridge with colleagues, she discovered how thoughtful Korean cooking and communal meals can nourish both body and mind.

The most moving moment came during her first Seollal, the Korean New Year. As she watched families honour their ancestors with bows and rice‑cake offerings, her own grief shifted: “Death in Korea, much like winter, is not an ending, it’s a transition.”

Christine’s story shows how theatre, food and ritual can guide us through loss and self‑doubt, and invites anyone standing at a crossroads to trust that balance waits on the other side of brave choices.

Read : Five Season in Seoul

💗 Thank you so much for being here on this adventure with me! 💗- Hayley xo

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The Before You Bloom Podcast is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I would like to recognise their continuing connection to land, water, and culture and pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging, and any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people listening today.