From sociologist to a Googler and now a visual storyteller: exploration of identity and expression.
Jiye began her first role at Google Korea when the company had only 20 employees. She thrived in the energy of a small team with a big dream—enhancing search experiences and building an efficient advertising network. After several exciting years, she moved to Singapore to develop markets in Southeast Asia and later to Japan, where she took on a role that aligned more closely with her passion: bridging the gap between product and sales to create impactful products for Asian markets.
Throughout her time at Google, Jiye worked on various products and features, including AdSense, Google Maps, and YouTube. She enjoyed advocating for unique market needs, leading partnerships with key industry players, and orchestrating cross-functional collaborations on multi-year projects designed to drive industry-wide change.
By the time she reached her 15th anniversary at the company, Jiye had gained extensive expertise in UX, product development, and entrepreneurship. However, she felt that her next creative endeavor did not fully align with the corporate setting. This realization led her to pursue a Master’s in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, where she rekindled her love for research, writing, and visual storytelling. It took preparation and determination to transition into a full-time creative career, but today, Jiye is grateful to be working as a visual artist and writer. Her work explores themes of personal history and identity, often blending images and words to convey her subjects’ lived experiences in nuanced and intimate ways.
As a mother of two young children, Jiye is also deeply interested in examining her identity as an artist with caregiving responsibilities. She views this perspective as a lens through which to create more authentic work and critically engage with industry practices. Passionate about supporting others, she is happy to connect with those navigating the balance between work and family, considering a life beyond the corporate world, or transitioning into the creative space.