He was born in Seoul.

He left everything behind and crossed over to New York. Twelve years there. He discovered newness. A new language, new people, a new rhythm of a city. That the world is so impossibly vast. And at some point during those twelve years, he found himself growing old. He found himself dying.

On January 1st, 2026, he left everything behind in New York once again and got on a plane.

He spent three months in Medellín. And now, he is in Bogotá.

Bogotá will be the city where Paul declares death upon all his old things. The previous Paul — that familiarity, that stability, that repetition — this is the place where he officially declares them finished.

Perhaps this city is his 100th Airbnb stay, and there is a symbolism in the number 100. It may be the last stop before he returns to New York, full again with everything new.

But even that home — he doesn't think he'll stay too long. Because home, for him, is no longer a physical space. The city he stays in is no longer defined by walls or an address. Home is where the people he meets, focuses on, and loves happen to be. So wherever he goes, that city becomes home.

I have decided on my new occupation.

I am a storyteller who tells the stories of cities. In those cities, there will be people, work, death, and a future full of life.

And the methodology through which this storyteller works, through which these stories are made —

New For The Olds. Life For The Death.

None of this will ever change. To declare death and endings — and to bring newness to that death and to what has grown old — that is storytelling. And to gather people who will bring that story into reality. And once the story is proven, to find the rightful owner of that story. And to follow that protagonist's narrative to the very end.

Because we may meet again someday.

This is how I have decided to live. And I decide for myself: my story is the city.

What I wanted was to put newness into my own death. And that, for me, was IWBFD Studios.

IWBFD Studios — I Was Born For Death.

This studio does not speak of physical death. A shop that closed its doors. A person who left. A relationship that ended. A street that grew old. A business that shut down. A divorce. A resignation. A last day at work. Everything that has stopped breathing.

IWBFD Studios declares death upon all of them. And within that declaration, the next sentence is already alive —

The moment death is declared, new life has already begun.

That in the very place you believed was the end, a beginning was already embedded. That we, in the end, live eternally.

So we add newness to everything old, and we add life to everything dead.

And the stories we will create within this studio —

Sim Eternal City Storytelling. No Kings We Kings Campaign. Happy Death Day Collection.

I now walk the city I am in. I discover people. I discover companies and brands. I rewrite their endings as the beginning of a narrative. I create every success story. I deliver every story of resurrection. I make those stories possible to reach the world.

That is the work of IWBFD Studios.

The vision is one.

To make it possible for everyone to live through the day without ever losing hope.

To bring this story to the world, I built and continue to run bcd-W Magazine, and every single day I send out Current Today. I talk about cities. The people within them, the work, the death, and the future — columns, interviews, articles, news, galleries delivered every day.

Today is the very first story.

IWBFD thinks about your death every single day.

Today is my Happy Death Day.

I hope tomorrow is your Happy Death Day.

If you want your death, invite us to your city anytime.

Paul Joseph J. Kang

Founder & Storyteller, IWBFD Studios

From Bogotá