Hyeyum Song

Different names, same way

Publication

2026

OverviewThis project began with a critical awareness of dehumanization. People often categorize others based on differences in culture, language, or appearance, and this perception leads us to view one another not as individual human beings, but as "the other." When we come to see others as a collective group or abstract category, their personal context and emotions are erased, making empathy more difficult, and this, in turn, reinforces distance between people, potentially giving rise to discrimination and exclusion.In response, this work seeks to draw attention to the shared human experiences we already hold in common. Through behaviors and emotions that recur across different cultures, the project aims to help us once again recognize one another as the same kind of being, as full and equal persons.ResearchDrawing inspiration from World Central Kitchen's approach of sourcing recipes and food directly from local communities, I collected dumpling recipes from six different countries through a survey conducted among friends. Rather than relying on internet sources, the work centred on recipes rooted in each person's own memories and experiences. Through analyzing these recipes, I discovered a recurring pattern: despite differences in ingredients and form, the same fundamental process repeated itself across all of them — filling, wrapping, shaping, and cooking. The personal memories shared alongside the recipes further revealed that family gatherings and moments of sharing food appeared again and again, suggesting that these repeated actions and experiences reflect a common human structure that transcends cultural difference.Direction & ExecutionRather than following the conventional "ingredients and instructions" format, the recipe book is organized around action-based chapters “We Fill / We Wrap / We Shape / We Cook” in order to emphasize how the same patterns recur across foods from different cultures. Each recipe page also layers in recipes that appeared earlier in the book, reflecting the continuity of pattern, memory, and human behaviour. The personal memories and experiences of the survey participants are woven throughout as well, revealing that food is not simply an end product, but a medium that connects people to one another. The creative direction was inspired by handwritten recipe notes and personal records left by my parents, expressed through an archival visual language of notebooks and memo slips. Rather than stopping at a simple sharing of dumpling recipes from around the world, the book includes loose memo pages at the front, inviting readers to record and share their own recipes in turn.