We often adopt the qualities of people we admire in our everyday lives. The Korean term chugumi captures this desire. It refers not simply to an appearance or style we want to emulate, but also to the kind of life, values and identity we aspire to. What we choose to admire can therefore reveal something profound about the person we hope to become, serving as a compass for our personal growth.
The way we discover our chugumi has also changed dramatically over time. With social media now woven into everyday life, we no longer have to look solely to traditional celebrities or other public figures for inspiration. Instead, everyday curators and creative peers fill our feeds. We may find ourselves drawn to someone’s clothing, taste or lifestyle. Social media exposes us to countless people and perspectives, making it easier to find qualities that resonate with us. At the same time, we can become someone else’s source of inspiration without realizing it.
Imitating others is a natural part of how we learn and develop throughout our lives. Psychologist Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory suggests that people learn behaviors by observing and modeling others in their social environment. For instance, following a YouTuber whose aesthetic or taste we like can help us clarify our own preferences. From this perspective, imitation is not simply copying. By observing those around us, we can learn what we like, what we value, and what feels right for us. Looking at others can therefore be one way of beginning to understand ourselves.
At the same time, admiration turns counterproductive when it flattens into total imitation that attempts to reproduce someone else completely. Losing oneself in another person's blueprint erases the very uniqueness we ought to cultivate. The essence of chugumi lies not in replicating someone entirely, but in assembling different traits by piecing together individual elements. We might admire someone’s confidence without adopting their manner, or appreciate another person’s lifestyle without following it exactly. What matters is how we interpret and adapt what we encounter, transforming external influences into our own internal landscape.
The people we admire may have become who they are by looking up to others, too, creating an endless chain of mutual inspiration. From this perspective, we become ourselves by deciding what to keep, what to change and what to leave behind. Identity is not a fixed destination, but a continuous editing process. Rather than viewing another person as someone we must become, we can treat admiration as an ongoing exploration of diverse traits-a process of defining who we want to become.
