Vivienne (Korean name: 김빛나) was born in Seoul, South Korea. One of her most cherished childhood memories is the beautifully tender smile of her mother, a beacon of warmth and joy that transformed each day into a canvas of happiness. At the age of ten, an explosion tragically burned her face and hands, yet her mother’s refined aesthetic sensibility continued to shield and nurture her spirit. While her face healed without scars, this harrowing experience awakened in her an acute awareness of the perpetual and the transitory in human life coexisting in transcendent goodness. By thirteen, she had come to grasp the eternal nature of love and the soul, dedicating her youth to acts of pure charity before embarking on her academic journey.

As the years of promised service drew to a close, unseen injuries from the explosion manifested as craniocervical instability, subjecting her to nearly a decade of life-threatening episodes. Despite these challenges, she began her studies, which have now become another way of caring for the world. Though her daily life was occasionally curtailed, she found solace and strength in the steadfast love of her family, close friends, medical teams, and professors. Her odyssey through the medical realms of the U.S. and South Korea, in search of remedies for her rare conditions, expanded her vision of human flourishing in the multifaceted world and deepened her appreciation for those who labor to uplift it—caregivers, drivers, artists, chefs, spiritual leaders, healthcare providers, public servants, educators, craftsmen, entrepreneurs, and many others.

In reflection, Vivienne marvels at the mosaic of beautiful souls who have graced her journey, each offering their own unique vision of a life well-lived. Now, as a rising philanthropic artist and researcher, she dedicates herself to the Care of Beauty Initiatives to accompany others on their life journeys in a manner reminiscent of how "a beautiful someone" once walked alongside her. She envisions a world that is not only healthy, equitable, and sustainable but also beautiful—a world where aesthetic consciousness is recognized as a regenerative source in the flourishing of humanity.

To cultivate aesthetic consciousness is to 1) embody a dignified vision of oneself and others, 2) live in harmonious engagement with the natural and cultural world, 3) practice humanity, philanthropy, good works, and creative innovation as expressions of beauty, and 4) enable societies at large to discern, preserve, and transmit the treasures and values of our heritage to future generations.

Along with her long-term research to conceptualize a human flourishing model The Beautiful Life across six major domains—family, work, education, religious communities, lifestyle consumption, and the non-human environment—she plans to collaborate with diverse socio-cultural, vocational, and business brand groups to create paintings that interpret and accompany their distinctive journeys toward homo aestheticus. This work serves as a dignifying avenue for making philanthropic contributions.