DLC After the Ending: Introducing Karrot All Over Again in Toronto

Yesterday my kid and I were invited to a Halloween party. Standing around with people I’d never met, making small talk, the usual question came up: “So, what do you do?”

“I work at Karrot.”

A short silence. They said it sounded familiar, but their face told me nothing was coming to mind. So I said:

“It’s a secondhand marketplace platform. Like Facebook Marketplace.”

Only then did they nod.

A Place Where the Name Was Enough

In Korea, that explanation would never have been necessary. Karrot is called Danggeun (당근) there, and it’s the kind of app nearly everyone has on their phone. “I work at Danggeun” was all it took, and the conversation moved on. The app where you buy and sell things in your neighborhood and trade “manner temperature” with your neighbors — everyone already knew. Everything I’d done was packed into the company’s name.

As my career grew, my self-introductions seemed to get shorter and shorter. I’d say which company I worked at and what I did there, and the other person would fill in the rest. I guess I’d gotten used to that short introduction.

Booting Up the DLC After Beating the Base Game

That moment in Toronto felt like launching a game’s DLC for the first time. I’d seen the ending of the base game, in my own way. My level and gear carried over. But the map is unfamiliar. The villagers don’t know me. Whatever I did in the base game means nothing here. I have to go back to the first village and pick up quests again.

It Was the Same 13 Years Ago

Honestly, this isn’t the first time. When I joined Kakao as a new grad 13 years ago, it was much the same. Back then, too, I had to explain my company to friends and family. Today everyone knows the name, but I wasn’t the one who made it that way. There were great seniors who led the company well, and I learned a lot following in their footsteps. As the company became known, my self-introduction got shorter along with it.

This Time Is Different

This DLC differs from back then in two ways.

First, there’s no safety net. In Korea, a shared language, culture, and context came built in. Here, I have to build that context from scratch.

Second, my position. Thirteen years ago, my seniors cleared the path for me. Now I’m the one standing in their place. Instead of waiting for someone to make a path, I have to do what those seniors did for me back then.

What I Want to Do

In Korea, Danggeun is a company everyone recognizes by name alone. It’s known for connecting neighbors and having a good influence on people’s lives. I hope Karrot becomes that kind of name in Canada, and across North America too. The day I can say “I work at Karrot” at a party and get a nod without having to bring up Facebook Marketplace.

To be honest, this DLC feels daunting. But it’s content only players who’ve already seen the ending once get to play. Rather than starting over from scratch, I’m choosing to see it as opening a new chapter with everything I built up in the base game. And just as I always have, I’m going to dive in and find the answers once again.