색다른 캐롤송

"나는 꼼수다" (I'm a Petty Creep), a left-leaning highly popular South Korean podcast, released four Christmas carol songs recently just in time for Christmas. These songs are specially 'dedicated' to "가카" (original word: 각하, 閣下, His Highness), a sarcastic title they gave president Lee Myung-bak.

You can read more about the podcast in this Voice Of America's article: Hit South Korean Podcast Sparks Controversy

"가카 할아버지" Grandpa "His Highness" celebrating 2007 Christmas with children after winning the presidential election that year.

Below are 2 of the 4 songs. Translation of the lyrics is provided to give a gist of the songs' messages. If the messages are not clear, it is alright to take them as Christmas carol songs (:

1. 쫄면 안 돼

Background of this song: The Korea Communications Standards Commission plans to set up a new media review office to filter harmful or illegal content on social network services (SNS), such as Twitter, Facebook and Me2day, or apps registered at Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Market. Harmful or illegal content refers to pornography, gambling, drug abuse, false information spreading, libel, and comments that violate the National Security Law or instigating crime. (Source: The Korea Times)

(In Singapore context: National Cyber Security Centre will be set up to detect and prevent cyber security threats, and serve as a focal point to coordinate and implement measures between the public and private sectors. Whatever it means.)

쫄면 안 돼

쫄면 안 돼, 쫄면 안 돼!

가카 할아버지는 쪼는 애들에게

빅~엿을 안겨주신대

[Don't chicken out, don't chicken out! They said grandpa "His Highness" gives big malt candy to children who chicken out.]

가카 할아버지는 알고 계신대,

누가 쪼는 앤지 안 쫀 앤지,

오늘 밤에 잡아 가신대

[They said grandpa "His Highness" knows who chicken out and who don't. He will come and catch you tonight.]

댓글 달 때 블로그 할 때,

트윗 할 때 페북할 때도,

가카 할아버지는

모든 것을 알고 계신대

[When you post a comment, when you blog, when you tweet, when you facebook, they said grandpa "His Highness" knows everything.]

2. 기쁘다 가카오셨네



기쁘다 가카오셨네

기쁘다 가카 오셨네

만백성 망했다~

공항도 다리도 터널도 도로도~

재벌에 팔아라~

외국에 팔아라~

다 팔아~ 팔아 버려라~

[We were happy when "His Highness" came and ruined the nation. Airports, bridges, tunnels and roads were all sold to 'Chaebols' and foreigners.]

기쁘다 가카 오셨네

만백성 망했다~

방송도 신문도 블로그 트윗도

다 장악하여라~

다 장악하여라~

다 입을 틀어 막아라~

[We were happy when "His Highness" came and ruined the nation. All TV stations, newspapers, blogs and twitters came under control and all lips were sealed.]

기쁘다 가카 오셨네

만백성 망했다~

전국의 백성들 총선과 대선 때

다 투표하여라~

다 투표하여라~

우리 표~로 바꿔 버리자~

우리 표~로 바꿔 버리자~

[We were happy when "His Highness" came and ruined the nation. Everyone must all vote. Use our votes to effect change during the general election and the presidential election.]

(In Singapore context: Power stations were sold to foreigners and public transports privatized. As for media control, 'lips' were more or less sealed from day one.)

I like a remark made by G. K. Chesterton:

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." 

Anyway, politics is a bit too heavy for Christmas, haha. Merry Christmas!

한국의 맥박

In the history of humanity, the second oldest musical instrument after voice is probably percussion. From the day he knew how to beat, the pursuit of the primeval aesthetics of sound became his life's mission. Choi Sori's (born Choi Gyeong-seop) musical life began when he started hitting the cover of his lunchbox during elementary school. He was about to complete his middle school when he ran away from his hometown in Jeolla-do with the money his parents got from selling their cow. His devotion to drumming never stopped as he eked out a living working as an odd job labourer and delivering newspaper and jajang-myeon. He only returned home to complete his high school when he could not understand the English which appeared in the music books.

Holding drumsticks at the age of twelve, Choi Sori isolated himself twice from the world by moving into the mountain to concentrate on his study of musical instrument. During one of his self-imposed isolation, he built a hut in Mt. Jiri and stayed there for three years. The wholehearted pursuit of one's passion always comes at a price. Choi suffered from noise-induced hearing loss due to long term exposure to high-decibel sound. However, he was not one bit perturbed by the possibility of turning deaf. He said, "If I am to lose my hearing completely, I will be able to hear the sound of my heart and imagination better."

Choi Sori is the creative director of "Arirang Party", a 100-min non-verbal performance which harmonises the art of eastern and western percussion, Korean traditional dance, B-boy and Taekwondo into the heartbeat of Korea. It took him ten years to conceptualise and plan the performance which made its debut in 2007. It has since become a cultural brand of Korea with a permanent performing theatre in Jeju Island.

Arousing the energy of heaven and earth through fire, water and drumbeats

Scent, Light, Flower [Korean Traditional Dance]

The Maze [Handy Fan Performance]

Spirit [Flame Performance]

Shadow [Mask Performance]

Delight [Korean Traditional Dance & Taekwondo Performance]

The Arirang Party [Water Drumming Performance]

Information, video and performance pictures are taken from SR Group Entertainment's homepage (www.srgrp.com)

P.S. Choi Sori and Arirang Party, please visit Singapore in your next World Tour.

아름다운 님

When you look up a Korean dictionary, the word "아리다" comes immediately before "아리땁다". For this word pair, their sequence of appearance in the dictionary is not a coincidence. "아리다" describes pain whilst "아리땁다" portrays beauty. In meaning, they are diametrically opposite but yet they are closely related. You can say this is the aesthetics of the Korean people - beauty emerges from pain and heartache and vice versa. To the Korean, 아린 것 (painful thing) and 아리따운 건 (beautiful thing) are interchangeable. Painful memories, if allow to settle down, will slowly "mature" and eventually elevate to something beautiful. Compare this with the fermentation of soybean paste (된장) in the "Jangdok" (장독, crock). If fermentation is allowed to take place without disturbance, the foul smell of the fermented beans will soon be compensated by the pleasant taste of the paste. It is as if "beauty" has embraced "pain" with a tight hug.

Have you ever asked, "What is the meaning of Arirang?" There are many explanations but I thought this explanation is more appropriate - The "아리" in "아리랑" comes from the word "아리다" and from which "아리땁다" was derived. "랑" means "님" (honorific used when addressing a person). "Arirang" can be defined as "my beautiful dear" (아리따운 님) or as the "dear who gave me heartache" (아린 님).  As a song, "Arirang" is both sad and beautiful and that's perhaps why it is so endearing.

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요... (My beautiful dear, my beautiful dear, my beauty)
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다. (My beautiful dear heads towards the Pass)
나를 버리고 가시는 님은 (My dear who left without me)
십리도 못가서 발병난다. (is not able to walk for 5km without hurting his foot)

청청하늘엔 별도 많고 (Up in the blue blue sky, there are many stars)
우리네 가슴엔 꿈도 많다 (In our heart, we also have many dreams)

저기 저 산이 백두산이라지 (Look there, isn't that Mt. Baekdu)
동지 섣달에도 꽃만 핀다 (Flowers bloom even during winter solstice)

"Arirang" is a song supposedly sang by a lady whose lover left her for the battlefront 600 years ago. "Heads towards the Pass" means her lover was leaving the city for a distant place. She couldn't bear to part with him and she believed he couldn't too. That was probably why she thought his foot would start to ache even before he  could walk 5km. The talk about many stars and dreams shows that they had many plans for their future. But  somehow, she knew the chance of seeing him again was slim. When she sang about Mt. Baekdu, a sacred mountain to the Koreans, she was actually hoping for a miracle, hoping that flowers would indeed bloom in Mt. Baekdu even in the peak of winter, hoping her lover would return safely.

Two decades ago, a Hong Kong wrist watch commercial which cast Chow Yun-fat and Wu Chien-lien caught the imagination of a whole generation of people. A real classic even by today standard. If you have yet to appreciate the relationship between "아리다" and "아리땁다", perhaps you soon will.

The setting of the commercial: February 1939, about one and a half year into the second Sino-Japanese war. The battle of interest and the backdrop of the heartbreaking love story, was the lesser-known "Lanzhou Air Battle" (兰州空战). 2nd Lieutenant Liu Fu-hong (刘福洪), a pilot and a graduate of the Huangpu Military Academy had just married his wife, Chen Ying-fan (陈影凡), 10 years his junior.

Dashing Chow Yun-fat (37) played 2nd Lieutenant Liu Fu-hong with Wu Chien-lien (24), known for her melancholic eyes, as his newly-wed wife Chen Ying-fan in the 1992 Sovil et Titus commercial.

The Japanese forward airbase at "Yun-cheng" (运城) in Shanxi Province was fast becoming a threat to Lanzhou (Gansu Province), a major city in the northwest of China, and had to be neutralised. Newly wed Liu was ordered to lead a flight of four Vultee V-11 planes on a bombing mission to "Yun-cheng". On the fateful day, Feb 5 1939, Liu and his team flew for 3 hours before offloading forty 30-pound bombs over their targets. Tens of Japanese planes were destroyed in the raid. The mission was a success but unfortunately, Liu never saw home again. His plane crushed on the return trip due to engine failure. He flew his last flight at the age of 30. On hearing the news of his death, Chen Ying-fan attempted suicide but was saved. She finally committed suicide on Feb 16 by putting a bullet through herself. She was only 20 then.

The "Lanzhou Air Battle" of 1939 saw the combined force of the Republic of China Air Force and the USSR Air Volunteer Force thwarting the aggression of the Japanese Air Force. The attention to details was amazing for a commercial. You can see a Russian officer fifth from left. Everyone was in thick winter outfits because it was supposed to be winter then.

"너를 사랑해서 결혼하는게 아니라, 너만 사랑해서 결혼하는거다."(I marry you not because I love you, I marry you because I only love you.) - quote from Korean drama "Secret Garden".

Background music - "La Califfa" by Italian composer Ennio Morricone

Can you differentiate between "아린 사랑" (heartbreaking love) and "아리따운 사랑" (beautiful love) after watching the CF? You can't, can you? They are the same.

구석구석

서울 구석구석에 깊어가는 가을을 만끽하세요 ^^

환영

오서 오십시요

앉으세요

커피 드실래요?

울긋불긋 물든 단풍

"울긋불긋" (colourfully) is a "의태어" (擬態語) that best describes autumn scenery. It's never easy to commit "의태어" or "의성어" to memory. But in the case of "울긋불긋", I had it in my head while cramming for my first KLPT. The detailed explanation of "울긋불긋" is best left to the leaves in autumn.

청춘불패

青春的回忆似乎是三十岁以后的权利。青春离开的那一年，我非常清楚。周围的人不再关心我将来的愿望，而我的自我介绍里也不再提起它。朋友之间的话题不再围绕谁爱谁，谁与谁在一起，谁又与谁分手。“我会爱你到永远”这类不需代价的话，打死都说不出口了。长大后，我害怕幼稚，内心却仍然喜欢幼稚。这就是为什么青春是一场大雨，即使感冒了，还盼望回头再淋它一次。

今年的夏天，无独有偶，韩国和台湾同一时间吹起复古风。韩片《永远的七公主》和台片《那些年，我们一起追得女孩》都成为今年当地最卖座的电影。《永远的七公主》在银幕拉下之前，售出了七百三十多万张戏票，成为韩国有史以来第十一部最卖座电影。《那些年，我们一起追的女孩》台湾的票房，播放至今已达到4.6亿新台币(约1900万新元)，成为台湾十年以来最卖座的电影。

两部电影我都看过了。现在想起电影故事情节，想起自己的青春，在冷风嗖嗖的深秋里，心渐渐开始回温。

青春期的七公主

时隔二十五年后再相聚的七公主

《那些年，我们一起追的女孩》经典画面：在海堤上排排坐，说出各自的愿望

보람 있는 존재

세상 수많은 일들이 결국은 아쉽게도 도로무공(徒勞無功)으로 마무리한다

노란 은행잎

올해 약속 지켜야 돼

빨리 와!

잔치하자!

나의 취향

For plane seat, my preference has always been the right window seats. On the trip to Seoul, I would get to witness sunrise and on home-bound, sunset awaits me. In-flight entertainment doesn't appeal to me as much as the chance to witness the start and end of a day. The boundary where light and darkness meets always fascinates me; it's like a divine fight for world dominance.

바람 먹기러 가자

I like the feeling of wind blowing into my face. My spirit, like a kite that catches wind, soars every time that happens. "바람맞다" is a Korean expression which when literally translated means "hit the wind". "바람" is wind and '맞다' means to hit. No, "바람맞다" doesn't mean putting your face in the wind and let it 'hit' you. It means someone stood you up. Imagine this, someone you are supposed to meet did not turn out for the appointment and you were alone out in the open with only the wind blowing into your face. Not a good feeling right? "바람맞다" conveys quite an opposite feeling to what I usually feel when wind 'hits' me.

In Chinese, "바람맞다" is known as "放鸽子" (let loose a pigeon, 비둘기를 날리다). I do not know the connection between being stood up and letting loose pigeon. But since language is a social contract, I have to use it as it is. It does not matter if I cannot make sense of it. Another similar expression, but slightly more 'ridiculous' sounding, is "放飞机" (let loose a plane, 비행기를 날리다). Again, that's how Chinese language goes, so there is no need for deeper explanation.

In Hokkien (a Chinese dialect), there is an interesting expression which literally means "eat wind" (吃风， 바람을 먹다). What it actually means is to go on sightseeing in a car or go on a tour. When I was kid, my father frequently took me out to "eat wind". As the car, travelled down the peaceful East Coast Parkway, I liked to wind down the car window and open my mouth. To feel wind blowing into my mouth was yet another way which I 'enjoy' its company. However, my mother always showed disapproval look. She would hit and scold me for sucking in all the dirt in the air. Well, that was my naive and innocent childhood.

Silver grass swaying in autumn wind

In autumn, tall silver grass (억새) of human's height grows all over the fields. Whenever cool autumn wind disturbed them, the graceful swaying of their lanky figures which ensued always touches me. That is nature's beauty in its rawest form. I relish standing in the autumn wind again and let its coolness freshen up my weary face. When 'hit' by wind, I always smile. 바람이 거세게 차갑게 불어도 우리 바람을 먹기러 가자! (不管风有多大多冷，我们一起去吃风吧！)

가을의 한 조각

Born in spring, wither in fall. 짧은 존재, 아름다운 존재.

바보

It was 29 May 2009, the day the national funeral for the late South Korean president, Roh Moo Hyun, was held. There was still one hour left before the end of my Korean language class but my teacher was too distraught to carry on. After getting consent from the students, she stopped the lesson and switched on the TV. The live broadcast of the funeral proceedings in front of Gyeongbok Palace was on air. At that moment, a choir sang the late president's most favourite song "상록수" (常綠樹, Evergreen), a song which accompanied him through his fight for Korea's democratic reform and later, his bid for the country's highest office.

A cold wind swept through the class. The tears in my teacher's eyes were unstoppable. From Gyeongbok Palace, the view was switched to the Seoul Plaza where millions of Korean were already gathered to mourn the demise of the people's president. The aerial view of the plaza and its adjacent areas showed a sea of yellow, an image which was unmistakably one of nation in deep grief.

When asked what was his life's motto during an interview in Japan, Roh Moo Hyun quoted Kim Gu's "대붕역풍비 생어역수영" (大鵬逆風飛 生魚逆水泳), translated as "big (mythical) bird flies against the wind, live fish swims against the current". He believed a man of conviction does not bow in the face of adversity, he stands tall. Roh Moo Hyun never made compromise by taking the easier way out, he always chose the difficult route to trek on and for that, he was given the nickname "바보 노무현" (Roh Moo Hyun, the fool).

"Babo" (바보, 笨蛋, fool) may be a derogatory term, but it is a term which Roh Moo Hyun liked very much because it describes his non-mainstream and non-conformist character very well. In his attempt to break the unhealthy practice of regional politics, Roh Moo Hyun (a Liberal) stubbornly chose to run for National Assembly seat and mayorship in Busan, a "fortress" of the Conservatives, in 1992 and 1995 respectively. Without a doubt, he lost both elections. Below was his thought on being called "babo":

"내가 그동안에 사람들이 나에게 붙여 주었던 별명 중에서 제일 마음에 드는 별명입니다. 정치하는 사람들이 바보 정신으로 정치를 하면 나라가 잘 되거리 생각합니다. 어쨌든 그냥 바보 하는 게 그게 그냥 좋아요."

(All this while, there were many nicknames attached to me, but among them, I like "babo" the most. If politicians can act with the mentality of a "babo", I think it will do the country good. Anyway, being a "babo", I just like it.)

"그냥 바보 하는 게 그게 그냥 좋아요." - I just like being a fool

As a kid, I was already captivated by the beauty of Apple computer. Its attention to beauty details extended right down to the cursor. Till today, I cannot forget how its cursor used to radiate in changing rainbow colours. Some labelled Steve Jobs an inventor equivalent to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, but I see him as an artist. His single-minded quest for perfection, his not-so-pleasant temperament, have all the markings of a great artist. He once quoted Pablo Picasso as saying, "Good artists copy, great artists steal." In real life, Steve Jobs 'stole' the idea of graphics user interface (GUI) from Xerox and perfected it with artistry to a state where it become the default standard for all computing platforms. Microsoft could not have done it better except to copy. Without Steve Jobs, computer may just be a chunk of metal that works but never an art form which we can proudly display.

At the end of Steve Jobs' famous commencement speech delivered in 2005 at Stanford University, he said, "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you."

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

Where are all the fools in this world? The world needs you, the world misses you.

연애시대 - 아버지 말씀

"Alone in Love", a Korean drama aired in 2006, has a history as long as this blog. Five years ago, I watched it with the help of subtitles, I like it then. Now that I can hear Korean well, I appreciate it even more. The most memorable scene of the drama has to be the conversation between Eunho and her father in the last episode. Watching the scene never failed to prop me up whenever I was down. Whatever advices Eunho's father gave her, are also applicable to anyone. We should listen to our hearts and not be held down by mundane rules. Happiness doesn't come easily. We have to work hard for it.

A short synopsis of the scene:

Eunho was at a lost. She couldn't decide if she should reunite with her ex-husband who had since remarried but still loved her. On one hand, she did not think she could live her life without him. On the other, she could not bring herself to break up his marriage. Trapped in a painful dilemma, she called her father, a pastor, over the air by identifing herself as Miss K. The first part of the conversation went on as if her father was giving counsel to a stranger who was lost. In the second part, her father put away his pastor's role and assumed his father's role. As a father, his utmost concern was her daughter's happiness and not his religious duties. His heart-warming quotes:

"Miss K, God said thou shalt not lie... Lying to others is not right, but lying to yourself is also wrong. Do what your heart tells you."

"Miss K, didn't your heart says you can't live without that person? That person also can't live without you, isn't it? Do as what your heart wishes."

"To sin is human. Miss K, do you wish to be happy? Do you expect happiness to come easily? Do you think hesitation, indecisiveness and concern over how people would look at you will make you happy? If you don't try hard, you cannot be happy."

"Eunho, if you don't work hard and do your best, you cannot be happy. Only if you become happy, the world will become happy. Let's us pray together to Lord for forgiveness. Eunho, you must be happy."

《연애시대 16회 중에서》

행복해져라 은호야

은호: 저는 원주 사는 K라고 하는데요. 좋아하는 남자가 있거든요. 오래전부터 좋아했는데 최근에야 그 사람없이는 안되겠구나 알게됐어요. 근데 그 사람은 이미 결혼한 사람이예요. 목사님 어떡하죠? 내가 어떡해야 할까요?

아버지: K양 본인 마음은 확실한 겁니까? 정말 그 남자 아니면 안되는 겁니까?

은호: 어떨때는 그럭저럭 살수 있을것 같다가도 또 어떨때는 이대로는 못 견디겠다 싶기도 하고요. 그냥 눈물이 나올때도 있고, 멍해질때도 있고 그래요. 그 사람을 더 이상은 만날수 없다라고 생각하면서 부터는 사는게 지루해졌어요.

아버지: 상대방 마음은 어떻습니까?

은호: 그 사람은 나랑 다시 시작하고 싶어해요.

아버지: 힘든 문제군요. K양, 하나님은 속이지 말라 하셨습니다.

은호: 역시 안되겠죠?

아버지: 남을 속여서도 안되지만 또한 자기 자신을 속여서는 안됩니다. 마음이 가는대로 하십시요.

은호: 그게 무슨?

아버지: K양 그 사람 아니면 안되겠다고 마음이 말하고 있지 않습니까? 그 사람 역시 K양 아니면 안되겠다고 말했다면서요. 마음이 하자는대로 하십시요.

은호: 그렇게 할 수는 없어요. 그 사람 부인은 어떡해요. 내가 축가까지 불러줬는데 둘이 행복하라고 그렇게 말했는데.

아버지: 진심이였습니까?

은호: 네.

아버지: 지금의 진심은 무엇입니까?

은호: 죄를 지을 순 없어요.

아버지: 죄를 짓기때문에 인간입니다. K양 행복해지고 싶죠? 행복하기가 쉬운 줄 아십니까? 망설이고 , 주저하고 , 눈치보고 , 그렇게해서 행복해질수 있다고 생각합니까? 노력하지 않으면 행복해질 수 없는겁니다.

은호야! ... 최선을 다해 노력하지 않으면 행복해 질 수 없다. 니가 행복해져야만 이 세상도 행복해진다. 하느님한테는 내가 같이 용서를 빌어주마. 행복해져라 은호야.

거북이의 꿈

When we are caught up in our daily rat race, how many of us still remember the race between the hare and the tortoise? The 'hare' is well-endowed with speed to win any race. However, 'tortoise' is not only born to move slowly, it is burdened with a heavy shell.

"I crawled slowly to where I am now … a person who rises up very fast will have time to take a breather in between. Although I have to crawl, I won’t stop until I reach my destination.", wrote Kim Byung-man (김병만) in his autobiography 『꿈이 있는 거북이는 지치지 않습니다』 (Tortoise with dream will not be exhausted).

Tortoise with dream will not be exhausted

Kim Byung-man is one of the top gagman (comedian) in Korea. He gained his popularity by starring as the 'master' (달인, 達人) in the ‘Master’ segment of the KBS ‘Gag Concert’. 'Master', lack of a better description, is an acrobatic slapstick comedy. Kim performed different stunts and skills every week and always left his audience awe-struck and in stitches. What made his performance amazing is there is no camera tricks. Everything he did was real actions. A common question in everyone's mind is, "How did he manage to do that?"

Kim might not know the answer himself. As a child, Kim knew only hardship and failure. Because of that, he developed massive inferiority complex. His father turned to heavy drinking after his business failed. His mother worked as a helper in an eatery and was barely able to support a family of four children with her meagre salary. After graduating from high school, Kim worked as an odd job labourer in construction sites. His application to various institutes and universities were all rejected. Despite that, he did not give up his dream of becoming a gagman. To pursue it, he moved to Seoul and lived in a roof-top room. His road to success was anything but smooth. He was rejected four times by MBC and three times by KBS and was only accepted by KBS in 2002 on his eighth attempt.

"There was time when I kept going to the drugstore and had 40 sleeping pills with me… but the lights from the broadcasting stations in Yeoui-do were shining brightly at night even though I was crying my heart out in my roof-top room. Finally, I decided to pick myself up and move on." (Page 73)

In his autobiography, Kim Byung-man is no longer simply a gagman who makes you laugh. He symbolises someone who overcomes childhood hardship, never gives up despite repeated failures, only to work harder and finally becomes the ‘master’ whom many people love. The book was on sale since August 2011. It was reported 52,000 copies were sold within the first week of launch, earning itself a place in the bestseller chart.

In the press conference to launch his book, he spoke about his parents, “When time was hard, I felt a lot of resentment towards my mother. I always blamed my parents for the plight I was in. I used to press my father for an answer to why he made me so short (his height is 158.7m). But today, the applause I received was precisely because of my height and I am thankful for that.”

I like one statement which Kim made during the press conference: 사람은 태어나는 순간부터 내 자신을 내가 만들어가는 것이다 (The moment we were born, we were responsible for our own destiny)

Kim Byung-man may be successful today, he has not forgotten he is a 'tortoise'. If you have not seen a 'tortoise' won a race, here is one. Below are two videos of his 'Master' segment. When you watch his performance, you may wish to remember what he said, "Suffering from bruises and injuries are quite common but audience come to watch comedy and be entertained, I have to make my performance enjoyable and deliver laughter. What I can’t do is to show my worry, sorrow and pain." Those are words of a true master of comedy.

Master of soap bubbles


Master of smashing with fingers

It is still true that many 'tortoises' will not win any race when competing with the 'hares'. But more important than winning is to complete the race. For that, I would choose to be a tortoise than a rat.

모르는 사이에

When we just focus on meeting deadlines and getting works done, it is easy to lose touch of time and our emotional ability to feel. It is almost autumn again and I thought I just came back from Korea.

In Gyeonggi Shrine in Jeonju

Metasequoia Forest Road in Damyang

가을을 부르는 코스모스

'Autumn' peeking out of the fence

Cosmos heralds the arrival of autumn. Graduation ceremony in late August is affectionately called the cosmos graduation ceremony (코스모스 졸업식). How nice it would be if you could take your graduation photos in a field of swaying cosmos under the blue sky of autumn.

Not forgetting the breathtaking blue sky of early autumn

은행 나무 아래

은행 나무 아래에 서서 가을의 아름다움을 충분히 느낀다. 은행 나무 아래에 하고 싶은 일은 우리 일상의 희노애락을 나누는 것이다. 재미있는 일이라든지 재미없는 일이라든지 상관없다. 기분이 좋기만 세상 죄다 좋다고 생각하기 때문이다.

희망이란

희망이란 길이 끝나는 곳에서 늘 새로운 길이 시작되고 있는 것이다

맥문동 (麥門冬)

During late July and early August, lilac-purple flowers cover the landscape of Seoul. It has the colour of Lavender but not its sweet scent. A native of East Asia, it's called Liriope or 맥문동 (麥門冬) in Korean. In Chinese, it's known as "山麦冬". Not only it's a good landscaping plant, its roots have medicinal value. When I see Liriope blooming, it reminds me that the end of summer is only a month away.

어서 오세요

When you run a mom-and-pop store with passion, this is what you will get:

장마 지나간 후

The monsoon has left and it's time to hit the beach. If there is some saving grace for the summer heat, it turns the beach into heaven.

I like to stay at the beach until sunset

오렌지 선셋

This flower is a Calibrachoa and blooms from spring to fall. It has a beautiful name (which flower don't) - "Dream Kisses Orange Sunset". [Taken at Rose Garden, Seoul Grand Park]

How's this for orange sunset? Does orange sunet look dreamy? [Taken at Minmeoru Beach, Seongmo Island]