✽ Some of the questions below are from DaumTM cafe - ‘uosisthebest’. In parenthesis, we made clear who asked that question with their nicknames.
■ What do you think about the four-character idiom ‘sa-saeng-go-hye’(死生苦兮) spoken by ‘Wonhyo’ ? (by 주시자)
What ‘Wonhyo’ wants to say is that we can get enlightenment by breaking common ideas. If we can get rid of current features we have considered, we could find new aspects of ourselves that we have not been aware of. For that reason, I focus my studies on my spiritual mind. Especially for university students, if you guys read my book ‘haakhaak’, there is a sentence, “It is better trying to feel diverse things than knowing lots of subjects, it is much better becoming to be enlightened than trying to feel. Therefore a bunch of knowledge can be abolished by a small tickle of enlightenment.”
■ Do you have any special reasons why you have grown your hair?
Why are students always interested in superficial features? I have been asked this question about a million and twenty-one times. We should get out of this universal mindset as soon as possible. Particularly, I don’t think this curiousness about appearance is an adequate question from university students. You guys should consider more intriguing questions. I didn’t grow my hair intentionally. I just let it be and I grew it like the Beatles. So it took me a long time to have long hair.
■ What do you think of entering into politics? (by 스카페이스)
“I have never thought of it and I will not!” He answered firmly. I am the 17th descendant of ‘Yangnyeong’, the prince of the Joseon Dynasty. Do you know about him? He was one of the three princes of King Taejong. But he didn’t want to be a king so he did weird things not to be a king. Likewise, my family has felt hatred toward politics for many years. This idea has not been changed up to now. I think the most unreliable thing is politics. I have gotten input from my forty million readers as a writer, so how could I ignore their trust?
■ Do you have a plan for writing ‘Men do not know themselves’ as a sequel to ‘Women do not know themselves’? (by cristiano9)
Why should I have to do this? It is the idea that others already have in their mind. The real artists do what others can’t imagine or guess easily. Let us apply this concept of life to our lives.
If we live like others do, then we think, write and behave the same as others do. An individual thought makes you form a different life from others. If you live up to everyone’s expectation, it will make life tough. Because sometimes you cannot compete with others’ abilities even though you have done the same hard work. You should create your own special life by yourself. By doing what you can, you become the owner of your own life.
■ What do you do when you suddenly feel ‘Life is but an empty dream’? (by 쇼댕)
I cry on the toilet. This feeling comes regularly when I am working. It comes to every artist.
What I want to express in my books is ideas about spiritual affluence, the beauty of love, etc. But when we look at real life; we hardly find them. We just realize that people are competing for wealth. When I look at this situation, I see through myself and ask what I have done during the past 30 years. Then I go to the toilet and cry. What would I do? Who knows my state of mind? That is why I quit drinking. Drinking makes my feelings worse.
■ How many times do you do a self-examination? (by 풀쩍풀쩍)
Writing makes me reconsider myself. In my writing, there are introspections of myself, human-beings, society and history. I write and reply everyday on my personal blog (Twitter) and website (www.oisoo.co.kr). Therefore, I can say I self-examine everyday.
■ Please give advice to someone who wants to be an artist.
There was no artist who was not in the misery during their early ages. They finally succeed after they have undergone personal hardships. Art needs suffering similar to that of women giving birth to a baby.
■ How can we get back the romanticism in our university moments?
① Try to be exposed to nature as many times as you can.
② Be interested in works of art.
③ Try to meet people who are in hard situations.
All of the beauty is inherent in its relation to grieving. Romanticism goes along with beauty and sorrow.
■ Lee’s Daily routine
I post on my own website and twitter to communicate with my readers and fans. I sleep two to six hours a day. I usually have only a meal a day and have some snacks at night.
■ When did you realize that you would succeed on your career?
The time when I heard from my readers, “I have been touched your books. When I was in a difficult situation your writing helped me to get over it.” I think the true sense of success is not only being pleasant to myself but also making others happy through my success.
Baek Seung-mi Reporter
viorlate88@uos.ac.kr