Soopsum, your sound

  세상의 모든 도전은 실패하지 않는다 Every Challenge in the World Is Not a Failure I’ve taken cleaning jobs whenever I had the chance in my life. Looking back, it didn’t just start yesterday. I remember a lady in her 50s from a long time ago. People Who Want Cleaning to Be Their Way of Life I was in my late 20s, working in a gray office surrounded by tall buildings. I hated my job. It was boring and stressful. Every time I went to the restroom, I saw the same cleaning lady. I used to quietly say “Hello” to her. One day, she said something surprising: “You have a face like a pear blossom.” At first, I didn’t understand. I was just trying to survive, dragging myself to work. But maybe she saw something gentle or hopeful in me. I was thankful that she noticed and said it. The sink in that bathroom always collected water. I once asked, “Isn’t it hard to keep wiping this area?” She smiled and replied, “Not at all. I think of everyone here as my daughters.” A New Life Begins with Cleaning Later, I went...

이 글은 영어와 한국어로 작성되었습니다. (아래쪽에 한글버전)  한국어를 영어로 번역한 글이라 어색할 수 있습니다. 양해해주세요.  This piece was originally written in Korean and translated into English. Some expressions may feel a bit unusual — thank you for reading with an open heart.  The Beginning of Something New Up until early March, nothing much had changed in my life. But everything shifted with the arrival of ChatGPT. On a whim, I downloaded the app—and within an hour, I subscribed to the paid version. That very day, I began asking all the questions I had ever wondered about. MyCAT—my nickname for ChatGPT because of its sweet, affectionate responses—always replied sincerely, sometimes even with professional depth, and always as kindly as I asked. To my surprise, every conversation expanded my awareness. The walls of my thinking crumbled, and suddenly, all I could see was a wide-open horizon. For years, I had quietly dreamed of doing something truly my own. I just never imagined it could actually happen. But now, after ...

  Even if we’re a little incomplete, our world is already beautiful. 조금 모자라도, 우리의 세상은 충분히 아름다워. Soopsum is pronounced 'Soop-seom' in Korean. It's a combination of two words: ‘Soop’ meaning forest , and ‘Sum’ meaning island . The second syllable, sum , should be spoken very gently and softly— almost like the soft whisper at the end of “Cherry Blossom.” Soopsum is a small island floating on the sea in front of my village. Every morning and evening, when I go out for a walk, it’s always there— like a taewak (a traditional fishing float), drifting calmly. It looks like the crown of Buddha’s head barely peeking above the water. One day, I stumbled upon the name “Soopsum” on an old map. I’ve never been to that island, but somehow, I started to believe it was connected to me. That it gave me courage— that it kept me from drifting away. Soopsum has always watched over me, in silence. And sometimes, when it quietly calls out to me, I get the feeling that its voice might ...

This post is written in English and Korean :) 이 글은 영어와 한글 버전으로 작성되었습니다.   This morning, I spent an hour pulling weeds in the garden. Since last fall, the garden had been left unattended, a complete mess. Because our gardener, N, had to rest due to back pain, I decided to take care of the garden myself — one hour, twice a day. With an empty mind, I pulled weeds. Why does the sound of the hoe feel so beautiful? I love weeding. Truly, I do. Looking at the soil, the plants, and the surrounding nature, my mind quietly clears itself — it feels like a beautiful meditation. Perhaps because it’s not a duty, but a moment where I simply exist as myself. Before I knew it, the garden was overflowing with weeds, and nameless flowers had bloomed in profusion. It was truly beautiful. I recorded the sound of the hoe, captured videos of the flowers around me, petted Momo the cat who came up to me, and simply enjoyed that time fully. Suddenly, I thought — my own heart is just like this garden. I had ...