'You Are My Azwi' ... Daegu University Students Publish Field Reporting Diary as a 'Book'

Professional Writers and Journalists Collaborate on 'Hope Finding Project'... Stories of 21 Lives Overcoming Adversity

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] University students in the Daegu area have published a single-volume book on the theme of 'hope' together with professional writers and reporters.

This single-volume book is a collection of success stories and messages of hope and positivity selected from the subjects they met during about six months of internship at a media company.

The book's title is "You Are My Azwi." "Azwi" means hope. It is a symbol of hope that Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa and a black human rights activist, wrote on a piece of paper when his eldest daughter asked him to name a baby during his imprisonment.

The book features 21 people from various professions such as entrepreneurs, police officers, vocalists, and self-employed individuals.

Lee Joong-ho, CEO of Jungwon Paper Co., who calmly tells the story of his father who endured all kinds of hardships in lawsuits against large corporations and eventually won, and Lee Seung-ryeol, director of the Daegu main branch of Pyeonhan Sesang Korean Medicine Clinic, who shared the story of his father who revived Daegu Yakryeong Market with a 400-year tradition, seem to encapsulate the life stories of parents around the world.

The story behind Lee Seung-su (Lee Mal-taek), a singer and entrepreneur who expressed the hardships of life through song, and Kim Eung-cho, CEO of Natural Space, who invented a UV plasma sterilizer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is attracting attention as a 'game changer' that could change the domestic sterilization market, is also interesting.

The achievements of police officers in the Daegu area also stand out. Former head of the criminal department at Suseong Police Station, An Jae-kyung, known as the eldest brother of detectives and the football emperor "An Dink," "Tall Police Officer" Yoon Heung-yong, a lieutenant at Seongseo Police Station who has done 30 years of police work and 30 years of volunteer work, "MacGyver" Kim Gil-tae, a lieutenant at Bukbu Police Station who risked his life climbing a steel tower to prevent the leakage of millions of won in public funds and personal information, and Lee Sang-mo, a lieutenant at Daegu Dalseo Police Station who counsels juvenile detention center inmates through handwritten letters, among others.

Lee Byung-hwan, CEO of Gwangjin Makchang, who learned how to overcome the hardships of life while nursing his grandfather who suffered a stroke; Lee Dae-hee, the region's longest-serving DJ and performance planner who is called "father" by "Tbaroti" Kim Ho-jung; Park Min-young, a "sporting vocalist" who overcame the crisis of blindness; and Kim Hee-jung, a vocalist who practiced 10 hours a day for 360 days a year and played the lead role in the "best opera in the UK," all deliver messages of hope one after another.

Reporters Kim Kwang-won and Kim Min-gyu from the Hankook Ilbo served as mentors for this hope interview project. The university students who actually took up the pen are Kim Chae-eun (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Yeungnam University), Park Eun-jin (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Kyungpook National University), Shin Hyun-min (4th year, Department of Business Administration, Kyungpook National University), Oh Yoo-na (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Kyungpook National University), Lee Ye-ju (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Daegu University), Lee Joo-hwan (4th year, Department of Korean Language Education, Daegu University), Lee Hyuk-jin (3rd year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Daegu University), Jung Yoo-mi (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Daegu University), Han Joo-young (4th year, Department of Chemistry, Kyungpook National University), and Hong Ji-hye (4th year, Department of Korean Language and Literature, Kyungpook National University).

Daegu University student Lee Joo-hwan said, "Meeting interviewees who overcame adversity gave me the conviction that 'the world does not betray sweat and tears,'" adding, "I hope readers can indirectly feel hope and courage through this book."