[Daily 1000 Characters] Writer's Routine <3> - Lee Gyuri's 'Cool and Warm Simple'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'Harumanbo Harucheonja' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected according to themes by day and month from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. Today, we quote Lee Gyuri's "Cool and Warm Simple" from the book The Writer's Routine: A Day of Writing Poetry, which contains the daily lives and mindsets of young writers. Character count: 904.

I believe that all objects have life. I do not crumple and throw away even scrap paper. Rather than simply considering the items I use as mere objects, I regard them as beings. This consciousness of objects originated from Rilke. I try to place objects on an equal footing with myself. Pens, papers, desks, chairs, and keyboards are all precious companions, so I give them at least a minimum level of respect. Objects are neither negligent nor lazy in their roles and are more humble than humans. To fully face, fully interact, and fully unite with existing entities as a human being, I consider equipping myself according to my capacity to be a tailored strategy that advocates minimalism and governs one’s life. I also prefer single dishes over a seven-course meal. First, because the dining table is simple and neat. And secondly, because the dishes do not mix with each other. The neatness during the meal composes the taste. The fewer the dishes, the quieter the time spent savoring the food. What I dislike is ordering several dishes and sharing them here and there, causing spills and a noisy atmosphere at the table. It suits my preference that each person neatly eats the menu they have chosen. What is even more painful is seeing the table become a mess after guests leave. I learned this from my child: tidying up spoons, empty bowls, and napkins neatly after the meal so that no trace remains, and this has gradually become a routine. The barefoot story has come this far. If the reason for walking barefoot after taking off socks is to worry about dust or impurities stepping on the feet, I sometimes think that, from a psychoanalytic perspective, this severe obsession with cleanliness hides a psychology trying to erase my own impurities unknown even to myself. I worry that those around me might feel uncomfortable, but this habit, which cannot be fixed nor have I tried to fix it, even if considered dry, leaves me nothing to say. In fact, I am quite a boring person.

- Lee Gyuri et al., The Writer's Routine: A Day of Writing Poetry, &(And), 15,000 KRW