[One Thousand Characters a Day] Writer's Routine <7> - Beom Yujin's 'If You Keep Walking Forward'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected daily and monthly according to themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. This excerpt is taken from ＜Writer's Routine: A Day Writing Novels＞, a book where young novelists talk about their daily lives and how they prepare their minds before writing, quoting author Beom Yujin's ＜Forward, Keep Walking Forward＞. Character count: 850.

My 'healthy state,' whether physical or mental, refers to a condition in which I am the subject capable of making judgments. Ultimately, this also means being able to acknowledge that I am not entirely autonomous. It is surprisingly difficult to be the subject who makes a judgment. Can I be absolutely certain that the clothes I am wearing now were purchased solely based on my own judgment? Did external factors, especially marketing and media trends, not influence that decision at all? It is impossible. Unless one disconnects from the world, sets up a loom at home, and weaves and makes clothes all by oneself, it is hard not to be influenced. However, admitting that one has been influenced by others without realizing it is not a pleasant thing. That is why one becomes stubborn, insisting that the judgment was made autonomously. The stubbornness to protect one’s subjectivity ultimately leads to losing it. Only by acknowledging that one’s judgment is not entirely autonomous can one identify in which parts it was influenced. Then, the next time one buys clothes, one can consciously reconsider those aspects. Without acknowledgment, no change will occur. It is similar to admitting that one dislikes exercise.

The reasons for establishing routines vary. Some create routines for writing, others for studying, and some simply because they want to try something. Whatever the purpose, it is worth reflecting on whether the reason for setting a routine is based on one’s autonomous judgment. Whether it is truly a healthy routine. This is also why I hope for routines that 'refine' daily life rather than 'chip away' at it. Because if you chip away at your daily life, you eventually chip away at yourself.

- Beom Yujin et al., ＜Writer's Routine: A Day Writing Novels＞, &(And), 15,000 KRW