[One Thousand Characters a Day] Morning Opened with the Analects <1>

Editor's NoteIn life, we inevitably face moments when everything falls apart or encounter situations so unfair and infuriating that tears well up. At such times, we often say we just have to endure. Time becomes a very comforting prescription and a good medicine. But is time really the only cure for everything? Is there no medicine that strengthens our hearts and prevents pain? Kim Hoonjong, SBS radio PD and author of , says that studying the classics can be that medicine. The worries we have now were likely shared by wise people before us, and their insights have been recorded and passed down through the classics. The author removes the prejudice that classics are difficult and old-fashioned, uncovering situational answers within them. He also explains by adding his own experiences, movies, novels, and Western philosophy, focusing on reflection and contemplation, making it easy for beginners to approach the classics. Word count: 1031.

Lee Deok-mu, a practical scholar of the late Joseon Dynasty, was nicknamed Ganseochi (看書痴).

In Korean, this means "a fool who only looks at books." Although this book-obsessed fool was favored after King Jeongjo's accession, before that, despite his outstanding scholarship, he did not receive recognition because he was born a Seo-eol (a child of a concubine). Nevertheless, Lee Deok-mu never neglected reading. The poor Lee Deok-mu lacked firewood even in winter and had to sleep in a cold room. One day, while reading, he tried to sleep but was so cold that he covered himself with the and used the as a folding screen to block the wind, an anecdote that has been passed down.

Books were his life blueprint and the very purpose of his existence. Sweet afternoon naps or entertaining pastimes were unimportant in his life. Even the world of wealth and the pleasures of food and love, which we all so desire, were merely passing winds to him. True to his nickname Ganseochi, Lee Deok-mu clearly expressed his attitude toward reading and especially emphasized practicing four things.

First, read books repeatedly until you become familiar with them.

Second, read while comparing the content with different perspectives.

Third, when encountering unknown content while reading, solve it yourself but be cautious and do not be overconfident.

Fourth, if you judge the content to be incorrect while reading, filter it out, but do not fall into dogmatism thinking only your own ideas are right.

Among the reading habits Lee Deok-mu emphasized, repetition (反復) is the foremost. Confucius also strongly said, "Is it not a pleasure to learn and repeatedly practice what you have learned? (學而時習之 不亦說乎)" The emphasis here is on "習" (practice). The character for "習" originally combined the wing 羽 and self 自, symbolizing a young bird breaking out of its shell and practicing wing flaps to grow strong enough to fly on its own, though it later transformed into wing 羽 and white 白.

Imagine the process of a frail, slender wing bone transforming into a strong wing that stirs the sky through thousands, even tens of thousands, of wing flaps. How much effort and patience must be infused. Learning requires exactly that kind of tempering through practice. That beautiful growth feels slow but powerful.

- Kim Hoonjong, , Hanbit Biz, 16,800 KRW