Jeon Tae-il (전태일) - A hero, who sacrificed himself for sake of others

This time I wanted to tell you about Jeon Tae-il (전태일), a hero, who sacrificed himself to bring better life for everyone else. I guess every Korean would know about him, since he is a national hero, but people in the rest of the world should also know his name, because he is a perfect example of a Hero (with a big letter) by any international standards.
Do you wonder now, who he is and what he did? The first thing I'll tell you is that he died at an early age of 22. Furthermore, it was a suicide by burning himself. His last words before leaving this world were "Enforce the labor code, we are not machines!” Do you have any clue by now? Let the mystery unfold :)

 
In 60s-70s working conditions on Korean factories were terrible. There were people who got tuberculosis, because of the bad ventilation on these factories; forced injections of amphetamines to keep workers awake, to make them work overtime, were a common practice. Of course, no one was properly paid for working overtime, but it was a situation, where people were afraid to complain, because at the time economy of South Korea was depressed by Korean War, so no one had any choice but to work even in horrible conditions in order to survive. At the time president of Republic of Korea was Park Chung-Hee ( 박정희), a dictator, who ignored labor regulations, whose only goal was to raise Korea by all means.
Jeon Tae-il, who worked on a factory himself, obviously knew the situation very well. At first he, with a group of other people, tried to raise awareness about an unfairness and cruel conditions on factories, and he was succeeding, but then he met a strong resistance from the Government. Desperate in his attempts to change the situation, on Nov 13th, 1970, he decided to commit a public suicide, by setting himself on fire. While burning, he was running down the street, shouting slogans. Ultimately, he was brought to a hospital, but it was already too late to save him. His last words said to his mother were: "Everything, that I couldn't do, please, continue it for me". 
His suicide had a great impact on Korean society. There is even an opinion that if it wasn't for him, current condition wouldn't get better until many years later. Thanks to him other laborers started movement against cruel working conditions, and eventually the situation got better for all laborers.
When I first heard a story of Jeon Tae-il from a friend I was really amazed. I thought “It is a bless that such people exist in this world”. Jeon Tae-il is truly a hero, who was willing to sacrifice himself, to make a world better for everyone. He was so young, definitely, it was not an easy decision to take away his own life, to give up his youth. In my mind, people like him, can inspire us to do little things everyday to make our world better. What do you think?
There is an award-winning  movie about Jeon Tae-il, called “A single spark” (아름다운 청년 전태일). As for me I haven’t watched it yet, but I am planning to watch it, when I have enough time. I know that there is also a biography of him.
Did this article make you think about something?

We all live under one sky...

This one is a quickie. I was just looking at some old photos on my computer and saw this photo of The Eternally Blue Sky, taken somewhere in Mongolia.

it looks like a drawing, doesn't it? so beautiful...

While I was looking at this photo, there were many thoughts in my head. People say that everything is alright, as long as you have this wide sky above you, and I totally agree with it. Usually everyone is too buried under they problems, everyday fights, stress and other depressive thoughts, and people forget, in what a beautiful world we live in. So next time you start to feel like you are too tired and sick of everything, take a deep breath and just watch the sky for a minute, and then the magic will begin :)
In ancient times people in Mongolia didn't know about Buddha, or Jesus, or Mohamed, instead they believed that they are children of the Sky. I'm not saying we should convert our views to Tengerianism, of course, but we should be thankful for this endless sky below us.
There is a very famous Mongolian poem, called "Be like the Sky" by O.Dashbalbar. It starts like this:
"If everyone curses at you, be like the sky!
If they say you are the kindest person, be like the sky!"
Sorry for bad translation, but you get the point. The poem is indeed a masterpiece, try reading it sometime (if you know mongolian, of course :)
So no matter how difficult the situation is, or how busy you get, just be like the sky.
I wish you all to find your own piece of a peaceful (no pun) sky...

전화기

여러분, 우리가 살고 있는 바쁜 21 세기 속에서 휴대 전화를 많이 쓰게 되었죠?

SE mobile I sud 2 have, kawaii^^

주변을 돌려보면 어린 아이들까지 누구나 자기 휴대폰을 가지는 것 같아요. 사람들이 집에서 나갈 때마다 전화기를 꼭 가져가고 가끔은 정신이 하도 없어서 그 귀중한 물건을 깜빡하고 집에서 두고 가면 괜히 불안해지죠. 우리 생활의 모든 부분에 휴대폰이 영향을 미쳐요. 예를 들자면 휴대전화기가 생활화가 되면서 데이트하는 방식도 달라졌죠. 특히 여자들이 휴대폰을 가지고 자기의 남자친구를 괴롭히는 경우가 많아요. 하루 종일 계속 문자도 보내고 전화도 걸고 그래요. 그리고 남친한테 답장이 안 오거나 전화를 안 받으면 큰 일 나죠, 여친이 혼 낼 수도 있어요. 이 외에도 밖에 조금 어두워지기가 시작하면 늘 우리 걱정을 하시는 엄마 아빠들이 자식들에게 언제 집에 들어오냐고 전화하고 친구 놈들이 밥 먹자고 문자나 보내고 선생님들같이 매우 중요한 사람들이 연락하기도 해요. 그래서 보통 휴대전화기 없이는 살 수가 없지만 그것 때문에 짜증 나기도 해요. 아예 휴대폰을 한강으로 버릴까 생각도 들곤 해요 (그러나 휴대폰이 비싸서 그렇게 못 하죠...)

그런데 내가 이야기하고 싶던 전화기는 휴대폰이 아니에요. 너나 할 것 없이 우리가 어렸을 때, 아직 누구든지 휴대폰을 가질 기회가 없었을 때 집 전화기라는 것이 있었단다. 난 왜 갑자기 집전화기 생각이 났냐면 내가 그저께 오랫동안 못 본 친구랑 통화했기 때문이에요. 나는 그 친구랑 예전에 집전화기로 계속 통화를 했거든요. 걔랑 전화기로 재미있는 이야기를 하다 보면 시간이 굉장히 빨리 지나갔어요. 그리고 그 때 마주주지 않으니까 부끄러워하지 않고 세상에 있는 모든 일들에 대한 별 이야기를 다 했었어요.

nostalgia for home phones

집전화기란 아주 낭만적인 것 같아요. 몇 년 전에라도 전화한 사람의 전화번호를 알 수가 없었어요. 그래서 아이들이 어떻게 했을까요? 장난쳤죠 :) 나는 중학교 때 친한 여자 친구들과같이 모여서 아는 남자 얘들에게 전화하고 농담으로 막 고백도 했어죠. 또 청소년들이 친구들을 통해서 좋아하는 여자나 남자의 전화번호를 얻고 그 사람에게 전화했었요. "여보세요?  난 너를 봤는데 네가 예쁘더라. 너에 대하여 모든 것들을 알고 싶다. 우리 사귀어 볼까?" 멋있게 이야기했어요.

아니면 힘든 학교 하루 끝에 여자친구에게 전화해서 몇 시간 동안 수다를 때곤 했었어요.

아마 어떤 사람이 내가 위에 쓴 모든 것들을 똑같이 휴대폰으로도 할 수 있다고 할 거예요. 그러나 주변을 돌려보면 그렇게 하는 사람들이 없잖아요. 안타깝게도 집전화기의 세대는 끝을 맞은 것 같아요.

이 글을 읽는당신도 옛날이 그리울 때가 있나요?

First snow in Incheon!

Salut!
Today I am feeling very happy because in the evening, just a couple of hours ago the first snow started here, in Incheon. Snow was coming down very peacefully, in large soft snowflakes. All the world seemed white, just like in a fairytale :)

Cars and trees, covered in snow

Really it was such a romantic moment, at these times the best thing is to be with someone you love. Instead, I was with a couple of my Chinese friends, having much fun in a coffee shop, playing truth or dare^^

Warm company^^

 
One thing that surprised me is that Koreans, when it is snowing, use umbrellas. In Mongolia, we use umbrellas only for rain, sometimes for sunlight too. It is easy to explain the difference: because in Korea industries are well-developed, it became the reason of air pollution; thus, both rain and snow have abnormalities, and may cause damage to hair. But in Mongolia, our air is clean, and people can go uncovered, enjoying gentle touches of raindrops and snowflakes.

Cute couple, hiding from snow under umbrella

Another thought: when it snows people become prettier. No, really :) Due to snow cheeks become red like roses (!), and some snowflakes, lost in girls' hair, add to the beauty of their owner. And after snowfall we can have much fun: snow-fight, make a snowman, write confessions on snow, ride on a sled and so on.

Me and my friend's names on  snow ^.^

But I want to warn you: when it snows, roads become very slippery, be cautios while walking. Plus the weather becomes colder and colder, wear warm clothes, do not let yourself catch a cold...