SEOUL, KOREA – As of November, 2012, Korea is already bracing for winter after experiencing an embarrassingly short-lived autumn. Autumn finally came to Korea, leaving scorching hot summer days behind.
Yet, autumn has hurriedly passed the baton to winter and bolted somewhere else. Was Korea’s autumn fleeting this fast in the past This time around, it feels sad to find out there is only one month left in the 2012 calendar.
As times are changing at a neck-breaking pace, people are inevitably changing, too. Does autumn bow out in such a hectic manner to keep abreast with the fast-changing times People today seem to be used to adjusting to such changes. As such, it feels like we now have to stop whining and embrace seasonal vagaries. Then, how much more changes do we have to adapt to in order to stay in sync with the times
The more complex and confused our mind is, the more we yearn for the opportunity to take a breather. In a situation where autumn, a season that is more closely associated with “taking a rest” than any other season, is missing, why don’t we fill the void with good quotes from books and beautiful photos
Deok-hee Choi, who is a photographer and an essay writer, is a narrator talking about nostalgia and fond memories of the past. She is a writer who writes about treasured childhood memories and romantic sentiments towards life in the country in plain language. Concurrently, she is a talented photographer who is good at putting landscapes and common objects such as trees into unique frames.
Writer Choi oozes with warmth that can be likened to that of a loving mother who fetches her kids their fine clothes that she washed, ironed, and starched with tender loving care.
In April, 2012, photographer Choi held a photo exhibition titled “Playing with Nature” in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do. Her attempts to render one of the most common objects, a “tree,” through colored filters were designed to invoke a sense of “friendliness” and “distancing” at the same time.
The camera focus is purposely a bit off and objects were photographed through colored filters, so viewers are provided with a new perspective on what they carelessly see in everyday life. Taking a step back and looking differently at the trees, which have always stood there and will likely stay there forever, arouses feelings of comfort and freshness.
She is also an up-and-coming essay writer. Her essay titled “Playing with Nature” revolves around fond memories of the good old days that we have forgotten for too long.
An excerpt from her book titled “Summer Days We Hold Dear”
“Watching zillions of stars in the pitch-dark night sky, my grandmother said that if the Milky Way touched my lips while I was lying on the back on the straw mat, we can have freshly harvested rice. She was right. By the time my lips touched the Milky Way, rice was harvested. She also said a halo around the moon was a harbinger of coming rains. Her weather forecasts were as accurate as those of weathermen. In a dark room lit by a small kerosene lamp, the blue mosquito tent looked like a phantasmagorical cave which was a perfect playground for us. Playing with my younger brothers in the mosquito tent was one of my favorite pastimes. On the last market day, mosquito tents caught my eyes and I could not resist buying one. I pitched the mosquito tent in my bedroom and it looked more than great. Though the mosquito tent gets to become a thing of the past, it allowed me to have flashbacks to my happy childhood, so I was happy.”
An excerpt from “The Downside of Electric lights”
“Since I was born in a small rural village, my childhood memories sometimes make me smile. On a summer evening when there was no electric light whatsoever, I had dinner early and climbed up a hill standing behind my house to seize the breath-taking, panoramic views of the skies aflame with the setting sun and the captivating views across the green paddy fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was like I was watching a movie………………….. Upon the advent of the village’s first TV, all the villagers, regardless of age, gathered in front of TV and were completely mesmerized by what they watched on TV. When I visited my mother’s house in the village several years after I got married, I noticed that the village’s atmosphere was awkward and it felt like I was in a completely different place……………..Electric lights do bring us a lot of benefits culture-wise, but they stripped us of fond memories related to a children’s game “hide-and-seek,” babysitting and housekeeping games for girls, etc.”
Her essays that touch upon trivial but memorable encounters and warm-heartedness in delicate language also merit attention.
An excerpt from “Some Encounter”
“ …………………I ran into a farmer at the gateway to some village and asked him where I could find a place to stay the night. The kind-hearted farmer pointed to his house nearby and invited me to stay at his house for the night……………….. I had a good night’s sleep at his place as if I was one of his long-time neighbors……………… Though three decades had passed since I met his wife briefly that night, I could easily recognize her when I revisited his house. She was still artless, just like 30 years ago. Deeply moved by the unexpected reunion, she held my hands and said she was so grateful that I came all the way to visit her after so many years.”
Gift Stones
“One day, a young mother complained that she made pickled cucumbers but she had to throw them away because they were too mushy to eat. Then, I told her an old wives' tale that pickled cucumbers should be kept pressed hard down by stones to keep them from being too cushy………………..Fortunately, whenever I picnicked on the river bank, I collected palm-size stones……………….
A few days later, the young mother gave me a gift to thank me for the useful tip. ……….It occurred to me that stones can be a good gift item. When I was invited to my acquaintance’s house warming party held in Seoul, I handpicked several good-looking stones from my stone collection and giftwrapped them. Giving the gift-wrapped stones to her, I explained how useful stones can be, but she just nonchalantly took them. I failed to get my message across to her. Long afterwards, she told me on the phone that the stones I gave her surprisingly came in very handy. Praising my idea of giving stones as a gift, she said she also gave one of the stones to her friend as a gift.”
Upon closing her books, I was gripped by a sense of fulfillment, something that I may feel when I am reunited with my childhood friends. To the chagrin of autumn lovers, autumn made a hasty departure. However, people should be left to their own devices when it comes to savoring autumn. On a nostalgic day, why don’t you read her books over a cup of tea
