[FOUNTAIN]Living your life without boundaries

Kim Jeong-hui, a Joseon-period calligraphy master famous for his Chusa style, said his three favorite activities were reading, association with beautiful women and drinking. While his academic and artistic status impressed even the Chinese, he had a manly personality and integrity. At the Chusa exhibition, the calligraphy work on the “Three Pleasures in Life” attracted many people because they must have felt empathy with Mr. Kim’s tastes. The Chusa calligraphy, from which excitement and spirit flow like the ocean tides, is the fruit of these three pleasures.
Time has passed and the period has changed, but the pleasure of life remains unchanged. Genius filmmaker Kim Gi-young created series such as “The Housemaid,” “Woman of Fire” and “The Insect Woman.” When asked why he made the series, he said he was very interested in women. He said, “All men are interested in women but pretend otherwise because they might get arrested. In our minds, we always think of women other than our wives. Don’t you have that fantasy?” Mr. Kim openly admitted that he was a pervert and criticized Korea for censorship, lack of understanding and hypocrisy.
The writer, 64-year-old Park Sang-ryung, whose novels are known for brutality and complexity, was once reckoned as someone who would volunteer to go to hell with alcohol than heaven without. When he emigrated to Canada, his first job was to clean the morgue at a hospital. After spending all day with dead bodies, he ended the day by making the round of bars. He would have only two drinks at each bar, and when he finished the rounds, peaceful morning broke, and he wrote “A Study into Death.” He likes to say “painfully beautiful.”
Time flows constantly, and the first half of the year has already gone. As the world is going crazy with money and work, the three men who love books, women and alcohol stop us and ask whether we are slaves. Koreans joke that slaves, or noye, means someone who says “no” first but says “yes” right away. Slaves are the people with no opinion. In the period of slaves, the three men who shouted “no” to protect their lives and freedom are highlighted. Let’s take some time and look at the slaves inside ourselves.

by Chung Jae-suk

The writer is a deputy culture news editor for the JoongAng Ilbo.