A piece of sunshine
[김애란] 'My Wish'
'My Wish'
By Kim Ae-ran
One day, I took time to visit Kim Se-jung's museum exhibition called "The Joy of the Arts" to appreciate the representative works created by eight Catholic contemporary sculptors including Kim Se-jung (1928-1986), Choi Jong-tae (1932-) and Sr. Choi Bong-ja, among others.
This exhibit lasted for about a month up to July 20, with the theme, "A sense of beauty in modern and contemporary sculptures." It is quite interesting to visit such a gallery located in a residential area near Hyochang Park.
Probably because I grew up with various pieces of wood at home, for my father was a carpenter, I enjoy looking at sculptures made of wood, bronze, iron or marble. Creating a work of art in a form of the simple line and unique contour from the huge wildwood or natural and rough marble is always so amazing and marvelous. It is just a wonder.
Near this gallery, I found the Kim Koo Museum & Library which displays most systematically the life-long journey of Kim Koo (1876-1949). Visiting his tomb and the tombs of four other patriotic martyrs surrounded by pine trees is such a good walk under the clear and shiny sky.
"If God were to ask me, 'What is your wish?' I would reply without hesitation, 'My wish is Korean independence'. If God asked me, 'What is your next wish?', I would again reply, 'It is the independence of our nation'. If God asked me one more time, 'What is your next wish?' I would even more forcefully say, 'My wish is the complete sovereign independence of our nation, Korea'."
This quotation titled "My wish" appears at the end of the autobiography of Baekbeom Kim Koo who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the independence of our country. As a leader of the Korean independence movement, he was the sixth president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in 1927, and later up to his death, he did his best as a unification activist and a nationalist politician.
Since "Backbeom Ilji" (Journal of Baekbeom: Autobiography of Kim Koo) was first published in 1947, it has become a steady seller with the publications of various versions over 100 titles. In 2005 at the Frankfurt Book Fair, this book was selected as one of the "100 books of Korea".
I quite agree with him when he mentioned "the power of a noble culture" as follows:
"I want our nation to be the most beautiful in the world. By this, I do not mean the most powerful nation. Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation, I do not want my nation to invade others. It is sufficient that our wealth makes our lives abundant; it is sufficient that our strength is able to prevent foreign invasions. The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is the power of a noble culture. This is because the power of culture both makes ourselves happy and gives happiness to others."
At the moment, it is very encouraging and inspiring for both Koreans to realize various creative and courageous attempts to be integrated by means of sports, songs, moving images, cultural performances, the reunion of people, traveling, as well as economic sponsoring. Truly, realizing a noble culture with common goodness will free and save us all from pride and prejudice.
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (Figlie di San Paolo) living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication. Learn more about the congregation at fsp.pauline.or.kr.
Alberione, alberione, Catholic, catholic, content, contents, Contents, contents.pauline.or.kr, gospel, Gospel, FSP, fsp, pauline, Pauline, pauline contents, 카톨릭, 가톨릭, 교리, 교리교재, 꿈나무, 바오로가족, 바오로딸, 바오로딸 컨텐츠, 바오로딸 콘텐츠, 바오로딸컨텐츠, 바오로딸콘텐츠, 복자 야고보 알베리오네 신부, 성바오로딸, 성바오로딸수도회, 성 바오로딸 수도회, 성바오로딸 수도회, 주일학교, 콘텐츠 바오로딸, 콘텐츠바오로딸, 알베리오네, 야고보 알베리오네, 김애란, 김애란 마리데레사 수녀, 김애란 수녀, 김애란수녀, 영시, 영어시
;){kind=logo}
