Lake

Although January is the first month of the year, March seems to be in charge of a promising start. When you want to see a positive future, poet Cho Byung-hwa is a perfect fit. So, in celebration of March, I will introduce a poem by the poet.

He could not have written this poem without thinking about the lake for a long time. The poet tried to find the true nature of the lake by removing the image that is easily associated with the word lake. And the conclusion reached is that a lake is not a single body of water, as diversity is positively conjured up there. If all the water involved in a lake had the same appearance, expression, and movement, the lake would not have become a lake we know. We see the diversity of water the poet presents and nod our heads in approval. But what if this poem is about people? A lot of different people gathered to become “us.” People who couldn't live with the same actions or expressions gathered and made it possible for us to live a life. We seem to forget this fact sometimes.

Now is the time for the opening ceremony, when many individuals gather in new classrooms and new office spaces. Let's not be afraid that we are foreign enough to be different. This is because we, with different characteristics, can come together and become one.