지금 꽃이 아니면 어떠랴. 묵묵히 그 자리에서 기다리며 희망의 꽃씨를 품은 부부의 정원 | 자연의 철학자들 52부 꽃이 아닌, 홑씨라도 좋다 (KBS 20230414 방송)

Natural Human Documentary: Philosophers of Nature - Episode 52 'Even Single Seeds Are Fine, Not Flowers' Aired April 14, 2023 ■ Single Seeds That Flew to Cheongdo Cheongdo is a place where peach blossoms captivate visitors when spring arrives. Shin Sook-hee (60), who had come down here for a brief visit, could not resist the sight of the blossoms approaching her at one point and persuaded her husband. At that time, their two sons were elementary school students, and although there were many concerns about a young couple living there, the couple decided to move back to the countryside because they loved this village where flowers bloomed so much. Shin Sook-hee (60) suffered facial paralysis overnight due to the grueling work at a picture framing shop, where she slept only two hours a day. For her, flowers and the garden became a great source of comfort. Her sons, who used to play in this garden for over 20 years, have since become independent, and she continues to sow seeds and wait for spring every year. ■ Spring, Thank You for Meeting You When morning comes, Ms. Sook-hee comes out into the garden barefoot with a cup of tea. Every day, she feels the condition of the soil with me, makes eye contact with the plants, and asks how they are doing. She says that the knots in her heart melt the moment she opens the door, and that she has never once gotten angry or shouted. The seasons change, and the texture of the soil differs with each season. However, she says that if she aligns her entire self with the season and the soil, her complaints and dissatisfaction disappear. As Sook-hee strolls through the garden, she learns about life from the flowers as well. Even if the blooming period is short and the colors and shapes are all different, there is not a single one that is not beautiful. Therefore, thinking, "People must be the same, just as every flower is precious and beautiful," So, Sook-hee's garden, which gives spring a celebratory toss, is all the more grateful and beautiful. ■ Would there have been flowers and dew without the lotus leaves? Her husband, Hyung-beom, was a promising painter who began his career as an invited artist at the Korea Art Exhibition. As the wife of a painter, the couple opened a picture framing shop in the city due to financial difficulties, leading to a grueling daily life where they worked while sleeping only two hours a day. Then one day, Ms. Suk-hee suddenly suffered facial paralysis, and her liver condition deteriorated rapidly. Ms. Suk-hee recalled that even when she returned home to the pitch-black night, she found comfort in feeling the energy of the sunlight that had passed through the unoccupied yard during the day. For her, nature was a space that gave her the courage to change her life on her own. Her father, who had dissuaded his daughter from returning to the hardships of the mountain village after she began nurturing her dream of becoming a craftswoman as a late-blooming student, personally built a workshop on one side of the house for her as she took her first steps as a craftswoman. As the only one of five siblings to remain in the countryside to help with farming, and who never shied away from supporting her brothers who had gone to the city to study, Ms. Suk-hee’s life resembled a lotus leaf supporting flowers and dew, just as she had hoped during her school days. Perhaps that is why her works, created with clay and flowers, embody her humble heart. The life of her painter husband, Mr. Hyeong-beom, also changed. She was a Korean painter who primarily worked on figurative abstract art using elegant brushstrokes and the manipulation of ink, but now she paints pictures close to nature, focusing on valleys and pine trees, letting go of greed to fully embrace the beauty of negative space. While living in the city, she wanted to become more famous and earn more money than others, but she learned here in Cheongdo that even that was a form of greed. She learned that the flowers in her paintings bloom in their own way and are beautiful in their own right, without needing to compare themselves to others. ■ Like a single seed that shares, gives, and blooms. In the couple's garden stands a pine tree that has shared joys and sorrows with them for over 30 years, since they moved in. Because it bore an excessive amount of pine cones, many people around them worried that it was doing so to leave behind offspring before leaving. However, just like Ms. Suk-hee, who came here exhausted in body and mind to communicate with neighbors, share, and give, the pine tree continues to bear many cones every year while growing healthily. Ms. Suk-hee says that joy enjoyed alone is not true joy. Therefore, she shares and gives to both flowers and trees whenever and however much is desired by anyone. A couple hangs bird feeders for the birds visiting the garden, hoping they will survive the lean season. Perhaps sensing their unconditional desire for reward, the sight of the couple—w...