Reflections on the Pen Name: Jeoksong

In the depths of a cold winter, nestled in a sunlit mountain valley of Uljin,
there stands a tree growing slowly, its roots sunk deep into the steep southern slope.
The wind is fierce, and the snow is heavy—
yet the jeoksong (red pine) bends but does not break.
It grows slowly, but it grows straight.

Only after enduring more than a hundred years of harsh conditions
does the red pine become a Geumgangsong—the finest of pines.
Only the trees that withstand the weight of time
are chosen to become the beams and pillars of palaces, enduring for a thousand years.

Looking back, my life has been far from smooth.
I didn’t always take the easy path;
at times, I chose to walk unfamiliar, roundabout roads.
And each time, people would ask,
“Why go that way? Why make things harder for yourself?”

But now, I understand.
That bitter winter deepened my roots.
And it was precisely because of the trials
that I could grow stronger, steadier.

Youth will shake, at times.
But don’t be too disheartened.

A tree that grows upright
will, someday, find the place where it truly belongs.