A Palace of Memory is Finally Built Within Me

📖 Everything Starts with the Basics - Son Woong-jung

The image I’d arbitrarily imagined of Son Heung-min’s father, Son Woong-jung, was that of a harsh father: extremely strict, stubborn, always seeming angry, and dedicating his life to his son’s success.

But to my surprise, the man who appeared on You Quiz on the Block was a complete revelation.

First, a mischievous grin often played on his face, he laughed easily, and he came across as a solid, deeply insightful person who truly loved his family.

Then I read his book, and again, what a surprise! His life philosophy is as profound as any monk’s – simple and unadorned.

Someone who believes in the power of books and doesn’t just walk past good sayings written above urinals in public restrooms – he’s exactly my kind of person.

When I feel lazy in life, I should use his words as a wake-up call!

📝 Thoughts and Sentences I Liked

pg.31

To possess something is to be possessed by it.

People are mistaken. They think, ‘I possess something.’

But if you consider the energy poured into that possession,

we are, in fact, constantly losing something.

pg.43

Life is truly like the old man’s horse. There’s no need to boast during good times, nor to despair prematurely during bad situations.

pg.44

I was no longer a soccer player, nor a professional athlete. There was no clever solution. I had to do something. Despair and wandering didn’t suit my nature. It was all useless. Yes, let’s figure out how to live.

pg.52

Besides exercise and cleaning, another thing I’ve consistently done is read books. Whenever I had free time, I’d always open a book. Perhaps it’s because I was ignorant and uneducated, but I felt satisfied only when I read, learned, and accumulated knowledge within myself. Even now, if I go to a public restroom and see good words written above a urinal, I can’t just leave. I’ll look around, thinking, ‘There are good words here, so there must be good words elsewhere.’ I read all the good sayings written above every empty urinal before I leave. It’s been like that since I was a child, and it’s still the same. There’s no reason to miss an opportunity to read and learn. Books contained countless answers. Reading books felt like organizing the trivial tasks of the day and solving the mysteries of the world I was curious about. They tidied up my complicated mind as if cleaning it, and untangled one by one the convoluted problems. Through reading, I communicated with the world and gained mental strength from within books. Basic and regular habits that maintain mental order provide the strength to endure difficult times. If the mind becomes disorganized, poverty and suffering also multiply.

pg.91

The reason I don’t often tell Heung-yoon and Heung-min stories from my childhood is that everyone has their share of hardships, and I’m cautious that it might come across as if I’m showing off, as if I’ve experienced all the suffering in the world. Someone might even say, ‘Is that even considered hardship?’ I am careful, very careful. Even if I’ve endured hardships, there are countless people who have suffered more than I have.

pg.99

When life becomes irregular, thoughts also become disorganized. No matter if you’re unemployed and broke, there’s always something to do. Everyone always has tasks piling up. It’s important to deal with things as they come. There’s a German proverb that says, ‘Morning hours bring gold.’ I try to handle all important tasks in the morning if possible. If tasks pile up and I can’t prioritize, I lose my way, which is why I still do ‘exercise,’ the most important thing in my complex situation, in the early morning hours. Afternoon or evening hours might bring unexpected appointments or schedule changes. But the early morning is solely my time. Only I am awake, only I exist. It’s a time undisturbed by anyone.

pg.111

I wanted my children to live the lives they truly desired, not to live for money. If money followed that path, great; if not, it couldn’t be helped. But if the roles were reversed, and they lived a life chasing only money without time to think about what they truly liked, could that truly be called living their own lives? Of course, financial issues are very important. I myself have suffered greatly from them. However, a life spent worrying and fretting about the uncertainties of the future is not a complete life.

“Live your life. Live your own proactive life.”

Even if you don’t earn as much money as others, you shouldn’t miss out on what you truly love. You must proactively set the direction of your life, earn your own time instead of being buried by money, and do what you genuinely enjoy.

pg.125

Just as Lincoln said he would spend four hours sharpening his axe if given six hours to chop down a tree, achieving something requires a long period of preparation. Some people dismiss those who dedicate a long time to mastering the basics as foolish, but in my opinion, fundamental skills possess higher efficiency than any other method. Trying to chop down a tree faster with a dull axe for a hundred days will only exhaust you and waste time.

pg.139

Books that I’ve underlined so heavily the paper is almost torn and filled with dense notes in the margins are discarded immediately after I finish writing my reading journal. This is partly because they become too tattered to lend or pass on to anyone, but also because I don’t want to appear as if I’m showing off my reading by displaying them on a bookshelf. All of this is my unique way of organizing books. As I repeatedly read my reading journal whenever I have time, a palace of memory is finally built within me.

pg.159

Don’t get lost and wander within success.

That is complacency.

There’s still a long way to go for that.

Don’t think about success first; think about your growth.

**

pg.195

Knowing when to quit is also courage. Otherwise, the path of life becomes tangled.

**

pg.200

After our simple breakfast for three, Heung-min leaves for practice, and from then on, I clean every corner of the house with a vacuum cleaner. I dedicate over two hours to cleaning, and this cleaning time is a period of contemplation for me. I organize my thoughts, come up with ideas, and reflect on past events. It’s like a walk, and sometimes like meditation. Amidst the repetitive motions, my rippling mind becomes calmly ordered, and answers to questions I didn’t know were hidden well up like a spring. I truly love that time. After finishing the cleaning, I do an hour and a half of personal exercise, then it’s lunchtime. In the afternoon, I read books. On days when Heung-min doesn’t have a game, I go to bed at 8:30 PM after dinner, but on game days, I wait for Heung-min until dawn, check his physical condition, and care for him so he can rest comfortably, then go to bed around 3 AM. That is my daily routine.

pg.214

“‘If you want to survive there, you cannot be lazy or idle, or do things the same way as others. If you sleep when others sleep, eat when others eat, and play when others play, you will never get ahead of others.”

Success is prepaid. That much is clear. Success has the potential to arrive 10, 15, or 20 years later if I’ve paid something in advance 10 or 15 years prior. Success won’t suddenly appear before me one day if I haven’t made that payment beforehand. When I asked about Heung-min’s day and encouraged him, he thankfully listened to my advice. Heung-min worked hard, persevered, and adapted.

pg.227

It’s never too late to meet yourself in an unfamiliar place. The moment you realize that a different world, a different life exists beyond the world and ways you knew, you become infinitely humble. You also realize that the reason you were able to live this way was all due to good fortune.

pg.251

“‘Success’ is not what we should be thinking about.

‘Growth’ is what we should always be thinking about.

Looking at Heung-min, I only hope that he grows a little more next season than this season.

Since there’s no end to growth,

if he improves little by little, I ask for nothing more.

Throughout his career as a player,

he must always believe that his best day is ahead and strive for it.

Even if he scores a goal, wins a match, or wins a championship,

what needs to be done right now is

to prepare for the next game.

pg.259

Not to scold out of emotion. Not to damage their character. I tried to uphold what might seem obvious. I spoke consistently and made sure the reasons were clear. Although they are my children, their lives are different from mine, so I was cautious. It’s still the same now. Looking at my grown-up children, I recognize my limitations every day.

pg.267

Every person is different. Each possesses a unique personality. I recall the words of poet Kim Yong-taek.

“A tree has no front. The side you look at is the front. A tree has no boundaries. Everything flows through it. A tree is complete every time you look at it, and different every time you look at it.”

Children are like that, each a single tree.

pg.274

What do we live for? Do we work for money, or for our existence? Life is a fleeting journey, a short existence that passes before our eyes like a shot arrow; should we live a life of self-exploitation? When I see people bustling along the street, I wonder: What is their movement for?

pg.276

Becoming unwavering or knowing the will of heaven doesn’t happen automatically with age. Instead of following your heart, you must examine it daily to control it yourself. Don’t follow where your mind wavers; you must take the lead and steer the flow of your own mind. For a peaceful mind, unshaken by all temptations.

For all these efforts, to find the way, I turn to books. Books are what can overcome everything. The conclusion is: books. Reading is conversing with people from different countries, different generations, and different environments. What could be better than that? Reading cannot be emphasized enough. Many people say they don’t have time to read, or time to exercise. A lazy person will starve to death even with a rice cake shop next door. (Omission) When books pile up on my bookshelf, it feels like a grain storehouse filling up. So much to read! It was books that helped me grow, mature, and change. Books have the power to change our lives. As I said before, the benefits I’ve received from books are immense.