Author: soonuk2

Coat of Arms of Romania View from the Palace of the Parliament A corner of the Palace of the Parliament building. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Palace is the world’s largest civilian administrative building, most expensive administrative building, and heaviest building. It houses 1,100 rooms and the rooms are huge. The staircase leading to the ground floor of the building. Decoration on the bench in a park. Bucuresti is how the city is called in Romania. The climate was almost the same as that of Seoul. The Romanian Athenaum, opened in 1888, is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest. Thus the names of renown artists around the building. (see below) Molière was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. His real name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. I think you know who Beethoven is. Transportation The distance between Bucharest and Cernavoda: 160km. Romania is about twice as large as South Korea. Its population is about 1/2 of South Korea. Gas station where we had our lunch. I liked the clean look of the whole presentation of the building and the interior. First electric tram was introduced in Romania in 1899. Korean tram system first appeared in Seoul the same year. I cannot help but wonder how and where they produced electricity at that time. People In a meeting. Identities obscured. On the move. Identities obscured. I am sorry for the four persons whose identities were not fully obscured. Inside the gas station. The girl in the corner seemed to be working on her eyelashes. I didn’t get to check what the sculpture was about. Reflections Working on Gucci logo. Airplane I took Turkish Airlines all the way. I stopped by Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, which is the 16th busiest in the world in terms of international passenger traffic. The airport was named in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder and the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Engine of Airbus A320-200. According to the price list (pdf) published by Airbus, this airplane costs $85 million. Fresh salad with olive oil + lemon dressing was quite nice. Menu Menu at the gas station. FYI, 3 Lei = 1 US Dollar. Lunch at the cafeteria in the Parliament building. Local food was great. Have a Good Rest I wondered what was the point of having a picture of a building next to the bed. Does it symbolize anything? Stability? Symmetric beauty? Classical orderliness? ©2011 All photos by Soonuk Jung, using either Canon 5D Mk II or Canon PowerShot SX210 IS.]]>

On my way to Incheon Airport @12,000 Won.]]>

1911년에 태어나 100세가 되는 2011년 오늘날에도 의사로서 왕성하게 활동하는 히노하라 시게아키 (日野原 重明) 박사의 존재를 불과 한 달 여 전에 우연히 알게 된 후 이 분이 저술한 책을 계속 구해 읽고 있다. 가장 최근에 읽은 것은 “죽음을 어떻게 살 것인가?” (김옥라 역, 궁리 간, 원제 死をどう生きたか). 이 책은 저자가 오랜 기간 동안 의사로서 일하면서 가까이서 직접 임종을 지켜본 환자들의 이야기를 엮은 내용이다. Presentation Zen의 저자 Garr Reynolds의 책에서 종종 언급되는 선(禪)학자 스즈키 다이세츠의 임종에 관한 이야기도 나와서 깜짝 놀랐다. 죽음에 관한 이야기는 일상의 대화에서는 금기시되는 듯, 그 구체적인 내용이 화제에 오르는 일이 드물고, 심지어 장례식장에 가서도 고인의 임종 과정에 대한 이야기는 좀처럼 하지 않는 것이 관례처럼 되어 있어서 평소에 아쉬움이 많았다. 이 책에서는 의사에 관점에서 바라본 의학적 서술과 아울러 살아온 일평생을 정리하는 과정에서 환자와 주변 사람들이 주고받는 세심한 배려에 대한 꼼꼼한 기록이 들어 있어 그동안 내가 막연하게 생각했던 임종에 대해 좀 더 구체적인 이해를 하는데 크게 도움이 되었다. 제작년 말, 가까운 친척분께서 암으로 고생하시다가 임종하셨다. 암치료 과정에서 수척해지시고 무척 아파하시는 동안 나로서는 상황 파악도 안 되고 무슨 말씀을 드려야 하는지 몰라 자주 찾아뵙지도 못하고, 간혹 찾아뵙더라도 멀찌기 서서 아무 말도 못하고 어색하게 서있을 수 밖에 없었던 안타까운 기억이 있다. 일찍 이 책을 읽었더라면 고통 중에 계셨던 친척분께 좀 더 가까이 다가갈 수 있지 않았을까 생각해 본다.]]>

There are times when you pick up a book almost by an accident, perhaps lured only by its cover or the title but without too much expectation, and then fall in love with the book or with the author. Atul Gawande’s Complications and Dr. Hinohara Shigeaki’s 日野原重明の「こころ」と「からだ」の相談室―60歳からの幸せ問答 are such books. Both books were picked up at bookstores without planning for it. I ended up reading books after books written by these authors. Such accidental discovery can lead to expanding one’s own web of favorite themes in book reading. For instance, Dr. Hinohara Shigeaki kept praising Sir William Osler as his mentor repeatedly in his books. So now I have started reading a biography, “William Osler: A Life in Medicine“, written by Michael Bliss. Sometimes you pick up a book on the web without giving much thought and then find out it was a gem. Recently, I was trying to check if there was a Kindle version of Resonate (Nancy Duarte) then saw Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal (Oren Klaff) was on the top of the Amazon list in its category (Resonate was #2). Without giving much thought–otherwise I usually crosscheck the references and try to find out more about an unfamiliar author making purchases–, I just bought it and started reading it right away. I was surprised to find the book so engaging. I would recommend this book to those interested in improving one’s presentation skills. The book sheds light on the certain aspect of presentation that is not covered by Presentation Zen (Garr Reynolds) and Resonate. (I actually wish my competitors would not read this book.) I do not quite remember how I came to read The Gift of Pain (written by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey) a few years ago. It was one of the most inspiring and enlightening books I have read in the past 10 years. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in design strategy or design research. Last week, I finished reading a biography of Dr. Brand, Ten Fingers for God: The Life and Work of Dr. Paul Brand, written by Ms. Dorothy Clarke Wilson. It was also very good. (Perhaps better read after reading The Gift of Pain.) Of course, impulse buying of books does not always end up being a successful one. But when it does, you are surprised by joy.]]>

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From the trip to San Francisco. At a reception at the residence of Swiss Ambassador in Seoul, Korea. A gift from Mrs. Adams to her class students in ca. May 1976. The book survived 35 years. Soap bubble. From an exhibition at Gyeonggi Provincial Museum. Their information design was pretty well done (though not shown here). Lian’s drawing of a face. A fantastic view from the airplane on the way to Yeosu. It reads “To take Central Line, do not go down this stair. – Station Master” – The way Oksu Station is built often provides cognitive challenge for those who want to transfer from Line 3 to Central Line. Thus, the need for this confusing instruction. “We won’t be responsible for lost shoes.” – In some Korean restaurants, customers will take their shoes off and leave them at the entrance. Once in a while, shoes do get lost or stolen. The largest post on this restroom door reads “Close the door securely.” Some restrooms are not for public access and keys would be needed to use the restrooms. Thus the reminder to close the door shut (which will often be locked automatically). An exhibition on the design of Korean fonts at the Library in NHN Green Factory, Bundang, Korea. Gate at Min’s Club in Insadong, Seoul, Korea. Wooden door frames at Min’s Club. An old radio at Min’s Club “The ultimate meetings offer is being able to choose from options, not having to negotiate them.” Very expensive rubber shoes at Crocs shop in Etaewon, Seoul, Korea. Dry flowers prepared by Mom. Bamtosil Library, a very small children’s library run by a pastor of a local church in a small town outside Seoul. The library is actually a very lovely place. A tiny table decoration at a reception at the church. Skyscrapers at Shiodome, Tokyo, Japan, close to Dentsu Headquarter buildings. Tap water at Villa Fontaine Hotel is “Good to drink”. I didn’t try it, though. Tap water in the airplane to Tokyo was “No drinking water.” I introduced two friends of mine to each other some time ago. They got married this month. Sweet Omija punch with bits of apple floating on top.]]>

God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac in a sacrifice. Denying the natural instinct to protect the life of one’s child is never easy.

God expected that Job would be loyal to Him while allowing Job to be mercilessly grilled in loss, pain, and, especially, confusion.

God asked Jonah to preach the words of repentance to the people of Nineveh whom Jonah hated so much. Overcoming the deeply ingrained emotion of hatred is never easy for anyone.

God extended His hands of protection only after Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, not before. Having to face the threat of life in front of hungry wild beasts is never easy. Remember that fear could be as debilitating as the pain itself.

God allowed the three friends of Daniel to be actually thrown into the furnace that was as seven times as hot as usual. Prior to that, they were given a chance to compromise their belief. Refusing the sweet temptation of relief in the front of an imminent punishment is never easy.

God, through Elijah, asks a single mother to give up a portion of her last meal that she was going to prepare for her and her child before expecting to starve to death afterwards. (I Kings 17:8-15)

It was rather natural for the people on the hill of Golgotha to expect God to save Jesus from the crucifixion if Jesus really was the Messiah that he claimed to be. Instead, Jesus suffered the whole blow fully and thoroughly and died at last. The night before, Jesus prayed to God asking, if possible, that he would be spared from this dreadful misery. It was God’s wish and expectation to let all this happen to Jesus.

It is almost like God putting us on a collision course and actually let the collision happen. It is only after the painful collision that He gives us an escape, or a cure, or a resurrection. It tells me that I shouldn’t expect the life of believing God would be any easy for me. In a sense, I should be expecting for a very harsh treatment in life if I were to live a life of obedience. Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he said the road that leads to life is narrow and the gate small.   *transposted from facebook note]]>