By Korea.net Honorary Reporters Theresia Kurniawan and Stephanie Pradnyaparamita from Indonesia
Photos = Korean Cultural Center in Indonesia

Where is the flower that blooms without quivering?
Any of the beautiful flowers of this world
all bloom while being quivered
They quiver on the stems that grow upright
Where is the love that goes without quivering?

Have you ever heard this poem before? The title is “No Flower Blooms without Wavering” (흔들리며 피는 꽃). This poem is one of Korea's famous poems that is featured in some Korean textbooks. This is one of the poems written by Do Jonghwan, the current Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea. Before being appointed as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2017, he was already well-known as a poet in Korea.

There have been so many Korea-related events in Indonesia recently especially in Jakarta due to the Asian Games and Asian Para Games. Some events are held to create a special atmosphere not only for Indonesians who love Korean culture, but also for Koreans who currently live in Jakarta and of course for all the athletes, officials and partners that flew all the way from Korea to participate in the Asian Games. On August 18 two Korea.net Honorary Reporters from Indonesia were lucky enough to be able to attend and witness Minister Do's speech which started by delivering this famous poem.

Theresia felt so surprised when Minister Do asked the crew to replay the background pictures and music right after a performer recited the poem. A moment later, he started to recite the poem and everyone in the audience was amazed by it. People said his poems are not difficult to understand and it’s so true. Despite her basic Korean language ability, she still could understand the meaning of the poem and was moved by it. For her, this poem teaches a life lesson. It tells us that in order to get a good life we need to survive hardships just like a flower that blooms after quivering for a long time.

Just like Theresia, Stephanie was surprised too when she realized that Minister Do was about to start his speech by reading his poem. She recently enjoyed Korean poems due to the Korean soap operas “A Poem A Day” (시를 잊은 그대에게) and never imagine to be able to see with her own eyes and hear with her own ears a poem being read by its poet. Even though that was her first time hearing this poem, she felt so moved by it. It reminds her and encourages her to keep learning and challenging herself to grow even though there must be some obstacles that make her quiver. This is actually also relevant for the athletes especially when they want to reach a certain goal. They need to practice more and more even though it must be hard especially when the quality and the quantity of practices are raised and sometimes they face an injury, too.

This event ended with a photo session together with Minister Do. Theresia got an unforgettable moment at that time. She was wearing hanbok due to performing pansori with her classmates in the beginning of the session and Minister Do congratulated her too for giving a great performance of “Jindo Arirang” that left her speechless for a second after hearing such a complimentary from the minister.



wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.