Mr.Choi, journalist, movie critic, and free spirit from Seoul, with considerable knowledge on the super-fast Korean society and amazing life experiences in his background.
I meet Mr. Choi a few days before his new upcoming adventure in Europe begins. Probably the last time I see this truly unique and interesting character, at least for a while…
Met here in Seoul about 3 years ago, one of the very few people I can consider as a friend in South Korea. I was immediately fascinated by his passionately anarchist personality and his free spirit, without compromise, always looking to break down the walls of conformity ignorance that reigns supreme everywhere in our societies and from which it seems we no longer have a way to get rid of it.
Born in Seoul just over half a century ago, he grew up in an area that was then quite poor, where many workers from different regions of South Korea, especially the Jeolla province, had come to find work in the factories that had sprung up in this area.
He graduated in history from Korea University in the capital of the Asian peninsula and in the meantime he studied and passed the exam to become a journalist. “I lost a year of studies because I spent it with a girl I loved, we were always together and I had no time to dedicate except to her, the study was in the background and I was unable to pass the entrance exam to the university.” From here you can start to glimpse the romantic, nonconformist spirit and contemptuous of social rules that has always characterized Mr. Choi’s life.
“But I couldn’t afford to fail again, I had to pass the exam at any cost or my working life would have been disastrously compromised.” So he decides to devote himself entirely to studying, which his girlfriend did not appreciate and soon the relationship found its own end. “She told me that I had become boring and then she left me. So I promised myself, out of revenge, that she would see me again, whatever the cost, like it or not … so I decided to become a television journalist!”. This actually happened, the girl saw him on TV and called him back 10 years after the last time they met, but they were both now married.
So a bit for revenge and a bit for passion Mr. Choi began his career as a television reporter for the Korean national channel YTN news. “I was involved in sports: football, basketball and golf. I liked the first two a lot, but golf … it was like hell, I couldn’t stand the environment. So after a few years, I decided to quit and change my job. “
“I started working for a magazine and since I’ve always been passionate about films, I became the head of the movie section. It was the happiest part of my life. I went around the world as a correspondent at various film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice. I interviewed several actors in America and it was all based on my passion.”
Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet and the crisis that involved magazines around 2007, Mr. Choi had to leave his job to start one of his umpteenth adventures as a freelancer, continuing with his passion for cinema, he became a movie critic. “During this period they called me on television and radio broadcasts as a critic and I often also wrote for television productions. A very satisfying period both in terms of my professional career and in terms of the money earned. I was also contacted again by the YTN TV channel with which I collaborated and made historical and cultural documentaries until a few months ago”
I wanted to ask him something more about his private life, starting with his long marriage recently ended: “We got married too early, mainly due to the pressure that my in-laws were putting on my wife and me. We didn’t have time to think and we found ourselves married. Unfortunately, today I recognize that it was a mistake. We stayed 24 years together and only recently got divorced, as it was never easy to get away from her.” A characteristic that I have found in many married couples that I have met here, not very happy and where the social pressure too often has directed them towards making a family with someone who was not really to be considered as a soul mate…
We start talking about life in the super-fast South Korea society: “It’s all quite a mess … the development process has been too fast, people are just chasing money nowadays. The past was totally destroyed in 10 or 20 years. I remember before that we met and helped each other between neighbors, a sort of collectivity and community where we respected each other. Now the other people are basically seen as an obstacle.” Sometimes the obstacle is also physical, I have had some experiences of people who literally moved me, pushing me to make their way … not exactly a good behavior. “In today’s society there is no time to think, everything is so fast. There is a lot of pressure from the system and the mainstream, especially from how others see themselves. It is very important for Koreans not to lose face and always appear as good and excellent people, always making a good impression.” Even when the behaviors are rude and inappropriate I would add …
I am interested in knowing a positive feature of today’s South Korea society. After a few moments of perplexity, which suggests frustration and distrust, he replies: “Difficult to find … a strength we have here in South Korea is our energy, really intense.” I fully agree, one of the few things I appreciate here is their passion and energy, which if focused and directed on something good can lead, in my opinion, to really interesting and positive changes and developments. Unfortunately, for now, it does not seem to me that this has happened yet here given the level of dissatisfaction of the people, especially here in Seoul.
So I ask what is a negative characteristic….much easier to find… “People take too much into consideration what others think of them and believe too much in the media.” Features that I have found a little in all the cultures I have met, but that in fact here in the Asian peninsula are perhaps a little more excessive. In fact, losing face here in Korea is not just a personal matter, it is something that affects the whole family and can be a serious social problem. One thing that has always fascinated me about Mr. Choi is the fact that I have never seen him seek the approval of other people and he has never been afraid to put his face when expressing everything he has always wanted to express, in the face of the people, even if unpopular and inadequate ideas, always ready to throw punches at a society that is sleeping too much. Strength of a unique person especially considering his notoriety due to the presence in the various television and radio media and the type of society in which he lives in, as mentioned above.
But now he’s starting to get sick and tired of it.
Do you think there will be some changes? Also this time, from the expression on his face, I do not expect a too positive response: “It is difficult to change, I am rather pessimistic.” I was expecting it and I understand and agree with his thoughts. “I thought about leaving South Korea, I’ve been looking for a new way of life for at least two years. I found a new project but then … Coronavirus…” Last year for one of his documentaries he found himself on the island of Vanuatu in the southern Pacific Ocean. “I was there to document the lives of some Koreans living in Vanuatu, to show to those who are tired of living everyday life that there are other ways of living, that there are other possibilities. From my very first step on the island I immediately perceived a feeling of peace, Vanuatu is a paradise! Above all, the way people live, without stress, without having to think too much about tomorrow, living in the present. They seemed happy to me. Happiness related to the simplicity of life, they are not greedy and this thing struck me a lot.” The project is about the construction of an eco-compatible resort as a first step, and then to create a sort of village for artists. “I would like to make money with the resort and be able to call artists from all over the world and offer them a free space where they can stay and express their art and creativity”. This was the project, which should have started in mid-2020, but then the virus changed everything… “It is impossible to enter Vanuatu, the island is closed until early 2021. So I decided to try other projects here in Seoul in the meantime, but that, unfortunately, didn’t work. I felt like I was unable to live here in Korea. One day I woke up and made the decision to go to Europe for 3 months, waiting for the end of the year, to analyze my life and my past to become lighter and find a new philosophy.”
Definitely a difficult time for everyone, a planetary stalemate in a year from the script for billions of people that seems to come out of a bad horror science fiction movie.
I ask him if he had ever thought of retracing his steps and living a safer life as a normal salaried worker again: “I don’t want to go back, I still prefer my freelance life, I still make some appearances on TV and radio sometimes. I don’t want a life where I have to depend on a boss. I’m not scared, in fact, I’m excited about finding a new lifestyle. I’m just a little worried about the financial side, about the possibilities of being broke. Hence the Vanuatu project next year, to make money and create some economic stability.” A problem that I found frightens and creates anxiety in all those who think of changing their life: money. You are not sure if you will be able to survive … but in most cases you continue to live and, although you may encounter some more difficulties and setbacks, the satisfactions are greater than the regrets that you will have for never having tried.
What makes you feel alive? “A good emotional connection with others, especially with women! Love and curiosity. Although it is difficult to find someone to have a good match and relationship with, especially here in South Korea where things are a little complicated and stressful when it comes to male-female relationships.”
What is life for you? “Ten years ago I would have replied that it was just a burden and a problem, today I can say that it is a gift from the universe. You have to try to be happy every day.”
I am curious to know why his lifestyle and his free way of thinking are so out of the ordinary, a completely unusual and frightening lifestyle, especially here in Korea. Where if you are not aligned with social patterns you can have many problems. “People often think with what the media has put into their heads. I have always tried to have my own personal opinion on everything, I have read many books that have opened my mind and helped to find my way of thinking. Anyone who is not aligned with common thinking is seen almost as an enemy, which one must get rid of. When I post something on Facebook a lot of people react violently, I have lots of scars because of what they said against me.”
And what makes your spirit a free spirit? “The art. I like watching movies every day, I also really like theater, musicals and all forms of artistic expression. Art is something out of the ordinary and unusual, it always gives me a new point of view and stimulates thinking in a different way. Books give me the strategy and art the energy to be free.” Very interesting point of view and on which to reflect a lot!
Before you leave us, what do you want to tell the people who are reading us, what can they learn from your experience? “Don’t stop, never! Keep trying to accomplish what you want to accomplish, think and act differently, in your own way. Study, read, be passionate about art and meet different people, talk to them and discuss. So of great importance: art, books and people.”
I would happily keep on talking and interviewing Mr. Choi for more hours, but for now, I think what he said is enough. As can be seen from his answers and what he said, he is definitely a person who believes in the independence and personal autonomy of each of us and who is always looking for a way to improve himself. By making mistakes, facing them and with new energy change things in favor of a better and happier life.
In these 3 years of friendship, he has definitely been a man that I have always respected for his inner strength and his free-thinking. A real free spirit.
Good luck with future projects and never stop!
