Preface_Like the touch of a needle comforting a balloon, like the heart of a carpenter rounding off a corner

1.
Don't Use That Soil (2010-2011)

"Overcoming my visual impairment, I write poetry with my heart's eye" - 〈Meiji〉
Voyager 1's Endless Voyage: Beyond the Heliosphere, Into the Unknown World_〈Voyager 1〉
90-Year-Old Grandmother: "Why Won't You Kiss Me?" Shooting Shooter _〈Kiss〉
A steel worker in his 20s from Dangjin died after falling into a blast furnace. (Don't use that molten iron.)
An old man collecting waste paper in the cold snap_〈Resurrection〉
Growing up as a missing orphan, and even losing her daughter… A mother and daughter's 'inheritance of disappearance' - "Looking for Sky"
"I Miss You, You of the North"_〈Reflections〉
Boryeong Shipyard Employee Crushed to Death by Steel Plate_〈I〉
A guide dog becomes the eyes of a blind dog, a moving sight. 〈Accompaniment〉
A worker in his 40s fell to his death while cleaning the exterior windows of a building in Yongin. (To an Unknown Friend)
World star who wears fur clothes is fiercely criticized as an "enemy of animals"_〈Fur〉
At the end of despair, a new life was born through the "Reins of Hope"_〈For Hope〉
Cloudy from the afternoon… Heavy rain expected nationwide tomorrow_〈A Good Day〉
A man in his 50s who lived alone was found dead about 10 days later. (May his soul rest in peace)
"Please Give Me Leftover Rice": The Lonely Death of a Screenwriter - "Heaven for Her"
A mother bear who killed her cubs and then committed suicide while screaming in pain_〈Crescent Moon〉
Seoul Zoo's popular star gorilla, Gorirong, passes away.
Even as people die, the Four Major Rivers Project continues to accelerate - "On the Riverbank"
64.8% of battered wives "endured it for over 10 years" (It never healed).
A deserted street in Gwanghwamun, Seoul - "I wish it were so"
The Good Deeds of the Handless Salt Merchant, Who Became the Salt of the World_〈Salt Master〉
A drunk passenger assaulted the driver, causing the taxi to crash into the pavement, killing a woman in her 20s.
Director Lee Chang-dong submits petition demanding punishment for his rat painting.
"The tithe is humanity's first social welfare tax" - 〈To the Mokjja〉
"Free childcare takes precedence over free school meals" - Choi's Conclusion
The 'Mother of Workers' Sleeps Forever_〈Majung〉
A rare muscle-stiffening disease has left me bedridden for 20 years... A world tour by the "Warm" line - "Sweet Dream"
A man in his 70s hanged himself after killing his ailing wife.
Gi-seok, a high school freshman, gave new life to six people by donating his organs. (The Rest of His Life)
Army lieutenant dies after falling during routine parachute training. (Laying Chrysanthemums)
A Happy Farmer Family with a Cow_〈The Spring of the Bull〉

2.
Life's Too Hot to Hold (2012-2015)

Poverty is inherited in Korean society... Poverty escape rate hits eight-year low_〈Boring Stories〉
Cows and pigs about to be slaughtered: "Please let me faint" - "Putting the Poison Bag on"
"The number of academies I attend has increased since the holidays"_〈On the Way to the Academy〉
A mother is indicted for stealing cherries, saying she wanted to show her child the taste of cherries. (Cherry and the General)
Jeongdong-gil in autumn rain_〈Jeongdong-gil〉
People who shout “Heaven for Jesus, Hell for non-believers.”
Why are they… _〈Evangelism〉
The newly renovated Mapo Bridge, the "Bridge of Life" - "On the Bridge"
A woman who has been searching for a man she met only once for 14 years_〈Believing in Inevitability〉
Winter rain urging spring_〈Winter Rain〉
Missing water meter reader found dead 10 days later - "Grudge sticks to your back."
I can't even control my body... The government says 'activity support is unnecessary' Small and faint_〈Crying〉
Go Min-jeong's Tears: "My Husband Has a Rare Disease" - "The Poet and His Wife"
Stepmother Beats Eight-Year-Old Daughter to Death While Wanting to Go on a Picnic_〈Picnic〉
Reeds and Lovers_〈Reeds and Lovers〉
Elderly Beware of Winter Fractures_〈Mom's Walk〉
NYT Op-Ed: "Korea's Excessive College Entrance Exam Education Is on the Level of Child Abuse" - Butterfly
The sunset is truly beautiful_〈Sunset〉
A man in his 70s died while sleeping with his boiler turned off to save on heating costs in the bitter cold. (Famous Stories)
Unraveling the Three Mysteries of Aging: Why Do We Age? (When Life Glides Through Time)
Sky, Clouds, and Birds_〈Farewell〉
The lovebird couple, captured in a kindergarten photo: "Waiting for Destiny"
Enduring the suffocating summer heat in a sweltering shantytown: "Summer in a Shack"
Today is Sohan, the coldest day of the year. "Be careful not to catch a cold."_〈Sohan〉
It's Snowing_〈It's Snowing〉
The heartbreaking story of a mother in her 70s who would rather sue her children than face legal action. 〈On the Cliff〉
The third anniversary of the late announcer Song Ji-seon's death... A wave of mourning_〈Samgyeop〉
Yoo Si-min's "Roh Moo-hyun Memorial Poem"... "Unanswered Questions"_〈Spring That Never Came〉
The "number one complex" that drives a mother's son to death_〈Raising a Baby〉
Park Jong-pal, who has been caring for his 62-year-old wife with dementia for 10 years, with laughter. (For You)
How to Deal with a Breakup_〈Breakup Tips〉
An elderly couple's happy smiles on 'Couple's Day' - "Grandma, it's refreshing" - 〈Salt Farm〉
"Cruel Poetry" Controversy: 10-Year-Old Girl Says, "Poetry is Just Poetry" - "Knowing Nothing"
People Afraid of Winter_〈Winter in the Staircase Kingdom〉
Design Seoul Project: Taking the Road Away for the Visually Impaired_〈Salvage〉
"Lonely Seniors"... One in Five Seniors Over 65 Live Alone - 〈Phone Call〉
Life on Earth Came from Extraterrestrial Space_〈From a Foreign Land〉
Winter Sea_〈Winter Sea〉
Seven camels through the eye of a needle... The microscopic sculptor's "Sufficient Qualification" is a hot topic.
The forgotten April snowstorm_〈Flower Spring〉
Star Counting Night_〈To the Boy〉
For a Two-Year-Old Girl Who Received an Artificial Airway Transplant_〈To the Little Cormorant〉
Hannah's funeral photos released: "Seeing her smile brings tears to my eyes again" - "Sending Hannah Away"
"Some dolphins have died after falling from a jump." _〈What's Trapped Cries Out〉
Southern right whales 'Jedoli' and 'Chunsami' found freedom_〈Dangbu〉
Autumn rain urging winter on_〈Ipdong〉
A man in his 40s living in a container was found dead a week later. "I left without seeing him off."
The Dog Who Saved His Owner's Life After Being Stranded in the Snow - "My Dear Friend"
The Cry of a Day Laborer Living Hand to Hand_〈Unpaid〉
"To the man who bought me panties, Lee Geun-an..."_〈Memories of a Torture Technician〉
A large-scale Sewol Ferry memorial rally was held in Seoul. (Leaving Home)
Reporter Lee Sang-ho wiping away tears_〈Thoughts on the Pier〉
Pilgrimage group calls for the Sewol ferry to be salvaged. "Please don't forget." _〈What We Don't Do〉
The Secret of Cicada Sounds: Different Species Have Different Sounds_〈To Cicadas〉

3.
As the fingertips go, recklessly

Do you know the comment poet Zepetto?
For seven years, comment poet Zepeto has moved countless people by leaving poetic comments on news articles.
A warm gaze toward the pain of the little things that no one notices and the loneliness of the marginalized.

There are comments that people deliberately seek out and read.
People gave the nickname 'comment poet' to the netizen who uses the name 'Zepetto'.
In 2010, a news article about a young man in his 20s working at a steel company who fell into a furnace filled with molten iron at over 1,600 degrees Celsius and died without a trace, prompted Geppetto to write a eulogy titled “Don’t Use That Molten Iron” to mourn the young man’s death.
The poem touched the hearts of many online, and some people started a fundraising campaign to erect a statue in memory of the young man, similar to Geppetto's poem, while others agreed that social awareness was needed to prevent such unjust sacrifices from happening again.
One comment can make people think, act, and change.
It was the power of words.

The young man was overcome with madness.
/ Don't use that molten metal.
// Do not make cars, / Do not make streetlights, / Do not make steel bars, / Do not make needles.
// It's a pity and tears, so how can I write it?
// Don't use that molten metal / Call a kind sculptor / Make a clay sculpture of your face when you were alive / Pour the molten metal over it, let it cool in the rain / And polish it with care / And set it up in front of the main gate.
// Sometimes, Mom comes to visit / and says, "Let me touch my baby's face."
-Full text of "Don't Use That Soap"

Comment poet Zepetto continued to leave comments in the form of poetry.
Netizens captured and shared his poems and deliberately searched for and read his comments.
It's already been 7 years, and there have been over 120 comments.
In a world of comments full of insults and slander, he bravely expressed his thoughts beautifully and painfully.
His writing, which started as a comment, became a book, an unprecedented collection of comment poems, “Don’t Use That Soy Sauce” (published by Suo Bookstore).

In the process of organizing my past writings, I was able to realize anew how many things have happened in the world we live in.
There was a middle-aged father who fell to his death while cleaning the exterior of a building, the unfortunate death of an unknown screenwriter, the now-clichéd verdict of not guilty before the death penalty, a poor mother who was arrested for stealing cherries meant for her child, the screams of livestock brutally buried alive during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the helpless high-altitude protests of day laborers who were not paid their wages, the mother of a martyr who dedicated her life to the neglected workers and returned to heaven, lonely deaths without a farewell, the deaths of over 300 people whose truth remains unknown even two years after the ship sank…
Oh, we lost so much love that spring.

And that's not all.
The harsh lives of irregular workers, the swamp-like low-wage quagmire, working hours that don't allow dinner, the delinquency of children abandoned and forgotten in the midst of it all, the poverty that ends up being passed down because no solution is found, the endless tyranny of those who monopolize wealth in the midst of all this, the stars competing to show off their flashy mansions, perhaps with the intention of driving us crazy, and the irony of issues that should be addressed seriously being consumed by superficial ones. Every morning, opening the internet browser felt like opening Pandora's box, and the world that unfolded before my eyes felt like the center of a madhouse.
_From the introduction

Geppetto focuses on the pain and loneliness of small things that no one notices, and the wounds and death of the marginalized.
But I didn't turn away from the signs of hope.
News of spring flowers arriving without fail, news of rain ending the drought, the salt pan saint who toiled with his own body to share the salt he had worked so hard to produce with his neighbors, and the firefighters who willingly went into danger to save lives, confirmed my newfound purpose and hope for living.
As he put it, he looked at the world 'like the touch of a needle comforting a balloon, like the heart of a carpenter rounding off a corner.'
Like the carpenter Geppetto who carved Pinocchio from rough wood, he carved the rough world into poetry with his consistent sensibility.


His writing that many netizens wanted to see again
His first poetry collection to comfort our wounded and frozen hearts!
"Now is the time for us, for ourselves, to weep like dumb beasts."

Zepeto's comments are always followed by other comments.
“This is the first time I cried after reading a comment.” “I came here specifically to read the comments.” “Whenever I feel down, I search for and read Zepetto’s poems.” His comments are ‘comments that I search for and read on purpose.’
The title comment, “Don’t use that molten metal,” received over 400 comments.
“I saw it in an article five years ago, and it suddenly came to mind today.
“Five years have passed, but our society still hasn’t changed.” “It’s been years since I’ve read this poem, but it’s still so moving.” Comments from people who return after a while also stand out.

It was netizens who called his writings 'poetry' and it was also netizens who called him a 'comment poet'.
However, the title 'poet' was not given simply because of the form of writing.
Because his writings touch our hearts, sometimes making our hearts ache, and sometimes restoring frozen emotions.
Today's weather, stock market price ceilings, accidents, celebrity news, and other news from the world that are no different from yesterday's, noisy and horrific, and we tend to skim over them without a second thought. He expressed the news with the delicate sensibility of a poet, as if seeing it for the first time, with surprise and sorrow as if we would never see it again.

This book is a compilation of his commentary poems and poems posted on his personal blog from 2010 to 2015.
As an ordinary netizen, he wants to continue writing comment poems as he has done so far.
Many people are curious, but this is also the reason why he did not reveal his name or occupation.
He still comments on internet news articles and is active on his blog.
Regarding the recent screen door incident at Guui Station, he wrote on his blog, 'I am reminded once again that I must not be ashamed of the days I live.
He left his feelings, saying, 'Until a world where people can live like people comes, I will be a little more impatient and a little more angry.'
Dreaming of a “world where people live like people,” Geppetto’s poetry, which raises the level of emotion in the face of the world’s pouring tragedies, gives modern people, who have been running forward without any purpose, an opportunity to feel with their hearts what is important.