The documentary director of KBS's "Documentary 3 Days" and tvN's "You Quiz on the Block"
How to not lose focus in life amidst the turmoil of the world, learned from living with countless people for 18 years.

This book contains what the documentary director of KBS's "Documentary 3 Days" and tvN's "You Quiz on the Block" has learned from wise adults he has met on the street over the past 18 years.
The author has traveled the world with a camera for 18 years, meeting countless people on the streets, from homeless people to presidents.
And they told the author about their honest and sincere life stories, which they proved through their lives without being discouraged by any hardships in life.

Those words encouraged the author when he was exhausted from struggling to be recognized, and when he was lost and wandering, they told him that there was much to learn from the path he was on, and that no experience was wasted.
Above all, those words taught me how to move forward, one step at a time, in my own way in an unfair and unreasonable world.
Among them, I selected 57 of the most encouraging words and included them in this book.
The author says that thanks to those words, he was able to become stronger.

“I hope the words that held me at some point in my life reach you.
So I hope these words will give you strength when you feel lost.
And just for today, may I be able to offer words of understanding instead of criticism, words of warm encouragement instead of indifferent silence, and words of leisure instead of hasty words.”

As a species, we humans may have a cosmic mission, but as individuals, we have only one purpose.
Why, they say that when a human is born, they are born with a calling.
Its uses in the world, things like that.
There is no such thing.
Being born is for a purpose.
The purpose was served.
So what is the time we're living in now? It's a bonus game God sent us because he loves us.
It's not about 'I'll be happy tomorrow' or 'I'll be better tomorrow', it's about 'Today is enough'.

--- From "I already fulfilled my purpose by being born"

They found one thing in common among those who grew up to be great talents.
Each child had at least one good adult who believed in them unconditionally and supported them no matter the situation.
Whether it was my parents, teachers, or neighborhood adults, there was always a ‘hill to lean on’ who was on my side.
So, today too, teacher Gu Cheol-su does not give up on the child.
Because I believe that my heart will definitely reach the child.
--- From "A Word That Made a Disciple Cry: "You Know Pain"

“If a deer runs away from a lion, is it trash? If a hermit crab hides for fear of being eaten, is it a coward? They’re all fighting to survive.
Mijido hid to survive.
“No matter how pathetic and shabby it may seem, anything you do to survive is courageous.”
My grandmother's words that no matter how ugly or pathetic something may seem, anything you do to survive is courageous resonated with me.
On a day when nothing else could comfort me, those words brought me deep comfort.
So, I want to convey that message, even if it's late, to everyone who is going through the winter of life.
Anything you do to survive is considered brave.
And what if you believe it once?
It's so cold and difficult now, but winter will pass, and then warm spring will come.
Spring is definitely coming to me and to you.
--- From "When Nothing Provides Comfort"

“What would you like to say to yourself back then?”
But strangely enough, when faced with that question, the young man in his 20s, the station worker in his 50s, the neuroscientist, and the mill owner all became bare-faced.
Suddenly, his throat tightened with a surge of emotion, his eyes turned red, or he seemed to be silent for a moment, lost for words, as if thinking about something in his mind.
The moment I was asked that question, countless events from that time flashed before my eyes, and I was faced with the struggles I had faced in those scenes.
Their answers were all different, but in some ways they were all the same.
They looked at their past selves with fond and generous eyes.
And because he knew his own hardships better than anyone else, he spoke kind words to himself, like a parent patting his child on the back.
--- From "Words You Couldn't Tell Me Back Then"

Her father used to say this to her as a child, sitting on his lap.
“Chun-ah, when you’re really scared, you have to find out what it is that’s scary and check it out.
When I actually check, I realize that I was shaking over something trivial, and from then on, I won't be scared anymore."
She steeled herself and took a cool-headed look at her situation.
I had lost everything, so I had nothing left to lose.
Well, let's pretend we're dead and start over.
Nothing had changed, but once I made up my mind, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
--- From "When you're really scared, you have to check what it is"

Perhaps the reason I find so many people I've met on the street so cooperative in interviews is because I've been keeping track of people's rejections and not counting them individually.
It may also be because I am more grateful to those who willingly granted me interviews despite circumstances that would have made them turn me down.
What's clear is that going forward, I will be diligently seeking out people willing to interview me, rather than worrying about counting whether a hundred or a thousand people reject me.
I declined the interview, but it wasn't me who was rejected.
--- From "Why I Said About 80% of People Are Positive in Interviews"

“It’s amazing that we can spend today laughing like this.”
The words came out without me knowing.
It was really amazing.
How could we still look at each other and smile like this on the day my mother was diagnosed with cancer?
Until this morning, our family was in despair and fear over the fact that my mother had cancer, and although it certainly cast a huge shadow over our family's future, we weren't crying.
I wasn't even consumed by fear.
World-renowned psychologist Viktor Frankl said:
There is a space between stimulus and response.
We have the freedom and power to choose how we respond to stimuli in that space.
That evening I was able to fully grasp the meaning of those words.
No matter how much misfortune befalls me, I can prevent it from ruining my day.
So I will continue to make choices that will make us smile.
--- From "How to Make the Most of Your Day"

Do you happen to know what the opposite of the speaker is?
The answer is not the 'listener'.
A person who 'waits' for his turn to speak.
This is what American author Fran Liebowitz said.
We say we want someone to listen to our story, but we don't have the time or space to listen to the other person's story.
They postpone the meeting by saying, “I’m busy,” “Let’s talk later,” or “Next time.”
There are many people who want to talk, but it is rare to find someone who listens well.
What are we filling the time we have protected, wasting even a single second on the other person?
--- From "The Easiest Way to Win People's Hearts"

It was not long after I started working in broadcasting.
I once went to the emergency room of a large hospital to film a health-related program.
I was waiting in front of the emergency room to document the emergency treatment process for a winter stroke patient, but hours passed and the patient did not come.
While I was waiting, unable to even go to the bathroom for fear of missing an urgent moment, a hospital official approached me and said, “Normally, there would be one or two patients here, but there aren’t any today.”
At that moment I thought, “Okay.
I almost said, “We need at least one person to come quickly so we can film,” but then I stopped.
Am I waiting for someone to fall right now?
It was as if he was hoping to put other people's lives in danger.
I only thought about my own situation and didn't consider other people's situations at all.
At that moment, I felt so ashamed of myself.
And it was creepy.
I thought I would stay away from people who take advantage of others' tragedies as if they were waiting for them, but I was wrong.
In an instant, I too almost became a monster.
That's when I made up my mind.
Even if we have to wait a few more days, even if we don't produce any results, let's at least not wait for tragedy to happen to others.
No matter how important the work is, let's not lose sight of the bare minimum of humanity.
--- From "Minimum Courtesy for Others' Tragedies"

The children I met in the pediatric oncology ward left me both amazed and touched.
When I thought about the situation those children were in, I could completely understand if they were sad and resented their parents or the world.
I could have screamed that fighting cancer was painful.
But they didn't.
Rather, he was more positive than anyone else and laughed a lot.
Rather than crumbling in the face of his own illness, he looked after and worried more about the people around him.
My belief that the pediatric oncology ward would be heavy and depressing was nothing more than a prejudice.
--- From "Not everyone blames the world when misfortune strikes"

Professor Jaeseung Jeong of KAIST said.
Becoming an adult is the process of accepting, without feeling helpless, that you cannot control people or the world as you wish.
If that's true, then I'm learning to accept pain without feeling helpless and to move through it.
Yes, I am becoming an adult now.
--- From "The Secret of Life That the Sea Taught Me"

I thought that creating lots of warm and happy memories was like insurance against when life gets tough someday.
Just as I take out a piece of candy when my mouth feels bitter, isn't what I should be doing now to diligently fill up the candy box of memories that will always make me happy?
So today I decide to laugh more, love more, and make more memories.
Maybe even this moment, in the distant future, I will miss it so much.
--- From "What I Have to Do Now"

The Peace Corps didn't ruin the day with useless worries.
And I didn't do anything to 'show off' to others, such as to win, to go higher, or to not look shabby.
He was just faithful to his day job as a blacksmith.
Come to think of it, isn't the life of a peace soldier the life we ​​all desire?
Living my life my way, no matter what others say.
Choosing what I want to do and taking full responsibility for the results.
A life where you feel joy and happiness among them… .
Watching the Peace Corps and their parents, I finally understood what it truly meant to live my own life.
And if I lived like that, I was confident that I could trust myself and move forward no matter what happened.

--- From "The True Meaning of Living True to Myself"