A new work by Hong Dae-seon, a philosopher of everyday life who delves into ‘personal life.’
In the previous work from 2018, I introduced the 'invention' of an individual and its significance through the lives of six philosophers, while in '1 Meter Personal Gap', I specifically talk about the desperate attitude toward life that is desperately needed here and now, when we cannot help but become individuals, through the unit of 1 meter.

Other people are not custom-made.
When we perceive someone else's characteristics as flaws that need to be eliminated, we try to fix them like an appliance.
At this time, humans deceive not only others but also themselves.
… Modern people have forgotten how to love others, including myself, because they love love itself.
---From "Morality is a wrapping paper that hides narcissism"

When criticizing someone, we often say things like 'useless guy'.
If anyone has been heartbroken by such criticism, I hope you can put your sorrow aside.
You are born with the right to be useless.
If you ever see someone's misery and think, "What good does a person like that do in this world?", this book encourages you to think again.
He has no obligation to exist for your comfort.
Likewise, you don't have to exist to please others.
---From "Love is not the master of life"

For him, the object of his love was not the other person, but himself.
He didn't know that love was a one-on-one, face-to-face transaction.
So, instead of treating the other person as a subject of the transaction, they used him as a tool for their own self-love.
…when we put love before life, we become servants of love.
If you don't want to sacrifice yourself, sacrifice others.
Anyone whose boundary is not within a 1 meter radius will either invade or be invaded.
---From "Love's failure is predetermined from the beginning"

People who live their lives under the illusion that they are the center of the world easily become angry.
Because he lost his own center by placing himself at the center of the world.
…People who have landed good jobs have a hard time accepting the fact that their work life, which should have been a reward for their efforts, is even more unhappy.
But you pay to go to school, and you get paid to go to work.
If you think about this difference, it's easy to see which is more difficult.
But why is it so difficult to accept? There are two reasons.
First, because they consider their own 1 meter as the center of the universe.
But the universe has no center.
Second, because I believe that it is a cosmic order that effort is rewarded.
But the order of the universe is physical, not personal.
---From "Who Stole My Blood and Sweat?"

Those who feel guilty for not being able to put in the effort and persevere receive the gift of comfort through healing.
So, no matter what situation you are in, there is an abundance of content that affirms that it is okay.
But a truly good person doesn't need to be told that he or she is okay.
People who declare that they will not interfere with their way of life are actually afraid of the gaze of others and are preparing to avoid being hurt.
The saying, “Just be happy now” hides the misconception that the relationship between present happiness and potential future happiness is a zero-sum game, either-or.
In other words, it is a mechanical thought that says that if you sacrifice the present for the future, the present will become unhappy.
---From "Happy people don't declare happiness"

When the storm of hair loss hits, things like taking care of your body and choosing clothes become irrelevant.
Because the only taste of a balding person is abundance.
…think about a time when you encountered a man without hair.
Do you think to yourself, "He's a bald guy who cares about his clothes?" I'll just say, "Huh? He's bald."
Of course I say, 'Oh, comrade,' but a bald head is just a bald head.
Now, the day when I go from bald to balding is not far off.
In that respect, the future of the writer of this sentence is bright.
By the time this book is published, it may already be sparkling.

---From "Humans become human by abandoning desire for the sake of desire"

We must be technicians in life, not guerrillas.
If you conform, your own happiness and pain will flow within 1 meter.
Even if you resist, happiness and pain come together as if competing with each other.
If you find yourself at a crossroads, the answer is simple.
Just choose the one where happiness is greater than pain.
Does that sound cowardly? No.
Oppression is just oppression.
When we are swayed by the value judgments of right and wrong, we suffer from the compulsion to resist oppression.
Obsession is not a judgment for me, it is a judgment that exploits me.
It makes me speak and act for the sake of the compulsion itself, not for myself.
Beliefs and self-esteem are precious.
But it is only a valuable tool.

---From "We are not resistance fighters, we are engineers of happiness"

Self-pity is entrenched in the illusion that one must be respected by the universe, the natural law of nature, and by society, the network of human relationships.
There is no need to overestimate or underestimate your own existence.
Narcissism and self-pity are makeshift devices we concoct on the edge of a one-meter fence to defend ourselves.
…a self-deprecating person is the one who hides his blazing pride.
Spinoza says:
“Excessive pride or self-contempt shows weakness of mind.”
---From "I am just an ordinary yet extraordinary me"

The men who criticize women for judging men by the price of their cars are the ones who desire nice cars.
When he buys an expensive car, he will let a woman ride in the passenger seat, but from then on, he is in a position where he doubts how much the car plays a role in the woman's attitude toward him.
…the desires of others belong to a world outside a radius of one meter.
Therefore, a person who buys a car according to the desires of others expands his radius more than before.
The widened fence swallows the other person, the woman in the passenger seat, and makes her a subject.
And watch over the people within the territory.

---From "A person who introduces himself with conditions is rude"

There is a memorial monument to Hangyeryeong in Seomyeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do.
This monument was erected to commemorate the soldiers who died while working on the construction of the Han-Gye-Ryeong Road without proper safety equipment.
It was a time when sacrificing cattle for the sake of the generation was nothing.
Thanks to this, milk from Gangwon Province was provided as school meals to schools across the country, and the average height of the people increased.
When individuals sacrifice, the system becomes fat.
Those who gave up their individuality for the sake of the organization are called 'old farts' by their more fortunate juniors.
The juniors call them old farts and become old farts themselves.
Because an old fart is someone who judges others subjectively.
They spent a time losing their individuality in exchange for running in unison toward a single goal, whether industrialization or democratization.
My generation grew up on soil created that way.
---From "A Space Where One Had to Live a Hundred Years Like a Thousand"

Here is my 1 meter.
The rest is the radius of others.
We must be able to look at this gap between inside and outside, which can never be reconciled, with a calm mind.
If you don't acknowledge the distance, each meter becomes farther away.
… People who judge the world based on themselves easily fall into hatred.
However, there is no such thing as a 1-meter radius that matches the standard within a 1-meter radius.
If you think of everything from your own perspective, you'll fall into the habit of cursing the world for not following your lead. Social media is filled with angry people every day.
They mistake it for exercise rather than a curse.
We must train ourselves to tolerate the presence of others.
Tolerance is translated as tolerance, but its original meaning is closer to patience.
If there is no direct harm to life, we should accept others as they are.
Because the space I allow others becomes my territory.
---From "Maintain a 1-meter gap to maintain a 1-meter radius"

I decided to accept the fact that I could not erase the tragedy that had invaded and coiled within a one-meter radius.
To manage the unshakable anger and sadness, I used my imagination to give shape and movement to this dark mass.
This shadow follows me for a few steps.
I sometimes stare at this guy blankly.
Sometimes I forget, and sometimes I am aware of it.
It's always there, but we live watching over it so that it doesn't get carried on our backs.

---From "Again, Happiness is a Skill"