A note to the revised edition
Prologue: The Most Precious Thing in Life

Chapter 1: Moments of Life Lessons

Just the fact that there was such a moment
A small concert for country children
Hebel's "Three Wishes"
“It’s okay, it’s my job.”
A child like an office worker
How to navigate the currents of life
The most basic of life's basics
A can of beer in my son's empty hand
Like my father
But when they say that one person must live

Chapter 2: The Most Precious Thing, the Most Precious Thing

Carrying gladiolus on his back
Still foolish and unable to calculate
Grandfather of the Po River in Turin
Son's restaurant
Looking for a benefactor
A door that must be opened and closed fourteen times
A flower blooming in your hand
“I Come from Germani”
God's AS
gift
The Poetry Pavilion built on the banks of the Danube

Chapter 3 From One Life

Literature creates people
Beautiful luxury
My father left with a light heart
Life is about creating your own autobiography.
Reggae hair support
The most beautiful bride in the world, Seonyeong
What I learned from Nina
You are down there
Only through love
Ginkgo Leaf Cookies: A Friendship for Four Generations
I couldn't bring myself to wake my sleeping daughter.

Chapter 4: The Poet Burners

I couldn't help but write poetry
Yeobaekseowon, a home for clear-minded people
Kafka and Sojeong's sheet music
A mother who made her daughter run a marathon
That bed
My upright teacher of poetry
The power of polite speech
I couldn't become a painter
My seat at Ojakgyo Bridge
Give your eyes a push!

Chapter 5: Love Saves Us

A half-span calculation
Why should I read books?
Something more important than that
Love should be used sparingly like a savings account balance.
To the beloved young people _Words of congratulations
Tree Orphanage
I couldn't even eat a single meal properly
What I believe
Colorful kite
The night when moonflowers bloom

In the small things of daily life, in the warmth of people, in the poet's jokes
Reread, write, and appreciate "Learning Life"

“I wanted to convey the image of beautiful people for whom life itself is a joy and a gift.” The author begins by sharing the stories of people around him who, despite the trials of life, remained steadfast and maintained their beauty. This is what motivated him to write this book.
.

Mr. Holle of Germany, who never lost his upright demeanor and took care of those around him as usual even on the brink of death; his friend Erica, who, despite being a terminally ill patient herself, walked with all her might to show her a beautiful gladiolus field; a mother who made her daughter, who wanted to study music, run a marathon to give her the strength to navigate the world; the concern and consideration for her mother that came from the hearts of her small, delicate children.
The touching stories of beautiful people bring a warm feeling of emotion to us, as we struggle with life, forgetting the gratitude that comes from ordinary daily life.

This book also includes articles that illuminate the lives and literary world of German writers, providing a glimpse into the author's academic abilities as he has lived his entire life with literature.
Kafka's doll letters, which are steeped in literary fragrance, the touching story of Katzenelsohn, who wrote his last poem with all his might until the very end in the gas chamber of Auschwitz, and the episode of how the author met poet Kunze and came to regard him as his teacher, convey deep emotions and lingering feelings to readers just by reading them.

The cover of this revised edition, reconstructed with the motif of 'for all those who will bloom beautifully until the end of life', adds an ivory color with flowers in full bloom against the blue sky.
If you gently turn the cover of the book, which seems like a scene from a brilliant youth or a shining old age, you will find Professor Jeon Yeong-ae's beautiful writing and photographer Lee Yeon-hee's photos that capture the beautiful four seasons of Yeobaekseowon.


In particular, I have included a page where you can write sentences to recall the photos and heart-wrenching words of the Goethe Village, which is full of the charm of German-style buildings and the Yeobaek Seowon, which resembles an oriental painting. As you copy down the beautiful sentences, you will find yourself in the middle of Yeobaek Seowon without even realizing it.
As we open this beautiful book, we are first greeted by the author Jeon Yeong-ae's warmly written preface to the revised edition.
“How can I tell all the stories of my life?
It's just a piece of junk.
But I think that even in a small fragment, there is a little bit of difficulty, of living, loving, striving, worrying, and putting in effort.”

A poet's words to those who ask countless questions about life.
For the pure, for the future, for poetry.
And finally, for your life to shine brightly

People ask Professor Jeon Young-ae, who has taught students at universities all her life.
“Why should I read books?” The author’s answer is surprisingly simple.
“The horizon of thought broadened by reading literature that embodies a person’s life is truly one’s own territory.” In that sense, “Understanding German Masterpieces,” which the author has taught at Seoul National University for over 20 years, has been a venue for sharing his philosophy with his students.
This class, which is considered a famous lecture among Seoul National University students, is structured in such a way that students read the works of German literature masters, write a review, and then discuss the works.
Although the class is so demanding that students must submit a book at the end of each semester, it is so popular that the class always exceeds its capacity.
The author's passion for education was recognized when he received the Seoul National University Educator Award in 2011.

The author's disciple, writer and literary critic Jeong Yeo-ul, recalls the author's appearance as follows:

In my memory, the teacher always walked while thinking deeply about something.
When I saw the teacher walking around the schoolyard with a brisk pace, thinking hard about something, as if he didn't want to waste time walking, I sometimes wanted to go up to him and ask him a question.
“Teacher, what’s bothering you? What are you thinking so intently about?” (……) Now I think I understand a little.
What kind of daily life gave birth to the teacher's passion to grasp anything fiercely and explore it tenaciously?
_From Jeong Yeo-ul's recommendation

In this vein, the author opened 'Yeobaekseowon' in Yeoju to provide a space for students to rest under the motto 'For the pure, for the students, for poetry.'
It started with the hope that my disciples and loved ones would not be worn out by the burdens of life.
The author, who has decided to spend the rest of his life writing poetry, living as a seowon keeper, and living with people who love writing, says that the feelings he put into Yeobaek Seowon and Goethe Village are no different from the feelings he put into this book, and tells readers the following.

What is collected in this book are fragments of writings that crossed my mind while traveling between the two worlds of life and writing, frequently traveling between Germany and Korea, and, above all, while turning a corner of life.
It's like putting a small note in a glass bottle and floating it out on the vast ocean.
Who can it reach?
I hope that the small wisdoms of life that I have discovered in my own way will reach the shores of the hearts of precious people.
_From the prologue

Professor Jeon Young-ae has dedicated herself to the path of literature since a time when learning was not yet open to everyone.
Leaving the ivory tower of academia, he settled in Yeoju and lived a life in harmony with nature at Yeobaekseowon, the place where he would spend his last days. At Goethe Village, which was built to contain the spirit of Goethe, whom he studied throughout his life, he continues to reflect on Goethe and German literature even at the age of over seventy.
In keeping with the motto of Yeobaekseowon, “For the pure people/For the students/For poetry,” she runs a YouTube channel called “Goethe Grandma TV” to convey Goethe’s message to many people, and does not turn down requests for lectures from all over the country.


In an interview, Professor Jeon said, “Unlike other academic disciplines that derive a single sentence through numerous experiments, literature unfolds a single sentence into various stories.”
As he said, Goethe Village is still filled with visitors' stories of all kinds.