A trip to Namhae, a habit of a writer who transitioned from a university hospital operating room nurse to a full-time photographer.
A warm and affectionate gaze at the South Sea as it is.

There is a person who started visiting Namhae when she was an operating room nurse and has been going back and forth to Namhae for 8 years.
The scenery that unfolded wherever you went was like a gift prepared just for you.
She held two photo exhibitions with photos taken during her four- to five-hour commute from Seoul to Namhae, and in the meantime, she changed her career from a nurse to a photographer.
What was it about the South Sea that drew her so much?
"On days when I have a lot on my mind, I go to Namhae" will be a journey to discover Namhae's charming points with the author.
Moreover, this book will be a journey of growth, showing how Namhae changes a person, from giving up her job as a nurse to becoming a photographer.
In spring, cherry blossoms and rapeseed flowers bloom everywhere, and when you drive on the road that runs along the mountainside, you feel like you're driving on the sea. Namhae is definitely more than that.
Because it is a place that comforts and soothes you by saying, "It's okay to slow down and take a break" when you are caught up in the fast-paced world, and a place that gives you courage when you need a new challenge.
This is a good book for those who are looking for a turning point in their lives between what they love and what they have to do, and for those who need a break.
Tips for taking great photos from the author, and recommended attractions in Namhae are also included as a bonus.

Of all the domestic travel destinations I've traveled alone, Namhae was the best place to have many conversations with myself and find answers about myself.
There are no guesthouses with noisy parties, and it's hard to meet random travel friends along the way, but the scenery that unfolds wherever I go is like a gift prepared just for me.

By chance, I was captivated by a photo of a certain accommodation.
It was a picture of a small single bed under a low wooden ceiling, with warm sunlight streaming into the room through a square window next to the bed.
Maybe it was because of the vintage feel of the photo, but if you stared at it intently, it felt like Anne of Green Gables would appear.

The road that ran along the mountainside made the sea appear deeper and wider.
It was my first time seeing the ocean view like this.
It felt like I was running on a large picture frame called the sea.
It was a rainy summer day, not a clear sky or a clear sea, but large clouds swallowing half of the frame, but it was a scenery that made me say, "It's a painting!"
I wonder how much I would have known at the age of 25 that the scenery was so beautiful, but even in my young mind, the scenery of Namhae felt like a painting.
The scenery of the South Sea, with low-hanging clouds that ate away at the mountaintops and no one being able to see what lay across the sea, seemed to hide something, but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by it.

Even if you don't necessarily look for a reason to be happy, you will naturally become a happy person while you are here.
Namhae is the place that makes me like that.
It's great to travel to many places, but nothing warms and enriches the heart as much as having one travel destination that feels like a spiritual home.

“Now that I have my sight back, I must do something big.” At those words from the professor, events that had happened since the day I was diagnosed with retinal detachment six years ago flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope.
It was a time when I constantly asked myself questions about what I wanted to see, what I wanted to do, and what kind of life I wanted to live in the finiteness of life.
I quit my job as a nurse shortly after I had the surgery.
It was because a new dream was born.

Perhaps my determination to do what I love was because I realized that the decision I made that spring to go to Namhae was not a mistake.
Perhaps the eye surgery was a planned step toward a new beginning.
I still wanted to see more of the world and capture more of it on camera.
That's the world I desperately wanted.

“I think I know why you go to Namhae so often.”
A single call from a friend who had just returned from a trip to Namhae lifted my spirits.
I wonder if my friend also felt the peace of mind that came from seeing the blue scenery of the South Sea every time he visited the South Sea.
Then, just like the view of the South Sea that my friend saw, I hope to be that kind of person to you.
As the places I often visit speak for themselves, I want to be a person like Namhae.

Even the electric poles lining the road and the fertilizer bags placed on the road are traces of the South Sea, so I don't feel any regret.
It made me question whether a single perfect photo was really necessary in the first place.
What this place showed me was not only the scenery of the South Sea, but also the heart that knows how to look at things you love without being greedy.


It was nice to have breakfast together.
When I think about how lonely the day must have started, thinking about how I turned down the boss's offer to eat breakfast and ended up lying alone in bed.
I pretended not to be overwhelmed by the deep, rich udon broth, but perhaps what I needed was someone who could share the right temperature.

The sea can sometimes be scary when seen up close, with its crashing waves, but when viewed from a high hill, it simply looks like a large, calm lake.
It looks even more so because there are islands filling the horizon.
The hearts that were tumbling wildly inside me are now assimilated into the ocean like a lake.
It's out of reach, but my heart goes there first.
I open the window, the wind blows through me, refreshing everything, and soon I feel lighter.
The town is quiet, as if there is no one there, and the only things alive are the wind, the sea, and me. I lean my elbows against the car window and enjoy the luxury of feeling like the entire scenery is mine.


At first, I saw the South Sea in summer, then I saw spring because I was curious about spring, then I saw fall, then I saw winter, and after seeing the South Sea in all four seasons, no matter which season I visited, my heart was filled with an inexplicable emotion.
I can't say which season is prettier, but one thing is certain: Namhae is beautiful no matter what season you visit.


We took the table out into the yard, where the hot sun was pouring down, and ate.
Looking at the sea a little closer, listening to the sound of the waves.
As I ate, my face got hot and my eyes got dazzled, so I ended up pulling my hat down, but I didn't stop eating in the yard.
On rainy days, I would eat tteok mandu guk on the veranda while listening to the sound of the rain. On other days, I would just eat rice with a bowl full of grilled sausages. On other days, I would cook an octopus dish with octopus that my sister caught herself.
The reason I couldn't help but be happy no matter what I did was because during that time, my mind was able to be quite relaxed.


I realized that spending time peacefully and leisurely, like a loose knit that lets a cool breeze blow through the holes when the wind blows, is also giving my best to my work.
Just as I always charge my camera battery to 100% before shooting, I need to make sure that my condition is 100% charged before shooting.
That way, I'll have plenty of battery left over to spend time with myself after I'm done shooting.
I realized that this was the way I could do what I love for a long time and stay healthy.

Often, when a cultivator appears in front of me, I quietly follow behind it rather than overtake it.
I wish the speed of the South Sea could flow this slowly sometimes.
The thought of Namhae without the sound of a cultivator running through the village seems too harsh and boring.


“Because a photograph allows you to live a moment multiple times.” When you take a photograph, you live that moment, when you organize the photographs and reminisce, you live again, and when you look at the photograph after some time has passed, you live again.
How wonderful it would be if, like the protagonist in the movie "About Time," we could turn back time and live multiple lives. But we don't have that ability.
We don't have the ability to turn back time and live many times, but there is a way to relive happy moments we wish we could go back to, and that is photography.
How can you not be crazy when photography has such amazing powers hidden within it?

'If a nurse's job is to share and help others' pain, a photographer's job is to record and help others' happiness and joy, so there's definitely a connection.
Only today do I understand the unusually warm words and photos.

Nursing is a fascinating profession, but there were too many worlds I wanted to see to waste away the beautiful time and seasons in a closed, windowless operating room.
There was a sense of accomplishment in helping save someone's life, but an even greater sense of accomplishment was seeing someone happy when they received a photo I took.
I decided to do something that made my heart flutter.


It's only now, after four years, that I realize that in order to do what I love, I have to do things I don't like.
Even now, I have endless worries about work, and I always complain that it's difficult.
Nevertheless, this is fun.
Because the happiness you get from doing things you love is greater than the difficulties you face when doing things you don't.
Whichever you choose, you will have regrets.
In that case, I think it's better to do it and regret it later.


If only there were scenery that made Namhae shine, Namhae wouldn't have been this great to me.
The reason why Namhae is so beautiful is because of the people who give people a reason to visit Namhae.

--- From the text