"The limits of my language are the limits of my world!" - Wittgenstein
A must-read for developing a worldly perspective and a linguistic understanding.

This book is a Chinese character dictionary written by Professor Park Su-mil, who has written best-selling books on Chinese characters, including “Living Chinese Character Textbook” and “Miracle Chinese Character Learning,” and taught students at university for decades.
The author, who has been consistently working on Chinese character-related projects, meticulously researched the materials to present the origins of Chinese character words and provided examples of their use in everyday life, making it easy for anyone to understand.
It is also significant in that it goes beyond a simple explanation of words and attempts a humanistic reflection on the meaning contained in Chinese characters.
In these days of constant enthusiasm for speaking and writing, to explore the world of our language more accurately, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of Chinese characters.
To read, write, and speak our language properly.
This book explains Chinese characters in the easiest and most practical way possible by finding the 'usefulness and meaning of Chinese characters' in our daily lives and culture.
It also conveys the value of the classics as well as similar Chinese characters, Chinese characters with different pronunciations, and roots.
Let's take a look at the 'Minimum Chinese Character Dictionary' to properly understand the meaning of the words and writing we use.

Our lives and culture are embedded in Chinese characters.
Through the medium of Chinese characters, we can broaden our knowledge and common sense about our culture and gain insight into our lifestyle and habits.
Therefore, this book aims to examine the roots and background of Chinese characters to help us use our language correctly and to reveal the meaning contained in Chinese characters, thereby deeply understanding our daily lives and culture.
--- From the author's note

Our hearts and thoughts change depending on where our eyes look and how we look.
If you only look at one side, you will only believe one side of the truth.
If we only look at the superficial phenomena, it is easy to miss the hidden truth.
A crescent moon is not a crescent moon because it is half, but because only half of it is visible.
Only by having eyes that see the other half that is invisible can one know the complete reality.
We must not overlook the world and things in a superficial manner, but rather have the eyes of reflection to examine them carefully.
--- From "The Meaning of 'Seeing'"

The character 'Gyeong' (更) also has two names: 'Gyeong' and 'Gang'.
When read as ‘경’, it means ‘to fix’, and when read as ‘강’, it means ‘again’.
Renewing means fixing something that already existed and making it new.
It includes the meaning of breaking the previous record and setting a better record.
On the other hand, renewal means making something new again, or changing, adding, or deleting existing content according to changes.
So, how should we read "Kim Yuna broke her own figure skating record"? It should be read as "renewed," meaning she broke her own previous record.
What if I said, "I renewed my driver's license this time?" It should be read as "renewal."
Because it is replacing an existing driver's license.
--- From "Characters with Two Names"

Rumination is associated with animals that chew the cud.
Cows, horses, goats, etc. cannot swallow food right away, but spit it back into their mouths, chew it well, and then swallow it again.
This stomach is called a rumination stomach, and in Chinese characters it is written as rumen stomach (反芻胃).
Ban (反) means to return, and chu (芻) refers to fodder, that is, the feed of cattle or horses.
Rumination means 'the act of cows or goats turning over and chewing fodder [芻] before swallowing it.'
From this, the act of repetitively savoring something is called rumination.
“I thought deeply about what he said.”
--- From "Words that originated from the unique characteristics of animals"

There are also words that came out in the process of translating Indian words, regardless of the meaning of the letters.
A very noisy or messy scene is called a 'chaos scene'.
In Asurajang (阿修羅場), Asura (阿修羅) is a phonetic translation of the Indian word 'Asura', which means 'ugly.'
Asura is a bad god that appears in ancient Indian mythology.
It is said that he was a person who liked to fight, so he would often get into fights.
If Asura wins the fight against the heavens, poverty and disaster will come.
When humans do good deeds, the power of heaven becomes stronger, and when humans do bad deeds, the power of Asura becomes stronger.
If the world becomes filled with injustice, it will become a real battlefield where Asuras rule.
--- From "Words Originating from Buddhism"

When we say, “That person can’t use his legs if it’s free,” the legs are written as “사족 (四足).”
Sajok (四足) means four feet, and in the case of humans, it refers to two arms and two legs, or four limbs (四肢).
How good would it be if you couldn't even move your arms or legs?
Thus, it came to mean that one is so fond of something or a hobby that one cannot move.
The word ‘jok’ (足) also means ‘sufficient’ or ‘enough’.
Being sufficient without any lack is satisfaction, and not reaching a certain amount is insufficiency.
Being satisfied with oneself is self-sufficiency.
If satisfaction is being satisfied only when what you want is achieved, then being content in any situation is being self-sufficient.
If I can be content with what I have, happiness is always close by.
--- From "It's Okay If Things Don't Go Your Way"

The term “seungbusu” (勝負手) also comes from the game of baduk.
In Baduk, a winning move is a move made as a final decision to determine the outcome of a game.
It means the number of victories and burdens.
Thus, the act of making a decision to determine the success or failure of an undertaking or to decide the outcome is called 'throwing a decisive move.'
It is written as 'He threw the last move in that match.'

--- From "Learning Life from Baduk"