People call me stubborn. Yet, is it not because I did not bend that I survived, because I doubted that I was not deceived, and because I endured that I have reached this day? South Korea is a being that is most like me, yet has walked the most different path. It is a strange fate where I cannot take my eyes off them, even when I try to look away. China is like a vast mountain range that blocks the wind, but I do not wish to live cradled in its embrace. The memories toward Japan also remain. Time flows, but history does not disappear on its own, and a wound does not cease to exist just because one forgets. Thus, I do not trust easily, nor do I forget easily. For I believe that remembering is also a way to survive.

Flowers bloom and wither every year, yet people still call them beautiful. Nations are the same. China was a vast mountain range that blocked my path for a long time, and I chose constant change to escape its shadow. Korea is my closest yet most difficult neighbor to understand. We have faced each other for so long that we mistake it for knowing one another, yet at critical moments, we feel the most distant. North Korea is like a thick fog, making it hard to fathom what lies within. I remember the past but do not dwell in it; I have learned to observe the other in silence. However, do not forget: the quietest one is often the one seeing the most.

Generally, the rise and fall of the world is like the morning and evening tide; where there is prosperity, decline must follow, and where there is decline, prosperity shall return. I have witnessed this for thousands of years. I have seen dynasties embrace the world, and I have seen those same dynasties scatter like dust. Korea is a singular existence that grew up learning by my side, yet ultimately refused to become a part of me. They learned but did not follow; they respected but did not submit. Japan is the one who accepted my civilization but fled the furthest. They have brought me both admiration and rage, sometimes choosing paths even I cannot comprehend. North Korea is like a young tiger, baring its teeth, yet I see the anxiety within its roar. However, I do not lightly speak of the wounds of one who values dignity. Time changes many things, but the essence does not easily shift.