Terms of Happiness

Do you want to be happy? Here is the way. If you live with an honest heart, your mind will become beautiful. A person with a beautiful mind will be loved by others and thus inevitably become happy.

There is also a way that leads to unhappiness. That is to tell lies. The person who lies is destined to look ugly and become the target of hatred. The person thus becomes unhappy as others dislike him or her.

While living in the United States over the past six decades, I have been dedicated to spreading Taekwondo. Due to my long-time practice of Taekwondo, it has become second nature to move my arms and legs to protect my body when attacked. The secret lies not in knowledge, but in technique and habit. Through many years of practicing Taekwondo, I have come to realize the fact that practicing and making something a part of oneself is much more important than just knowing it.

In the same context, “goodness” can be realized only through practice. We cannot describe it as “goodness” if we only think it and do not practice it. Accordingly, it is apparently wrong for religious people to call for the need “to do good” without carrying out goodness. Religious leaders should show exemplary behavior.

Confrontation and distrust grip the world mainly because religious people merely talk without taking action. The so-called three confrontations are most serious: ‘ideological dispute,’ conflict of interests, and emotional conflict. First, ‘ideological dispute’ is very serious in the Korean society. This has chiefly been due to the failure to recognize a very simple, but clear truth that other’s thoughts can also be acknowledged.

Next, confrontation among different interests is also problematic. This can be resolved with just a little virtue of yielding. Finally, emotional conflict can be settled with love. The wars in the Middle East have been lingering as the people there have failed to find a solution to the conflicts that were first triggered among their ancestors more than 2,000 years ago. This is a very tragic situation.

People can live happier lives if they understand and concede. During the Great Depression of 1929, which is regarded as the most difficult time in U.S. history, 30 million farmers were forced to work hard to feed the population of 100 million. This means one peasant could feed an average of 3.3 people. These days, 3 million farmers feed 300 million people, which means one peasant can accommodate 100 people. This is because productivity has increased by 30 times. This phenomenon can be seen in almost all sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture.

Now, the same amount of production is expected with one thirtieth of the labor hour compared to the eight-hour work in 1929. But people seem filled with discontent, far from happy. This is because there are those who work on one side and those who take the fruits on the other side. Under these circumstances, there can be no understanding and concession.

I decided to set up 125 Taekwondo practicing facilities around the world with the goal of helping resolve the conflicts of ideologies, interests and sentiments. I opened a Taekwondo studio in Washington D.C. in 1962. As a small Korean, I became the master for the tall Americans, many of whom are noted figures. I have done my utmost to enable the U.S. congressmen and youth to understand the mental world of Koreans through the Korean traditional martial art.

In line with my life of Taekwondo, the 10021 Club that pursues ‘physical strength of 21 and wisdom of 100’ was founded. Readers of the AsiaN! Let me introduce the concept of ‘True Utopia,’ based on truthfulness and realism.

How about joining me in a journey of the world of True Utopia of ‘Trutopia,’ a coinage, which is not seen in the English dictionary?