Chapter 40 Thank you for your kindness

I often hear some elderly people say to me, "I feel distressed when I see you".Those elders who still remember my parents felt sorry for my unfortunate loss of my parents and cherished me. If you can't live an ordinary life, you will feel unfortunate, and you will fall into despair.Not only do I not consider myself unfortunate, but I feel that I am a very happy person.There are so many people who care, and many people who bother to send me gifts, of course I am very happy.When hearing about gift giving, many people may wonder "what kind of gift did you receive?" In fact, most of the gifts I received were simple and humane things, so I was more grateful.

Gifts such as watermelons, cucumbers, potatoes, pears, dried pollack, candies, flowers, etc. are often accompanied by cards saying: "This is an organic crop in our family field, please eat more to gain energy. Please work hard!", " Today is White Valentine's Day, you don't seem to have a boyfriend, so I sent you candy", "During the flood, you came to our village to take good care of you, thank you".For me who returned to the office after a busy day, such a card is the most exhausting thing. I really want to thank these gifts one by one, but there is really no way, so I came up with my own way to treat these gifts.First of all, I will definitely confirm with my eyes and thank the other party for their troubles, or try to express my gratitude in person.To confirm with your own eyes, you want to put the sincerity of the other party's painstaking preparation into your heart.

Not long after taking office as a party representative, one day, a party official from the secretary’s office called to give a daily report. Halfway through the report, he said to me: “By the way, a member of the public sent three watermelons to you as a representative.” "Please don't eat first." "Huh?" The party officials didn't understand what I meant and were surprised. As soon as I got back to the party house, I first looked for watermelons. "Where is the watermelon you gave me?" After confirming the delicious big watermelons with my eyes, I said: "Okay, you can eat it. Please enjoy it." The staff in the secretary's office were somewhat surprised by my behavior at first, but they didn't After a while, they understood my approach to presents, and helped to collect the presents they received one by one.

There are really many gifts that remain in my memory, but the gift I received after being cut on the face and hospitalized during the "5.31" local election in 2006 still makes me unforgettable.A man in his sixties, a daily wage worker, sent four small bottles of milk; another female college student sent me a rose and a letter; Party members sent 2,000 paper cranes folded by themselves; the secretary’s six-year-old son wrote a note saying “Please eat more, so that you can leave the hospital soon”, with the crooked words next to it. Hand drawn Ultraman Superman.It seems that I am really the happiest person in the Republic of Korea.

When giving gifts, I also have a set of principles for choosing gifts myself.Gifts must have meaning, make the recipient smile when they open them, and be as traditional as possible, even better. When I receive foreign guests or entertain guests at home, I will give the "Jieying Cup" a very representative gift.A few years ago, a friend of mine who made ceramics mentioned Jieying cups to me over dinner.Its design is to punch a hole in the glass. If the right amount of wine is poured, it will not flow out, but if it is more than 70% full, the wine will flow to the bottom. It is a very peculiar wine glass.This cup represents the meaning of "everything should not be too full". It is a utensil full of wisdom handed down by ancient ancestors. I included the Jieying Cup in my gift list on the spot.

I have given the Jieying cup to many foreign guests, and the people who received it were amazed at the meaning and beauty of the cup.Mr. Christopher Hill, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific, who I have been friends with for a long time, I also gave him a quitting cup when he finished his term as the US ambassador to South Korea and was about to return to the United States.When he saw the Jieying Cup, he exclaimed "Wow", and was amazed by the cup. When I visited the US State Department in February 2007, I visited the office of Secretary of State Mr. Hill.I saw Mr. Hill put the Jieying Cup on the desk.He said that whenever a guest comes, he will explain the meaning of the Jieying Cup to the guest, and show off the cup by the way.

Secretary of State Mr. Hill cited the meaning of the Earnings Cup in the North Korea-US talks in February 2007. When the chief representative of the DPRK, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Gye-kwan, made additional demands on the basis of the North Korea-US contact agreement in Berlin, Mr. Hill said He told the story of the Jieying Cup on his desk, and told the North Korean side that if they demand too much, the negotiations will break down and they will get nothing in the end. The gift list listed in accordance with my gift-giving principles also made it very hard for the staff in the secretary's office to prepare gifts.But every time the recipient of the gift sees that gift, he will think of the sincerity and meaning of the giver.Therefore, you can't be sloppy in choosing gifts.Especially for foreigners, the gifts they receive in Korea will affect their impression of Korea, so the gifts chosen with sincerity will be more affectionate even if they are light.The reason why I am so particular about gift giving may be because I have been exposed to my mother's careful selection of gifts when receiving foreign guests or visiting foreign countries since I was a child.