When it comes to traditional culture, preserving it in its original form is important, but so too is using it in our daily lives. For that to happen, it has to become a toy-something that we use often and with pleasure. As Confucius wrote in The Analects, "Knowing something is not as good as taking pleasure in something." In other words, rather than simply studying something, you should make it a part of your life and enjoy it daily. I think that even more than preserving, understanding and liking culture, we should first have fun with it. --- p.50

This is the first time I have ever tried writing a book. I have had my hand in every part of it, from preliminary research, field trips and photo shoots, to organizing the materials, preparing the manuscript and selecting the final photos. This project, with its tiny crew, feels completely different from the enormous production of a movie or television show. We pull over to take pictures wherever we feel like it, sleep crowded together in one room and help each other in the kitchen. We have become so close that we can tell what the other person wants just by the look in his eye, even with the staff members we hardly knew before the trip. And for every little bump along the road, there have been just as many beautiful moments. To travel truly is to take a journey-of getting to know yourself, of getting to know each other. --- p.114

I hope Korea will become more widely recognized as a country with lots of healthy food. Because it is true. When we were little, we were told all the time by our mothers and grandmothers, "Eat it. It's good for you." Korean food is medicine. If someone were to ask me, "What do you think is Korean food's competitive edge?" I would say, "It brings us closer to nature." If we could create an image of Korea as a place where good ingredients and good food, healthful ingredients and healthful food, can be found anywhere, not only would our own lives improve, but more people from other countries would want to visit Korea to experience and learn about it for themselves. --- p.199

To see an ancient city is to be moved by its quiet beauty. There, one can escape the stress of the modern city with its sharp edges and enjoy the relaxed, peaceful pace of an older time. Cities are known for their enormous, splendid buildings that give free reign to ambition. But they can seem oppressive to those who live there. I think people become the center of attention only in a simple, restrained space. --- p.234

I stood in the desolate field where all that remained was Hwangnyongsa's foundation stones and was gripped by a sense of awe. The realization sunk in of the terrifying potential of human beings who cling all the more tenaciously the more barren things become. Perhaps technology in those days was better than we think, but I was still amazed by the willpower of those good men who fought to overcome so much adversity and uncertainty. --- p.240

After the Korean War, people must have dreamed of a quick escape from suffering. Then in the 1970s, people must have dreamed of becoming affluent through economic development. Did they succeed? Or do we still carry those dreams deep inside of us because they have not yet been made real? If the needs and sufferings of the past made us who we are today, then I wonder which of today's needs and sufferings will make us who we will be tomorrow. Isn't that what we are supposed to find out? Culture is a dream that we dream together. If you know a person's dream, you can know the person. When I consider what we have been hoping for historically, I think it must be a shortcut to knowing our culture. Like something King Sejong the Great once said, if those of us who are to become a page in history keep dreaming and working to achieve our dreams, then the work we do now will be embraced and treasured by future generations. --- p.276

Whenever a problem arises, the wisest thing to do is to try to go back to the beginning. When a relationship goes awry, think back to the first time you met. When something you are doing goes wrong, think about why you started doing that thing in the first place. I believe the answer to our uncertain futures can be found back at the starting point, i.e. in history. The past is the key to the future, and that key is kept safe inside museums. I think the ideas that are the source of creation are all found in museums. When we have to design something or come up with practical ideas for daily life, we should start by visiting a museum. Perhaps there we can discover new images, designs and ideas that would not have occurred to us otherwise. A museum is a teacher that stands in the same spot for a long time. When we gaze upon objects that show us the plain truth of the past, as if transporting us there by time machine, we can learn about the forgotten roots of culture. To know your roots, to return to the starting point, does not mean staying in the past but rather searching for a new future. --- p.319

During today's drunken conversation, I learned anew how delicious, stylish and scientific traditional Korean alcohol can be, and I was amazed at its potential. The steps we can take to help preserve and develop traditional home brewing are quite simple: we can stop the extinction of traditional home-brewed alcohol by sharing and appreciating this precious cultural heritage with more people. I look forward to the day when hundreds of long-lost home-brewed alcohols will have been recovered and restored to their rightful place, filling everyone's porcelain wine cups and intoxicating them with their aroma. When that happens, I hope the rhythm and melody of tradition will be heard together, and that smiles will spread across the faces of many good people --- p.347

In the future, I will build a hanok and fil l the rooms with my dreams and entertain my friends there. I would like the bedroom to be small and simple. My parents will live in the main room, where I will build a cabinet in the back wall on the warm side of the room so they can store snacks for their grandchildren. Instead of a separate library, I will make a space where everyone can sit together and look at books. I also want to include a tearoom and a workroom. I want it to be a space not just for me alone but a space where everyone who is like family to me can come together. The tearoom would be small enough for five or six people to sit with their knees touching, close enough to feel each other's breath. Because if the space is too big, someone might feel left out. I want to fill my house with stories that make everyone, without exception, feel loved. --- p.369

I wish I could fly. But I do not wish to wander aimlessly. Sometimes I long to rest. Now travel is both a beating of wings and a rest. Because I have experienced a true journey, and the beauty will live in my memory forever.