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I am MC You Hee-yeol.
You sound like Sohn Suk-hee.
I am MC Haha.
I'm Kang Won-guk, who wrote down the thoughts of the president.
- President? - President?
President?
I look hot from every angle. I'm Lee Se-young.
- Please sit down. - Okay.
- She's charming. - She is.
I'm Oh Young-hwan, a firefighter to the core.
Isn't he a celebrity? He's so handsome.
The courageous have come out to talk.
- Wednesday night. - Busking with words.
- As I Say! - As I Say!
(As I Say)
All right. Many guests joined us today.
Someone's introduction made me curious though.
Can you explain how you wrote down the thoughts of the president?
I wrote the speeches of the president.
I had written speeches...
for President Kim Dae-Jung for three years.
Also, I had served as the Speech Writing Secretary...
for President Roh Moo-hyun for five years.
We're going through a sensitive time at the moment. Are you here...
because of a certain incident?
- No, they contacted me a few months ago. - Right? Please make it clear.
- I mean... - A few months ago...
I decided to come on the show 2 or 3 months ago.
- Since then, something unimaginable has happened in this country. - He's right.
- Won-guk, did you use table PCs to write speeches? - What's wrong with you?
I was just kidding.
I have a tablet PC at home,
but it's my son's, not mine.
- There are photos of me in the PC. - Stop it!
I don't know how to use a table PC.
Don't tell us you took selfies.
- Let's move on. - All right.
- Firefighter Oh Young-hwan joined us today! - Yes!
- Look at his face. - He looks like Dean.
The production crew told me there's this good-looking man,
who is perfect for a firefighter role.
Your hair looks like sushi. You're really handsome.
Sushi? It looks like he put a piece of grilled eel on his head.
Isn't styling your hair like that a violation of civil servants' ethics-code?
My hair doesn't come down when I work.
So my hair doesn't get messy, and I think it's comfortable.
You're lying.
- Why are you acting sensitively today? - Was I too aggressive?
- You look great, too. - I become aggressive when I see good-looking people.
You look like the only celebrity here. You're really handsome.
I'm sure he has flaws.
- Let's take some time and find out. - All right.
This is the ninth episode of As I Say.
We'll go out on the street in search of stories and start busking.
I'd like to introduce today's guests who will be performing for the ninth busking.
- Yes. - She's a comedienne, who has the face of a thousand emotions.
With her great acting skills, she's gaining popularity in dramas and comedy shows.
- Lee Se-young is here. - Hello. Good to see you.
- I'm hot. - She's hot.
- She's great. - I'm hot.
- Se-young can do impressions. - Right.
Who have you mimicked so far?
I debuted as a Ryoo Seung-bum look-alike, and it made me popular.
I'm sorry to ask, but please show us.
When you mimic Ryoo Seung-bum,
you have to make your smile lines stand out.
Like this.
(Hello, I'm Ryoo Seung-bum.)
- I thought you were disguised as him for a moment. - She's good.
Thank you.
- He's laughing a lot. - Can you...
do an impression of one of us?
- I think I can do an impression of Hee-yeol. - Right.
- Me? - If you look at his eyes, you can see the whites of his eyes are larger.
- The whites of my eyes are larger. - Yes.
Try to make glazed eyes like this.
Open your eyes like this and smile.
(Make your mouth like this.)
This is how he looks like. It's true.
- That's how he looks like. - Can you make that face?
(The original version)
That's it.
That's great.
I laughed so hard when she did a Bruce Lee impression.
- She can do an impression of Bruce Lee. - She's the best.
I will do an impression of Bruce Lee, grilling a squid.
Can you be the squid?
- Ask him to do it. - He's the best at acting out a squid.
He's a living squid.
- You can both stand if you want. - Okay.
You're from Ullungdo Island, and you're from Gangwon Province.
I will do an impression of Bruce Lee, grilling seafood.
Let's say Bruce Lee is hungry.
(Come on.)
I'll turn on the stove.
(Wada)
(Wadadada.)
(Wada!)
(The squid is being grilled.)
Wada! Wednesday night at 9:30pm, As I Say.
(Wednesday night at 9:30pm, As I Say)
Se-young, thanks a lot. It was humiliating, and I loved it.
I've never had this kind of feeling before.
- She is really talented. - Yes.
- She even writes. - Really?
- She's a writer. - I am.
- She writes racy novels. - I'm the J. K. Rowling of racy novels industry.
What do you write about?
- My best work so far is "Breast Pads of a Woman". - What?
- "Breast Pads of a Woman"? - What pads?
A boy likes his friend's older sister.
After seeing her breast pads,
his imagination runs wild. That's what the story is about.
- You're blushing already. - Great.
- So it's a fantasy novel. - Yes.
- It's like "The Lord of the Rings". - Right.
- The story is about his adventure. - Yes.
Did you write any other novels?
I wrote a novel from a hotel's perspective.
- It's called "Hotel Room 305's Diary". - That's so detailed.
You wrote a novel from a hotel's perspective?
- So is the hotel writing the diary? - That's right.
- That's exactly right. - Next to her,
we have someone who had written the speeches of the president.
- He's listening to her carefully. - I can empathize with her.
- I was once a fan of racy novels. - Really?
- Did you write them? - The first book I read...
was a short novel.
It was really racy. I was really surprised.
I didn't know such novels existed.
I was so into these novels.
Later, I chose which novels to read by just looking at the titles.
I think I learned a lot of writing skills from those novels.
- From those novels? - Really?
I feel like you guys came on the show as a team.
If the main character wears firefighter uniforms in the novel,
it will be really sexy, right?
He will put out the fire and...
- By the way, Se-young, - Yes?
what made you start writing?
During my middle school years, I was a huge fan of Shinhwa.
So I started writing fan fictions, and that's how I started writing novels.
- I made a couple called "Min-Shung". - Min-Shung?
- They're Lee Min-woo and... - Shin Hye-sung!
Yes, Min-Shung.
- So you wrote stories about their love. - Yes, the one who leads comes first.
- Lee Min-woo? - If you guys are in love,
I have to say...
- Haha would be the one who leads the relationship. - Stop it.
- You're making me imagine things. - Come here.
- It's a bit... - Stop it.
Stop it.
I don't like it.
- I'm thinking about plots now. In the waiting room... - No wonder...
he was ironing my clothes.
- He folded my socks, too. - Stop it.
All right.
Inadvertently, this person became really famous.
He had written speeches for former presidents for eight years.
He is the author of "Writing Speeches for the President", Kang Won-guk.
(Former Speech Writing Secretary at the Blue House, Kang Won-guk)
Working with the president...
- is something we can't imagine. - That's right.
How did you start working at the Blue House?
I started working for a company like everyone else.
The chairman of the company was Kim Woo-Jung back then.
He later became the chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries.
So I wrote speeches for them. One day,
I got a call from the Blue House.
- Did you take a test? - It took certain procedures.
Did they test you?
They said I shouldn't tell anyone that they called me.
They said they will send me a subject and I must not tell anyone about it.
Later, I realized it wasn't anything important.
But they scared me a lot back then.
- It must've been scary. - So I hid somewhere...
and wrote the National Liberation Day speech for them. That was my test.
They told you to write it.
- I also had a short interview. - How did they interview you?
They just asked me one thing. They asked if I'm sick.
- So I said I'm not sick, then I passed. - Really?
- What? - It's...
You can't be sick, and if one of your relatives is a convict...
or has a criminal record,
including fraud, you can't work there.
Your family has to be innocent.
How do you get into the Blue House?
Did you just walk in?
They inspect you at the main gate.
Then there's another inspection once you go in.
- You can just get into the back seat of your friend's car... - Hey.
I knew he'd say that.
When a president's term is over,
all the secretaries leave the Blue House, too.
I'm sure everyone left when President Kim Dae-jung's term was over,
but you also worked for President Roh Moo-hyun.
The biggest reason was that people around President Roh Moo-hyun...
were not willing to work as the Speech Writing Secretary.
- Why? - Speech Writing Secretary has a lot of work to do.
You stay in your office and keep writing speeches.
- That's the kind of work you do. - You don't get acknowledged.
Right. The president will scold you quite often.
Is this the best you can do?
Gosh!
I never thought I'd ask this question.
- What is it? - I think the styles of President Kim Dae-Jung and Roh Moo-hyun...
are very different.
- How were they different? - Haha has changed!
I mean...
Haha has changed.
I was always curious about that.
They are very different.
When President Kim Dae-Jung received the speech,
he made all the changes on the paper.
- Like a private tutor? - That's right.
When he thought the draft was really bad,
he gave me a cassette tape.
- He recorded what he wanted to say. - A cassette tape?
We called the tape "Bomb". When we got the cassette tape,
it felt as if we were receiving a poison.
When you get the tape, the person who wrote the draft...
I've received the tape twice by the way. If you wrote the draft,
you had to pretend that you lost your appetite for a week.
When people asked me to have a meal, I said, "I'm fine."
I was a sinner. I had to act like that.
But he never asked me to write it again.
He always took the responsibility and finished writing the speech.
On the other hand, President Roh Moo-hyun asked me to come over.
He sat down with me and made changes through discussions.
He thought he could come up with better ideas through talking.
So President Roh Moo-hyun had scolded me for five years.
When he scolded me, I always thought,
"This time will pass."
When he got really upset...
One time, the president told a secretary to sack me.
He was talking about my mistakes for about 10 minutes.
He basically didn't like what I wrote.
- When you weren't there? - Right. The secretary office recorded it...
and gave it to me for my reference.
I sat down in office alone and listened to the recording.
I was quite difficult to listen.
We can't imagine what it must've been like.
It's not like you're being scolded by your parents.
You got scolded by the president.
I'm sure you were under a lot of stress.
Actually, since it became my everyday life,
my irritable colon problem got worse.
When the president talked to me for a long time, my abdominal area started to hurt.
One day, when the president gave me comments,
I had to go to the toilet twice.
- In the middle of talking? - That's right.
It's considered as lack of courtesy.
- The president had to wait while I was in the toilet. - Right.
Then what did you do at important functions...
- when you got awful pains in your belly? - During the second inter-Korean summit,
- he walked into North Korea, right? - Yes.
Through Panmunjom.
Stopping the car means...
the president has to stop, too.
I'm sure the US and other countries were watching through satellites.
If the car stops in North Korea,
- In North Korea? - it means something serious has happened.
Goodness.
It's a situation where United States of America has to step in.
If the reason for the stop is...
- Diarrhea! - Right.
You can't stop the car because of diarrhea.
So I didn't eat any food.
I even did an enema, just in case.
I guess it was an occupational disease.
- Wow. - You had irritable colon syndrome.
Was President Roh Moo-hyun that scary?
Only the speech writers got scolded.
There was no reason for him to scold other secretaries.
- A speech is his own words and thoughts. - Right.
So you can't just run your eyes over it.
You have to make changes until he's satisfied.
I think I learned a lot from him through the process.
You scold someone to teach that person.
Many media outlets reported about the president's speech.
I'm curious how you felt when you watched the reports.
I thought about the roles of a leader and an adviser.
A leader should have...
his or her own opinions.
A leader can't speak someone else's opinions...
and has to know how to express his or her opinions.
If you can't do that, you're not a leader.
Even the advisers have to speak up and pose a question...
when there's a problem.
If you ignore the truth,
you're doing your job as an adviser.
The present situation has happened because of the leader who doesn't think...
and advisers who don't speak the truth.
That's what I think.
- Okay, let's move on. - If something happens
- To someone, somewhere - To someone, somewhere
Yes!
He's a firefighter who safeguards the people's lives and safety.
He's also the author of the book "A Firefighter's Prayer".
Let me introduce Firefighter Oh Young-hwan.
Welcome.
All right. Some firefighters are...
in charge of putting out the fire.
Some drive ambulance and help others. I heard there are different specialty areas.
I'm currently working as a motorcycle paramedic at Seongbuk Fire Station.
A motorcycle paramedic?
Not many people know about this.
A motorcycle paramedic can't carry people like ambulance.
We go to the site first before the ambulance arrives...
- and provide emergency treatments. - They arrive at the site first.
Why did you become a firefighter?
When I was considering my future career path,
I saw a news. A five-story building...
caught on fire, and many people were crying in front of the building.
I saw the firefighters...
trying their best to protect the people and stores.
Then I thought I want to protect ordinary people...
just like my parents. That's what I thought.
- He's handsome and... - I'm sure he has flaws.
He's even good-looking. He's perfect.
- I'm sure your family worries about you a lot. - Right.
Your wife is the Queen of Climbing...
My wife is Professional Climber Kim Ja-in.
I know who Kim Ja-in is.
She is a professional climber.
- It's a dangerous profession as well. - You're right.
I always tell her this.
As a climber trusts his ropes,
a firefighter trusts his safety gears and trainings.
- That's sexy. - That's awesome.
- I tell her that. - I need a break.
He's awesome.
What are you going to talk about today?
Actually, November 9th is Firefighting Day.
- November 9th? - Yes.
- It's the 54th Firefighting Day. - Did you know about this?
The president makes a speech on the Firefighting Day.
- He knows. - The Police Day, Firefighting Day, and Armed Forces Day are important.
He's written speeches.
Since it's Firefighting Day,
I wanted to say something to the citizens as a fire fighter.
- It's awesome. - It is.
- I'm regretting it. - Why?
I should've said something like that, but I talked about diarrhea and things.
We're all human. I loved it.
All right.
That was the ninth meeting of As I Say.
Now, we'll go out on the street.
Great. Today's location for busking is...
the hub of public transportation.
- The skyscrapers make the place look like a future city. - Where is it?
It's the Hapjeong Station intersection.
Hapjeong Station intersection.
Should we go to Hapjeong Station intersection for our ninth busking?
Yes, it's my favorite time.
- Something left much to be desired when I watched it. - What is it?
You went out through the door and were laughing right over here.
- It didn't make any sense. - Shh!
- You have to keep acting behind the windows. - I see.
- You saw that, too? - Of course.
We need to do it properly.
- I'm sorry. It's my favorite time. - Please do it properly.
Also, please go to the bathroom now.
- The journey is pretty bumpy. - It takes a while.
All right.
- Let's send Se-young first and follow her. - Sure.
Please follow me.
This is something I've never thought of.
What's wrong? Look at that.
(A scene from a disaster movie)
(Impressed)
I'll be back. Wait...
- What? - Gosh!
(That's awesome.)
(She shows off her acting skills with a shadow.)
Did she really have to do that?
(A moment later...)
Lee Se-young looks ugly in person.
I captured the comments.
The president was sitting right in front of me.
He brought a bottle of whisky and emptied the bottle.
(It can't get any more intense than this.)
A leader who can't express her thoughts in words.
That's why this has been going on for the past four years.
(A passionate political manifesto busking starts now!)
(Hapjeong Station intersection, Mapo-gu, Seoul)
My goodness.
Be careful.
We've safely teleported.
That's right.
We're at the Hapjeong Station intersection.
Let me tell you something really surprising.
Firefighter Oh Young-hwan changed his clothes...
in the wormhole.
He's amazing.
He looks like a warrior.
The busking place can be a site, too.
A firefighter needs to wear the uniform when he goes to a site.
- Why is he so awesome? - He's awesome.
I see.
Now, let's go to the waiting room and plan out today's busking.
- Let's go. - Let's go.
Go!
(That must be the place.)
We're now in the waiting room.
The first busker is Kang Won-guk.
What are you doing?
Get out there.
This is how you send buskers. Good luck!
- Good luck! - Good luck!
Doesn't he have to go to the bathroom?
(He doesn't go to the toilet.)
He's going out.
(He comes out confidently.)
(Buzzing)
(What is that?)
(The drone camera catches people's attention.)
(Excuse me.)
(People are more interested in the drone camera.)
Excuse me. I'm the busker today.
(Who is he?)
(People don't know him, but they sit down.)
(It's fascinating.)
Many people are sitting down.
People are sitting down.
(Laughing)
You don't know me, right? I'm sure you have no idea.
Have you heard of the book "Writing Speeches for the President"?
Though you haven't read the book,
many of you might have heard of the book being mentioned on TV.
I'm the author of that book.
(So impressed)
These days, the issue around presidential speech has become very controversial.
I worked as a speech writer for former presidents,
Kim Dae-Jung and Roh Moo-hyun for 8 years.
I was the Speech Writing Secretary of the Blue House.
I started my first own writing...
when I was a second grader.
(Sipping water)
That's when my mother passed away.
When the new semester started in March, my teacher...
asked me if my mother could visit the school to meet him.
But I couldn't tell him that my mom is no longer with me.
I don't know why.
I just felt so embarrassed.
There were so many things that I couldn't talk about when I was young.
So I just said yes...
and agonized all night long.
At that time, we celebrated "Mother's Day" in May.
On the day, an essay contest was held.
I wrote my own story about that night, how much I agonized through the night.
On Mother's Day, the principal of my school...
addressed all the students gathered on the playground.
He made a speech and then read my essay.
He burst into tears while he was reading my essay.
My essay made him cry.
So I thought to myself, "I must be really talented in writing."
- "It works." - Works for what?
That's what I thought.
To be honest, the real reason that I started writing was...
because I was not good at speaking.
I was frightened when I had to.
If there are more than five people, I couldn't even stand in front of them.
When there's a group discussion, they always require someone to present the result.
I always volunteered to write the minute.
But actually it requires a lot of work.
When I take the job, others would usually exclude me from the presentation.
When I graduated from the university,
I had to give a presentation about my thesis. The audience was my classmates.
I couldn't muster up courage to stand in front of them and talk about...
my thesis theme just for three minutes.
So I brought a bottle of whiskey hidden in a water bottle like this...
and drank it during the break time right before I started the presentation.
After my presentation, the professor told me "Why did you drink so much last night?"
I barely managed to graduate from the school.
He must've been really terrified of public speech.
- That might not be water, either. - Maybe.
The one who cured my fear of public speech was the former president.
(It's Roh Moo-hyun.)
That moment is still vivid in my mind. It was in Yeouido, Seoul.
I was having sulleongtang for lunch.
I got a call from the Office of Private Secretary to the President.
(A call from the presidential office)
The person told me it was a direction from the president himself.
At the following week's presidential meeting with his top aides,
they would discuss how the script of congratulatory speech for...
National Liberation Day will be written. There'd be a presentation session, too.
He said, "Please be ready for the meeting."
So I quietly laid down my spoon on the table.
(He stopped eating his sulleongtang.)
It was time to leave.
It was a good life.
(He couldn't finish his sulleongtang after hearing that news.)
But as I gave up everything,
a certain thought came across my mind.
I might not be able to finish the presentation and would be totally embarrassed.
But those who will listen to me...
are the President and ministers.
They are the least people I'd come across on the street.
I didn't have to meet them again for good.
I could just give it a try and leave them.
That's what I thought.
I wrote a script of what I was going to present and completely memorized it.
On the meeting day, the President was sitting right in front of me.
I was so frightened that I only looked at the ceiling of the room.
The ceiling of the Blue House was so high. It was like looking at the sky.
I just said what I memorized.
It must've been like this.
(High enough to cause neck pain)
When I finished my presentation, the President was silent.
Everyone in the room looked quite baffled.
They might have thought, "He must be so sick."
The President told me, "Thank you and go back to your seat."
Though it was only once, that experience...
completely cured my phobia.
After giving a presentation in front of the President,
I slowly adapted to public speech.
I'm still feel very nervous, even right now. But I'm not the only one who's nervous.
Everyone feels nervous when he or she speaks.
Students and office workers in Korea are required to study...
"reading" and "listening".
They read books, and they are required to listen well...
to their parents, teachers, and their bosses.
They read text books and others books.
Also, they read document and materials at their workplaces.
Koreans are the heaviest readers and listeners...
in the world. That's what we are very good at.
Right, that's true.
But reading and listening are about understanding what others think.
If you work harder on reading and listening,
your reading and listening comprehension will be improved.
Also, you'll be able to have great ability for summarization.
That leads to better ability and skills to copy, imitate,
and follow others. You'll be better at them.
That's how Korea has reinvented itself into...
the 11th largest economy in the world.
But the problem is, if you want to take one step further...
to lead others, you must have your own thoughts.
Your own idea, imagination,
and creativity are needed.
But those capabilities are not acquired through reading and listening.
You can achieve them only through speaking and writing.
However, when I was young, it was quite common to see...
the list of "students who talked too much during the class"...
on the blackboard in the classroom. The list was always there.
(I know what it is!)
- I used to be on the list. - Right.
When the teacher came in, he always started the class by saying "Be quiet!"
- "Quiet!" - That's right. My goodness.
If you say something at the table,
they'd say, "talking while eating brings bad luck."
"Just finish your meal." That's what parents used to say.
Right. Sometimes I was hit on my head with spoons.
Even there are sayings like, "The worst wheel of the cart always creaks most."
People also say, "The silence is golden."
If you talk a lot, some even say you're a communist.
(Talkative people were often ridiculed as communists.)
Right, people used to say that.
(Negative perspectives about speaking)
In a society that requires us to stay silent, we have studied...
and worked.
Let's take a look at what's happening right now.
(He's talking about current affairs.)
Somebody has to write speeches on behalf of the leader.
Those who had witnessed such bad practice...
(Top secretaries and aides of the leader)
didn't raise an objection or say it was not right.
If you have a question, you should raise it. You have to ask it.
Instead, everyone shut his or her mouth and remained silent.
Nobody has done that for the last four years.
That's why we're faced with this outrageous situation.
A leader who can't express her ideas with her own words.
Advisers who don't raise a question.
Combined, they caused this problem.
I think it all comes down to the matter of writing and speaking.
(A society which doesn't allow free expression)
Once you start talking, you'll see your thoughts are organized.
Or even new ideas would come to your mind.
When you're drunk, you'd become talkative.
You find yourself expressing thoughts that you've never realized you had them.
- He's right. I become a great speaker when I'm drunk. - True.
When you speak and write your ideas with your own words,
you'll be able to develop imagination and creativity.
So we should speak and write a lot.
Which means, we have to produce a lot of outputs.
Moreover, you know how you feel...
so refreshed and relieved after talking with your friends.
It's because you had a good talk.
Everyone is born...
with desire to express themselves. We want to express our ideas.
We often hear people saying...
"I don't want to play a leading role."
"I just want to be one of you. I'll follow what I'm told."
Even those people...
would love to express themselves. It's our nature.
They are just worried that they might be humiliated...
when they express themselves or be disappointed with themselves.
They are just hesitating and scared of expressing their thoughts.
Your identity...
lies inside you. It's a combination of your thoughts and feelings.
The only way you can figure out those hidden inside yourself is...
writing and speaking.
You can find your true self only when you speak and write.
You have to speak and write to be happier.
If you heard something from someone, tell it to others.
If you read something interesting from books, write it down somewhere.
You read and listen in order to...
write and speak.
If you're not to write or speak,
why do you put someone else's thoughts into your head?
Try to enjoy reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
It will make you so happy.
(Finding happiness with it)
First of all, you have to build your own fortress.
It could be a blog or a notepad.
Write whatever you heard from others there.
Write them down and speak them out to others.
Keep doing that in your everyday life.
When you have a hard time and life becomes so painful,
write your feelings there.
Half of the pain will be gone.
That is a place for you and yourself.
If you have that place,
you won't be unhappy even if others look down upon you.
But if you don't have it, you'll make yourself unhappy...
when others don't recognize you.
Write about yourself, recognize yourself, and heal yourself.
Speaking, listening, reading, and writing...
should be a part of your life.
Now, let me answer your questions.
After all my speech about the importance of speaking, there must be questions.
(I believe you.)
(He's amazing.)
He's so good.
- He's the best speaker. - Right.
(An invincible speaker)
Yes.
People are so eager to ask.
- Please go ahead. - Yes.
You said you worked as a speech writer for the former presidents.
After you wrote a speech script and handed it in to him,
did the president himself correct the script?
The two former presidents whom I worked for...
didn't like to insert great quotes or ideas of others,
no matter how wonderful they are.
They wanted to put only their own thoughts into the script...
in their own writing style.
So every time I hand in the draft,
they used to correct them in detail.
I'm from the generation of heavy listeners.
To people like me who are in their teenage years and 20s,
what would you like to advise?
- Their questions are insightful. - Indeed.
They are amazing.
Students from younger generations are much smarter than me.
But economic difficulties make you suffer with many problems such as unemployment.
Still, you shouldn't hesitate to express your smart thoughts.
You should speak and write...
more actively in your daily life.
I had to follow the practice set by older generations.
I had to listen to them.
I wasn't allowed to talk back to them and had to do what I was told.
I wish your generations will be able to break from the bad old practice.
Mostly, you have written stories for other people.
But today, you're talking about your life and experience.
I wonder what made you give a speech like this.
There's a saying that goes,
"Once you experience how life at the 2nd floor is,"
"you won't go back to the 1st floor."
I've never heard of it.
I have lived in the 2nd floor since I was 50.
That's when I started my own writing.
Writing for myself, I felt so happy.
So I have always wanted to share my experience with others.
There's the second floor in the building.
Why don't you go upstairs and take a look how it's like?
It's a life that goes beyond inputs. It's a life where you produce your outputs.
It's a life that allows you to speak and write.
I wish more people would take a look at the second floor.
That's why I'm here.
- Yes. - They ask a lot of questions.
Currently, I'm working at a school.
I can't stop saying "Be quiet" to my students...
in the classroom.
I want to give them more opportunities to speak and write.
But in reality, one teacher has to deal with more than 30 students.
- I wonder how I can give such opportunities to my students. - I see.
I totally understand your situation.
It's because teachers always want to...
teach more things to their students. That is why.
However, that is a very teacher-oriented approach.
They consider students are subject to control and management.
If we shift the focus slightly more on the students,
there could be a new solution to this problem. That's what I think.
(So many questions here and there)
I think MC You Hee-yeol would blame me for taking too much time.
(Keep going!)
- Go ahead. - You said we need to speak and write more,
and express ourselves more.
But it's hard to express myself because...
we all have seen celebrities or politicians who got criticized...
due to their inappropriate language.
Once spoken, words cannot be retrieved and might do harm to you.
I wonder how I can improve my speaking skills in a more sophisticated way.
That's why you need courage.
You must be the center of this world.
If you're not here, the world wouldn't exist.
- Right. - Yes, he's right.
Tell whatever you want to say.
You're the center of this universe. What do you fear? Your thoughts matter the most.
There's no right or wrong in thinking.
He's so cool.
Are you having a hard time these days?
(Getting upset)
- He's upset - Muster up your courage and speak out.
(Speak up what you think.)
This is the end of my speech.
Over there, there's a machine for donations.
Since I'm the first speaker, everyone would know how much I collected today.
(Too honest)
- He saw how it works. - Right.
Thank you for listening despite this cold weather. Thank you.
(His speech came to an end.)
- It was good. - Though he already left the Blue House, he's still a great speaker.
He was so cool.
(The collected money will be donated to charity through Happy Bean.)
(Won-guk came back.)
You are the best.
- I loved your speech. - Well done.
- I was so touched. - Please have a seat here.
- People paid keen attention though it's really cold. - I was so surprised.
You said we have to make outputs.
It goes really well with the purpose of this show.
When I first saw this show, I thought it should've started earlier.
- I felt like missing a chance. - Pardon?
There's a saying like that.
Does everyone know what it means?
What did you say? Missing a chance?
Recently, we've had a lot of conversation over current affairs...
and often disagree with other people.
We have different perspectives.
- I'm very scared of such difference when I discuss something. - Right.
Even starting a conversation feels somewhat pressing.
Basically, the culture of communication and negotiation...
doesn't exist in our society.
We need to iron out our differences to reach a compromise.
But Koreans are very poor at it,
whether it's through conversation or writing.
We haven't even tried to build such culture.
Rulers didn't like their people to discuss and express their ideas.
So Koreans didn't have a chance to nurture such capabilities.
My job is related to speaking, so I talk and speak a lot.
- But I'm such a terrible writer. - I know what it means.
Can you give me a tip to become a good writer?
As Haha is already a great speaker,
he's under a huge pressure that his writing must be as good as his speaking.
Frankly speaking, that's because you want too much.
You have to give up on it first.
Everyone can write, if he writes only about...
what he knows and what he's good at.
But people want to pretend as if they know more,
- or they are great writers. - That's what happens when we write something.
I'm sure that Haha can be a good writer...
because he has the courage to admit what he doesn't know.
- Keep that in mind when you write. - But people are sick of this type of courage.
They said now I should be more intelligent.
Okay.
It's time for our second busker to meet the audience.
- I don't worry about her. - Me, either.
- I feel so nervous. - She'll be really good.
She's the queen of comedy performance.
However, there is...
nothing previously assigned or agreed.
I have to talk about myself to people who haven't met me.
I feel a bit nervous.
- But I can do well. - Great.
Shout like Bruce Lee.
(It comes out almost automatically.)
So funny.
(She does look like Bruce Lee.)
Se-young, what are you doing?
- Get out there! - Get out there!
Okay, I'm going out.
- I'm ready. - She's hilarious.
- It's needless to say. - Are they work gloves?
Well, though they look like work gloves, they are made of fur.
- The handsome firefighter Young-hwan gave it to you. - I'll make sure to finish it.
(Water from a handsome man)
I'll see you later.
- Good luck! - Thank you.
I can do it!
- Isn't it freezing cold outside? - Yes, it's so cold.
It's 7pm right now.
What do you think of this place? You'd know a lot about it as a resident here.
It's a place where drunk people would drop by to take a break.
Place for break?
(So worried)
Hello, everyone.
Let's talk with me.
You two look so great together. Please come with me.
Let's have a talk together. Your eyes are beautiful.
Come here. Shall we talk together?
Where should I be standing?
- Here. - Come here.
- Here. - Is this the place?
- Right. - That's it.
(People are guiding her.)
She has great people skills.
She changes when she takes the microphone. It's a magic microphone.
I thought so hard how I would attract the audience.
But now I'm quite relieved that so many people are gathered in no time.
I'm really grateful. Now let me start my speech.
Thank you.
Yes, you told me to stand here, but I was too nervous.
Even Se-young got nervous there.
Today, I'm going to talk about...
how I got over the online haters.
I'll talk about my personal experience about them.
That's my topic.
I first appeared on a TV show about non-celebrities,
and then became a show reporter.
After that, I became a comedienne.
I'm so happy every day, because I'm doing what I wanted to do.
But you know everything has pros and cons.
Though I really love this job,
having the job I love...
sometimes hurts me so much.
Let me tell you what I experienced one day.
A woman approached me and said "Se-young, please take a picture with me."
So I was striking a pose like this.
Then she said "No, not that one. Can you make an ugly face for the picture?"
"Make a funny expression."
I did my best to look funny and took a picture with her.
She looked so happy.
What do you think would be the first thing I do...
when I wake up in the morning?
- Search your name on the internet. - Yes, I search my name.
These days, many people update their social media accounts with hashtags.
So I did a search for hashtags that included my name. That day,
I found a picture under the hashtag of "Lee Se-young".
Hashtag, "The ugliest woman".
Hashtag, "Looked even funnier in person".
And there were comments below it.
"Who's the celebrity here? You're way prettier than her."
That's understandable.
Seeing those comments, I came to...
lose my confidence as a woman.
I'm a comedienne with fake beard drawn on my face.
Hearing such negative comments lowered my self-confidence even further.
I couldn't help it.
(Her self-confidence plummeted.)
While I was feeling so bad like that,
I came across with an incident which made what I am today.
I started my career in the entertainment business six years ago, and this is...
my first time to talk about it.
Through talking about it with you,
I want to get over the things which hurt me.
So I want to talk about it for the first time.
After I made my debut as a comedienne,
I happened to participate in a party.
While I was talking with people,
a person kicked me so hard...
out of blue...
with his foot.
I wasn't prepared or ready for such an abrupt attack.
Moreover, he was so drunk that he lost control of his power.
I collapsed and cried.
(She cried.)
He came to me and said,
"Stop crying", instead of "I'm sorry".
He said, "Stop crying."
If I had continued crying so hard,
his friends would've blamed him. It would spoil the party.
(Drinking was more important than her.)
But as I told you before, my self-confidence...
was so low at that time.
When he kicked me, I thought,
"I deserve it. It's not a big deal."
"He'd get into a trouble if I cry more."
- That makes me feel so bad. - At that time,
I was deeply shocked both mentally and physically.
So I had to stop appearing on TV.
During that time,
I had serious skepticism over my own life.
I started comedy because I loved it.
Why didn't I object him at that moment?
Why did I let him...
(Tearing up)
The person in front of me is looking at me with teary eyes.
I can't hold it back, either.
All right.
It was...
What do I do?
Don't cry. Make sure I look pretty in the picture.
Okay.
(So funny)
She doesn't lose her sense of humor even at this moment.
Again, I had skepticism while I was having a career break.
I even considered quitting comedy act.
I was so frightened to stand and see people from the stage.
I was scared of men. It was really painful.
(She had a hard time.)
One day, I thought about myself.
The reason why...
I experienced those things...
might lie in myself. That's what I thought.
(It's a matter of self-confidence.)
Thinking that was the reason for all those incidents,
I decided to change myself first.
I thought I should develop something...
- for which I could be proud of myself. - She's very positive.
So I started learning things, whatever it was.
I tried all kinds of sports.
I learned squash, yoga, and aerobics...
and tried personal training, too. Also I learned singing and acting.
I started to learn how to play the guitar and piano, and studied foreign languages.
I learned everything I could.
Because I wanted to be as good as my seniors.
I learned things whenever I had time.
That way, I slowly regained my self-confidence.
One day, I thought "I'm pretty cool."
Another way to heal myself was...
taking screen shots of comments written by haters.
Some of the mean comments even mentioned...
my parents.
- That's not right. - They shouldn't do that .
That crossed the line.
- There must be a minimum level of decency. - I tolerate most of bad comments.
- Sure. - But I wouldn't stand if they mention my family.
(Don't touch my family.)
I know some of you wouldn't like me without any reason.
I don't expect everyone will like me.
But one day, I saw my parents reading those hateful comments.
They always read all the comments about me.
I read hateful comments posted to an article,
and my mother was reading them.
At the moment, I wasn't really sure if it's right to continue my career.
But she pretended as if she knew nothing.
I took screenshots of the comments not to file a suit against my haters.
I just wished some day they might post good comments about me.
That's all I wanted. So I took screen shots of those comments...
and have kept them.
Of course, I take screenshots of all good comments as well.
Whenever I feel tired, I read them. They give me great energy.
As time goes by, I got more of good comments.
I learned more things and became confident.
Then I came to like how I look.
I started to like what I am.
(She loves herself as she is.)
It's me.
As I'm a good person,
I received an award as a proof of my hard work.
Isn't it time to give me a big hand?
(You're a great woman, Se-young.)
I lived my life to the fullest...
and started to love myself.
It gave me a lot of things in return.
(She found her happiness by herself.)
My speech wasn't really well organized.
But the bottom line I wanted to share with you is...
that everyone goes through hardships. I did have a really hard time, too.
But I tried my best to get over the hardships.
So you and me, let's do it together.
This year is already nearing the end.
In 2017, let's do our best and become happier.
We can do it.
Let's become happier. Let's go for it! Thank you.
- Good. - I like it.
The way she tried is so cool.
Her speech was so good.
- Right. - It was really good.
- Hello, I'm a senior in a middle school. - Yes.
I'm quite concerned about...
what others think of me and how they evaluate me.
Even when people say I'm good at something, I don't want to take it as it is.
I'm kind of scared of...
having confidence about myself.
Please give me advice.
It's because you're too nice and kind.
It's very natural that you're conscious of what others would think of you.
But you don't need to take it too seriously.
Personally, I think you made a great achievement today...
because you just...
raised your hand in front of so many people standing here.
(She took her courage.)
Also, you shared your concerns, which were not quite light.
This act alone should be considered something very courageous and cool.
You don't need to mull over what other people told you...
and hurt yourself because of their comments.
Think of what you'd like to become in the future.
Imagine yourself standing on the stage you dreamed of and looking down on them.
I feel very happy when I do that.
It will help you a lot.
Don't worry too much. It's okay.
- Thank you. - Thank you for your question.
Thank you.
She's so cool.
It's girl crush!
(How cool.)
I'm a subway worker at line number three.
When people get on and get off the train,
most of them look very weary and grim. So I want to...
delight them with subway announcements.
But I don't know what to say.
Can you please give me some tips as a professional comedienne?
(Seeking advice on subway announcement)
Next station is Hapjeong.
The doors will open on the left side.
Passengers who will get off, please scream!
(Very witty)
Yes!
(Fascinated)
Say ho!
I say "Hap", you say "Jeong Station"!
Hap! Jeong Station!
(Laughing)
These days, it's not only comedians...
or TV celebrities who need diverse talents to show off.
It would be great for you too if you have something to show off one day.
For instance, guys often impersonate Actor Lee Sun-kyun...
or Singer Lim Jae-bum.
Impersonating them would be good.
You can say, "I'd like to give some fun to you who worked hard today."
If you make such announcement,
it will be so fun. I myself used to take the subway...
for a long time.
- Thank you for your advice. - You can search YouTube video clips.
A dance like this.
I think I don't have any more question from you.
No, you shouldn't leave yet.
I've got something to tell you. What's that machine...
over there?
If you were touched by my story,
or if you found something special in my story, you can donate.
I will donate some to myself.
(She's cheering for herself.)
Thank you for paying attention to me despite this cold weather.
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Thank you.
(People were all ears throughout her busking.)
(Everyone, you did a great job.)
(The collected money will be donated to charity through Happy Bean.)
Now, our second busker Lee Se-young...
has just finished her speech.
What's really interesting is, you look so worried now.
(He doesn't look well suddenly.)
It seems you became a bit less handsome than a few hours ago.
(Become less handsome)
(He's losing his charms.)
What a beautiful comedienne!
- She's so hot! - I'm so hot!
(You're the best.)
- Well done. - Thank you.
I loved your speech.
- Warm your hands up with this. - Thank you.
Have a seat.
(Hot coffee will warm up her body and mind.)
When you talked about incidents that happened to you,
for which you might have felt humiliated,
- I lost my words. - Right.
I share the same feeling with her.
What was the best comment you remember?
"I can't deny that she's really talented."
- That's the best. - Many people liked the comment, too.
I totally agree with that opinion.
- No one's a match for you in terms of talent. - I'm not a match.
- You're the winner. - I'll try my best.
All right.
(Slouching)
We are about to do our last busking.
It is almost 8pm right now.
It is our golden time. Everything is up to you.
(Worried)
You're not going to run away, are you?
- What are you doing? - Get out there!
- Let's go! - Let's go!
Don't worry.
- Let's go! - His expression...
was so bright a while ago.
Now he's wearing an awkward smile.
An uncomfortable smile.
(Firefighter Oh Young-hwan is next.)
Hello. Today is November 9th, Firefighting Day.
I know it's cold and you're busy, but I would appreciate it...
if you can listen to my story about firefighters.
Please come and sit down.
(I want to listen to this.)
(Cheering)
(Everyone finishes sitting down.)
(Clearing his throat)
(Smiling happily)
He didn't say anything, and everyone's smiling.
Their smiles are so different from before.
It's totally different.
I am a firefighter that comes to your rescue...
whenever you are in danger. My name is Oh Young-hwan.
(A Korean firefighter, Oh Young-hwan)
(A handsome firefighter)
Is this the first time meeting a firefighter on the street?
- Yes. - Yes.
I'm currently working in Seoul Seongbuk Fire station...
as a motorcycle paramedic.
Many people trust firefighters...
and send us lots of love and affection.
Sometimes, there are people...
that call us heroes.
It's an honor.
But recently,
people are starting to describe us in a strange way.
You might have seen this picture on the internet.
It's a picture of a firefighter eating noodles...
at the scene of a fire.
(A firefighter is eating noodles.)
A poor hero.
A poor firefighter.
(The picture changed people's views.)
You might feel sorry for him,
but this is so natural to me.
How can a scene of fire where lives are at stake...
be a comfortable and warm place?
This is something that a firefighter...
must accept as his work. It's our work.
We are paid by your precious taxes,
and we get married like you and make families.
We are living in this society as normal people, too.
The most difficult time for a firefighter...
is not the moments of physical pain.
The hardest times...
are when we are not able to save someone in front of our eyes.
That's the hardest moment for firefighters.
(This is the most difficult time for firefighters.)
It was one summer morning...
when we received a call from a rescue scene.
Someone called us saying, "My child is not breathing."
(My child is not breathing.)
I rushed to the scene as fast as I could,
but when I arrived at the house,
the first thing I saw...
was the feet of a small child...
lying in the living room.
(The feet of a small child)
The feet had already begun to go purple.
Time had already passed since the baby died.
(The baby had already died.)
Right then, a door opened...
and a little girl looked out.
She didn't know her brother was dead.
She was looking at me brightly...
with curiosity on her face.
Since a firefighter was in her house.
(Because a firefighter was in her house.)
I still remember her eyes.
(He still remembers her eyes.)
(Young-hwan still feels regret.)
What firefighters need...
is not just power and speed.
They have to sympathize.
They need to help others in need...
and sympathize with people in grief.
This was not my first time.
Eight years ago,
the fire truck that I was in arrived late at a fire scene.
(He arrived late at a fire scene.)
The firefighters who arrived first gave us...
a wrapped up blanket.
And thin arms and legs were sticking out of that blanket.
(Thin arms and legs were sticking out of that blanket.)
That child died two days later from burns over his whole body.
(A child died due to burns over his whole body.)
This child had a physical disability.
He couldn't move on his own.
It must have been so hot for him, lying alone.
So hot and scary and painful.
(So hot, so painful)
I wanted to go there faster.
I was filled with regret because I wasn't able to save that child.
But I couldn't do anything.
I just had to watch.
That's right.
Firefighters try our best...
to arrive at the scene.
But...
we cannot save everyone by ourselves.
Have you heard of the term "Golden Time"?
It's five minutes.
It's difficult to save someone within the golden time.
(It is difficult.)
The streets of Seoul...
are always packed with cars.
And illegally parked cars are still a big problem.
(Illegally parked cars are still a problem.)
Another important problem...
is that people call 119 too easily.
They want us to retrieve cellphones from the sewer.
They want us to kill roaches in their homes.
The bigger problem is ambulances.
There is only one ambulance per neighborhood.
A person who can walk comes out of the house...
and thinks of us as a taxi, telling us where they feel uncomfortable.
We want to help,
but at that same moment,
a more critical patient might need our help.
We cannot guarantee that patient's life.
(The patient's life can't be guaranteed.)
They must go to a scene if they receive a call.
When you hear news about accidents,
you probably thought it was about people you don't know.
But that emergency patient...
might be you or someone from your family.
(An accident can happen to anyone.)
Everyone, firefighters...
are not heroes.
We need help from heroes.
Those heroes...
who can help firefighters...
are you.
Only you can help us.
I think I might cry.
(Patting)
You probably saw this on the news often.
It was about a bus that turned upside down inside a tunnel.
Some courageous adults...
broke the glass and rescued all the children inside.
It's such an amazing and thankful story.
But a hero that I'm talking about...
is not just a hero in those urgent situations.
Not parking illegally in an alley...
and yielding when you hear a siren behind you.
This behavior can help us save someone's life.
This is the best way to help.
(The most heroic behavior)
I wish you can be a hero for the firefighters.
Become a hero for your family...
your friends and the people you love.
I hope you can become a hero.
(Please be a hero.)
I will finish my story of firefighters.
(Saluting)
- Wow. - He deserves a standing ovation.
- Wow. - I want to salute him.
(Amazing)
I think he's the most attractive guy I've ever seen.
Really.
Do you have any questions?
What has to be improved the most...
out of the poor labor conditions of firefighters?
You asked about labor conditions for firefighters.
A few years ago, there was an issue...
about changing firefighting into a nationally designated profession.
We are local government officers.
I am a firefighter that belongs to Seoul city.
(They belong to the local government.)
Compared to other areas, Seoul has a sufficient budget and manpower.
We have sufficient equipment...
and other things that can help our work.
But the other areas are different.
Only two officers get on a truck that can hold five men.
And an officer that received only basic training...
rides an ambulance that requires a first-degree medical technician.
The citizens of our country...
are not being guaranteed their rights for safety.
Instead of worrying about our poor labor conditions,
I'm worried about the safety of our citizens.
I believe that firefighting should be nationally designated.
Thank you.
- Hello. - Hello.
I think your family might be worried...
because you face many dangerous situations. How is it?
My mother doesn't watch television, because the news broadcasts...
firefighters in dangerous situations. She said she's scared to look.
I got married a while ago,
and my wife is here today.
- Wow. - Really?
(Really?)
(He was married?)
My wife is a professional climber.
Is she hanging somewhere?
(Such a lame joke)
I would like to bring my wife out here.
- There she is. - She's sitting right there.
- Se-young and I will go down for an interview. - Okay.
- Go down and say hello to her. - She's very pretty.
That guy must really love his wife. He brought her here.
(The firefighter in love)
- Look at his eyes. - Yes.
We are sorry to interrupt.
Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you.
- The citizens of Mapo-gu. - Yes.
I think some of you may have been disappointed...
after hearing that he was married. Please raise your hands.
I knew it.
There's a guy, too.
We will invite his wife up here.
- Can you introduce yourself? - Okay.
My name is Kim Ja-in, and I'm a climber.
- It's nice to meet you. - She's so pretty.
(Nice to meet you.)
People asked if his family was worried.
What do you think, as his wife?
I believe that he will watch out...
for his own safety.
Instead of that,
he sees so many tragic accidents during work.
He doesn't express his feelings often,
but sometimes when it's really hard, he tells me about it.
I'm sad when I see his feelings get hurt,
and I'm also worried.
Tell me how you two met.
You have totally different professions.
I used to learn sports climbing as a hobby,
and my instructor was a close friend of my wife.
Our age is similar, so we started to see each other.
Who expressed their feelings first?
We liked each other the day we met.
(They were both in love.)
(Right then...)
- Oh, my gosh. - Let's welcome You Hee-yeol.
Come closer.
Let's give a round of applause for the buskers.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- We have something to reveal. - Yes.
We have finished our ninth busking.
We will now reveal the amount that has been collected.
We will now reveal how much...
- Kang Won-guk has collected. - Yes.
(Drumroll)
(Let's see.)
It's 50 dollars. Wow!
(Impressed)
- Wow. - Amazing.
(Wow)
Did she collect more?
Now, let's add the amount that Lee Se-young collected.
It is 106 dollars!
Wow!
- Then 56 people made a donation? - This is amazing.
- We are so thankful. - How could this happen?
- I know. - I can't believe it.
Are you worried?
(Worried)
The last busker, Oh Young-hwan.
Oh Young-hwan.
- They didn't start yet. - Right.
We suddenly introduced his wife.
The total collected amount will be revealed through subtitles.
We will try our best next week.
He sounds like Sohn Suk-hee.
- Everyone, Ha Hee-yeol! - Ha Hee-yeol!
- Thank you. - Ha Hee-yeol!
(Ha Hee-yeol!)
(I'm the most attractive guy on the planet, Shin Dong-wook.)
(Shouting a catch phrase in our memories)
(I'm a fanatic of the universe.)
(Why are you talking about the universe now?)
(Flustered)
(Se-jeong, the girl who walks the rosy path)
(The heroine of "We Want to Know")
(Criminal Psychologist Lee Soo-Jung)
It's more difficult to rehabilitate my husband than criminals.
(Sympathizing)
(She tells us the truth about tax.)
(He tells his story for the first time in six years.)
(The moments of pain)
(His overwhelming emotions)
(A difficult and courageous act of speaking)
(What will be the result of their sincere busking?)
(As I Say)
Subtitles by OnDemandKorea