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Korea: Saving One Life

Categories: East Asia, South Korea, Humanitarian Response

A netizen [1]shares a cute story that happened on a usual day for him. Helping others might not be so hard.

…안녕하세요.. 저는 20대 직장인 남자입니다^^! 다른게 아니라 어제 밤 11시 30분쯤에 있었던일을 이야기할려합니다… 뚜뚜~~뚜뚜~~뚜우우~ 7시다 퇴근하자 칼퇴근.. ㅁㅅㅁ 퇴근을 마치고.. 요즘 똥배가 조금나와서 8시부터 항상 운동을합니다.. 이 한강근처라.. 한강에서 조깅을하는데요~ 평소와같이.. mp3를 들으며 신나게 운동을하고.. 땀을 쫘악빼고~ 집으로 가는길이였습니다.. 제 조깅코스가 사람이별로없고 풀이 많이있는곳이 있는데.. 그곳에서 멈춰서 잠깐 한강 야경이나 보고 가야지하는 생각에 잠깐 걸음을 멈추었습니다..

그런데 한 남자분이 앉아있더라고요 그자리에는 소주2병이 있더라고요.. 안주는없고.. 깡소주;; 그런데 갑자기 그분이~ 나같은넘은 죽어야돼~ 죽어버릴꺼야~~ 큰소리로 소리를 치더라고요.. 그곳에는 그분과 저밖에없었는데.. 순간 저는 움찔 놀랬지만.. 그분있는곳을 바라보았조.. 그분 갑자기 옷을 벗더라고요.. 윗옷을벗고 바지를벗더라고요… 그리고 신발을 벗을려고하는 순간.. 저는 이건아니다 싶어서 막 달려갔습니다.. 그분에 팔을잡고.. 저기 무슨일있으신가요.. 저랑 잠깐만 이야기하자고했조.. 그분 처음보는 저에게 눈물을보이면서 펑펑 울더라고요.. 음~ 가만희 듣고있었답니다 저는.. 이야기를 들어보니 5년간 사귄 여자친구가있었는데.. 자기가 아는 선배한테 여자친구를 빼앗겼다고합니다… 그래서 세상살기가 싫다고하더라고요.. 나이도 어려보이고.. 동생같기도해서 실례지만 나이가 어찌되시조.. 여쭤봤더니~ 25살이라고 하더라고요.. 이야기를 쭈욱듣고 제가 그분에게.. 제가 그쪽보다 2살이 많은데 동생같기도하고 해서 제 경험담을 이야기해도 되겠냐고.. 요즘 운동중이라 술은 안먹지만 그분에게 소주한잔 달라고했습니다.. 그리고 저도 한잔드리고 둘이 깡소주로 한잔하고.. 저도 예전에 가슴아픈 경험담을 이야기해주면서.. 그걸 극복해낸 사연을 이야기했답니다.. 그 동생분에게 술한잔 사주고싶어서.. 주머니를 뒤져봤는데 만원이있더라고요.. 평소에 운동나갈때는 제가 딱 천원 생수하나 사먹을돈만 가지고가는데.. 오늘은 제가 천원이라고 생각하고 가지고 나온돈이.. 만원이더라고요^..^
브라보~! 그분에게 저기 형이 운동 나와서 지금 만원밖에없는데.. 우리 깡소주말고 쥐포라도 사가지고 쥐포에다가 소주어때^^? 물었더니.. 그리고 같이 마시던 2병중에 한병은 남아서 뚜껑닫고 키핑 콜 ㅎㅎ 그리고 편의점가서 쥐포와 소주2병을 사고.. 파라솔에 앉아서 그분과 2시간정도 많은 이야기를 나누었습니다.. 그분께서 눈물을 흘리면서 사실 오늘 자살할생각까지했는데.. 형하고 이야기를 나누어보니.. 자기가 바보스럽다고.. 더욱더 힘내야겠다고하더라고요..그리고 그 동생에게 연락처를 주고받고.. 다음에는 또 힘들면 형하고 술한잔 또하자했답니다..휴~ 그리고 집에 가는길에 안부 전화햇더니 무사히 집에 가는중이라고하더라고요..오늘 정신이 하나도없던 하루였지만.. 그래도 미약한 제가 누군가에게 힘이되었다는것이 뿌듯하고 기분이좋네요.. 읔 운동땜시 술은 절대 안먹을려고 제 자신에게 다짐했지만.. 오늘은 제 자신에게 외쳐봅니다..이런 상황에서는 괜찮아 임마 ㅋㅋ 다들 항상 행복하시기바랍니다^^

Hi.. I’m in my 20s and work at a company. I just would like to talk about what happened to me at 11 pm yesterday night. At 7 pm, at the close of office hours, I got out of the office. Every night I go jogging at 8 pm because I feel I got fat on my stomach. My house is near the Han River and my jogging course is usually around the Han River. As usual, listening to music on my mp3 player, I was running enjoyably. After finishing my jog, I was on the way back home. There are not a lot of people on my jogging course, but it is full of grass. I stopped in order to look around the night scene of the Han River.

Then I saw one man sitting there and two bottles of soju (Korean alcohol). Without any other side dish, he was just drinking soju. Suddenly he started crying out, “I should die. People like me don’t deserve to live. I’m gonna die~ I will die~” There were just him and me. I was startled and looked at him. He started taking his clothes off. First shirt and then pants. When he was talking shoes off, I ran to him. I grabbed his arm and said, “What’s going on? Do you want to talk with me?” Once he saw me a stranger, he wailed. Listening to his words, he had a girlfriend and their relationship was for five years. But he was deprived of her by his friend. He said that he doesn’t want to live anymore. He looked young and was probably younger than me. I made bold to ask him how old he is. He was 25. After listening to his story, I said, I will tell my experience because you look like my younger brother.” Due to exercise, I don’t drink recently, but asked him to give me a cup of soju. We exchanged cups of soju and talked about my heart-broken story. I wanted to buy soju for him and fumbled for the money in my pocket. I usually bring 1,000 won for a bottle of water, but at that day I had 10,000 won because I confused the money. What luck… I told him, “this brother came here to work out and so doesn’t have enough money. But why don’t we have dried filefish with soju together?” We walked to a grocery store and bought two more bottles of soju and dried filefish. Sitting under a parasol, I have talked with him for 2 more hours. Weeping, he said he was really thinking about giving his life up tonight, but now he felt he was really stupid. We exchanged our contact number and I suggested him that we can drink any other time. On the way back home, I called him in order to confirm. He received the call and said that he’s on the way back to his home as well. It was such a day, but I was glad that such a tiny human I can give the consolation to another person. Even though my promise not to drink was broken, I told to myself, ‘it is fine in this kind of situation.’ I hope that everyone is happy.

Many netizens have similar comments, as below.

잘하셧네요^^저도 25살인데 저도 일주일전에 친구한명을 떠나보냈어요~~~세상사는게 힘들다고 전화한통이 걸려와서 집에가보니 이미~~~하늘나라로 가고 말았네여~~저는 친구도 못살리는데~~대단하십니다…

You didn’t a good job. I’m also 25. I also had to send one friend a week ago~~~ She called me and said, it’s not easy to live in this world. I went to her house and she already left for the heaven~~ I even couldn’t save my friend~~

자살하는 사람의 대부분이 힘든 이야기를 나눌 상대가 없기 때문이라고 합니다. 거기서 정신적으로 내몰리신 거죠. 좋은일 하신 겁니다!! 다른 분들도 힘들때는 주위 아무나 붙잡고라도 이야기를 나누세요. 힘든 일은 나눌수록 작아진답니다!!

Most people who give up their lives don’t have partners with whom to have conversations. They’re on the verge spiritual problems. You did a good job!! When other people have a hard time, just try to talk with anyone around you. The more you share hardship, the smaller the hardship will be!!