[W Forum] Stamp Tour

Seojaeyeon, Executive Director of Galleria WM at Mirae Asset Securities.
Photo by Asia Economy DB

Not long ago, I received a bag as a gift at the Gongju Museum. It was a souvenir given when you collect ten visit stamps from 37 museums and art galleries in the Chungcheong region. This small stamp book, which is almost complete with just a few more stamps, has now become my precious treasure.

As a child, I felt a sense of accomplishment each time an empty space in my stamp book was filled. Due to my family's modest circumstances, I couldn't have fancy stationery or toys, but stamps were something I could achieve just by being diligent. It seems that my desire for achievement, to complete assigned tasks, was formed during this time.

In the early days of my career, while seniors bought luxury goods when traveling abroad, I had to replace that joy with the pleasure of carefully collecting stamp tour seals. Now, I have a few luxury items stored away in my wardrobe, but the treasures that become more precious over time are the stamp books filled with memories made with care.

The beginning of domestic stamp travel was probably the Jeju Olle Trail or the Four Major Rivers Bicycle Path. Each time I stamped the seal during the tough journey, a sense of accomplishment surged. It was exactly the same feeling I had as a child.

At some places, the stamp ink was dry, and no matter how much I blew on it, the stamp wouldn’t come out, so I carried ink with me. There were times when stamps were stolen, which was quite disheartening. Now, fixed stamps with non-drying ink have been introduced. There was even a system where a QR code automatically stamps your smartphone upon arrival at designated locations. The Seosan Maae Samjonbul stamp surprised me because it came out like a black-and-white photo.

This time, I hurriedly visited over 30 places, imagining the Suri Museum in connection with numbers or mistakenly thinking that the ‘Pilgyeongsa’ and ‘Gobul Maengsa-seong Memorial Hall’ were Buddhist-related places due to preconceived notions. I read ‘Seokoi, Dongnyeong Memorial Hall’ as related to cucumbers and visited, only to feel like I was hit on the head. This was because I had seen cucumber models, a local specialty, somewhere nearby and jumped to conclusions. At the birthplace of independence activist Lee Dong-nyeong, I spent time reflecting deeply. I reflected on the days I had lived too hastily and tried to follow the great thoughts of the teacher who played in the nearby back mountain and front stream.

Sometimes, I thought the things made inside museums for children’s education seemed childish, but when I leaned against an old tree and looked at the nearby mountain landscape, I felt a sacred energy. The Maengsa-seong Old House was like that, and so was the church next to the Hapdeok Suri Museum.

Instead of rushing on the highway toward a destination and spending holidays venting frustration, how about leisurely traveling local roads to find and gather traces of our ancestors’ wisdom scattered here and there? The reason why "the foolish wander, but the wise travel" is because a good journey gifts wisdom.

I take out the luxury bag I had been saving for fear of wearing it out and carry it around recklessly. To me, luxury is the stamp book that made me who I am, and the life I desire is to be the one who stamps the "Well done" stamp on myself at the end.

Seo Jae-yeon, Executive Director, Mirae Asset Securities Galleria WM

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.