[One Thousand Characters a Day] Park Su-mil's Classical Transcription 'Samchon Seol'

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for readers of the 'One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters' newsletter. The transcription content is carefully selected according to daily and monthly themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, famous columns, and notable speeches. This week, let's learn about the virtues of humanity, the importance of relationships, and the wisdom that enriches life emphasized by people of the past through sentences from by Professor Park Su-mil of Hanyang University. The text contains 618 characters.

Sometimes, when lying in bed reflecting on the day's events, a sudden wave of embarrassment washes over me, and I pull the blanket over my head. Why did I act that way then? Why did I say those words? But regretting it is like spilled water that cannot be recovered.

The tongue is said to be about three inches long, hence the saying Samchonseol (三寸舌, "three-inch tongue"). Yet, this mere three-inch tongue can both kill and save a person. It is the shortest yet most dangerous weapon. If used well, the tongue can repay a debt of a thousand nyang, but if misused, it can collapse the reputation one has built over time. Confucius said that even if one does good deeds all their life, a single wrong word can destroy them.

Words can make others feel good or inflict wounds that cannot be washed away. Depending on how we speak, happiness and misfortune in life can be divided, and society can become more beautiful or more scarred.

However, in our lives, we often make verbal mistakes called sil-eon (失言, slip of the tongue) and break promises, known as sig-eon (食言, eating one's words). We exchange hundreds or thousands of words daily, sometimes hurting others and sometimes getting hurt ourselves. How can we speak wisely and avoid being hurt by others' words? The old saying to be cautious in speech and conduct is not light. Those who master the three-inch tongue conquer life itself.

- Park Su-mil,

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