How Polar Bears Saved Humans by Sacrificing Themselves ?
It's a gloomy day with a grimace.
Even my dull senses damaged by asthma
could anticipate impending rain.
I entered a coffee house located in a lonely place.
The cafe, which seemed to have begun its business recently,
impressed me with a unique logo and white-only interior.
The menu was simple and had only limited choices.
The house had a high loyalty to coffee.
The only choice other than coffee category was hot chocolate.
No problem for me.
Hot chocolate is my favorite.
A girl brought me a cup of hot chocolate,
and I was shocked.
The clear-cut face of a polar bear was gazing at me on hot chocolate.
I hastened to call the girl and
asked who made the hot chocolate.
She answered herself had prepared it.
I shouted "I can't have it !"
She was quite surprised and asked me,
"Is there anything wrong?
Then, let me bring a new one."
I burst into laughter.
"No ! You don't have to.
Let me say this only - it's so real."
Next moment,
I drank a little without any clear thought.
Unconsciously, I might have expected
the face would be gone with sipping only a little.
But, it wasn't.
With a faint smile at the right side of its lips
The face was still staring at me.
I sipped once again.
Very slowly and carefully, this time.
The result was the same -
With no change.
Another sipping - No change !
Who praised the stubborn tenacity of the bears?
I couldn't agree any more.
Many races have adored the bears as their mythical origin.
(Ancient Koreans were one of them.)
Was it a kind of warning for me
Not paying attention to global warming?
Was it a sort of curse for me
Not caring about the destiny of polar bears?
I couldn't drink hot chocolate any more.
I started working on my notebook.
From time to time, I stole a glance at the polar bear.
When watching the face once again after two hours,
I could see only a dim outline.
Without any clear reasoning,
I felt I should drink the whole.
Was it a sacred sacrifice of a polar bear?
For what?
To awaken me?
Anyway, I had to wait
until the outline would disappear
so completely as for me not to recognize the face.
In half an hour,
I looked at the outline.
It was still on there.
Never changed.
Another half an hour passed away.
The same face.
I shouted a curse at my imagination
which recognized a couple of dots as a face.
I felt I should not wait any more.
It was the last moment possible for the ritual of sacrifice.
As a poor human praying for rescue,
Slowly and carefully,
I held up the cup and drank a little bit of the polar bear.
When I saw the face,
The right half was being gone.
I drank the last remains of the polar bear,
With a couple of tears.
Completely exhausted,
I looked at the bottom of the cup,
Where the polar bear had waited for the ritual of sacrifice
With utmost grace and quiet dignity.
(윗 시의 한글 번역본은 MEMO 다음에 있음.)
Once, I wrote a short essay on global warming as follows.
SENSUAL GAME
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=405846489519174&set=vb.151729468366236&type=2&theater
Please click and see the video indicated above. It came from a Facebook page of my friend - in real world as well as on Facebook - Youngtae Park who is a professor in design at Tongyang University in Korea.
Professor Park said that the game named "MELT DOWN" is the one he likes so much as to "bite" (as you like to bite into a ripe juicy pear).
So do I. I like the game very much. But, the reason I like the game may be different from those of others. In my point of view, the game is really sensual - appeals to the sense of touch the strongest. Going through the process that the ice is being melt down, children can feel a very unique sensation. In my opinion, experiencing the pure sensation could be more important for children rather than learning the knowledge of global warming, in the education for children in the age of electronic media.
Electronic media have been replacing written word media (Alphabet media) or mass production technology which can be traced to movable type printing (the son of written word) invented by Gutenberg and is represented by cars ubiquitous in the cities. Mass production technology is characterized by the invisible, but manifested effect of inducing and reinforcing uniform behavior of humans.
Thinking over the game "MELT DOWN" once again, I sense a danger of uniform behavior patterns which compose the backbone of Ant Utopia. The narrator introducing the game speaks eloquently that all of children in the world should act in the future all the same - to prevent further global warming. Only a rationale is suggested - to save polar bears. If all of children in the Planet act all the same, then, it will indicate the perfection of Ant Utopia where everybody is to act all the same as indicated by manuals.
The game's name "MELT DOWN" reminds me of the terror of nuclear energy - Manhattan Project, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and on-going nuclear leak in Fukushima nuclear power plants. Is it the imagination limited to myself only?
After getting through a unique event as described in the poem above, I dare say drinking a cup of hot chocolate with a polar bear on it may be much more effective than playing the game "Melt Down" in recognizing the danger of global warming and the inevitable tragedy facing polar bears.
What about training coffee barristers to learn how to "UPLOAD" a polar bear on hot chocolate? Then, you could ask a coffee barrister to prepare a cup of hot chocolate with a polar bear on it. Drinking a "Polar Bear," you might remind yourself of the impending demise of the Earth.
(번역)
어떻게 북극곰들은 자신들의 희생으로 인류를 구원했나
잔뜩 찌푸린 날씨였다.
천식으로 망가진 내 감각마저 비가 곧 내릴 것을 예측할 수 있었다.
나는 외진 곳에 있는 카페로 들어갔다.
영업을 시작한지 얼마 되지 않은 것처럼 보이는 그 카페는
독특한 로고와 온통 흰색으로 꾸민 실내장식으로 내 눈길을 사로잡았다.
그 집의 메뉴는 아주 간단했고 음료수의 종류가 많지 않았다.
그 카페는 커피에 아주 충실했다.
커피 종류 이외에 내가 선택할 수 있는 것은 핫쵸콜릿밖에 없었다.
하지만 문제가 될 것은 없었다.
핫 쵸콜릿은 내가 선호하는 것이니.
웨이트리스 소녀가 나에게 핫 쵸콜릿 잔을 가져왔을 때
나는 충격을 받았다.
핫쵸콜릿 위에
북극곰 한마리의 윤곽이 뚜렷한 얼굴이 나를 응시하고 있었다.
나는 급히 소녀를 불러서 누가 핫 쵸콜릿을 만들었는지 물어보았다.
그녀는 자신이 만들었다고 했다.
나는 크게 소리쳤다.
"마실 수가 없잖아 !"
그녀는 매우 놀라서 나에게 물어보았다.
"뭔가 잘못된 것이 있나요?
그러면 새로 만들어 드릴께요."
나는 폭소를 터뜨렸다.
"아니, 그럴 필요없어.
내가 하고 싶은 말은 이게 너무 진짜 같다는거야."
다음 순간. 나는 별 생각없이 한모금을 마셨다.
아마도 조금만 마셔도 그 얼굴이 사라지리라고 생각했던 모양이다.
그러나, 그게 아니었다.
오른쪽 입가에 희미한 미소를 띤 채
그 얼굴은 여전히 나를 응시하고 있었다.
나는 한모금 더 마셨다.
이번에는 아주 느리고 조심스럽게.
결과는 똑 같았다.
전혀 변한 것이 없었다.
또 한모금 더 -
전혀 변화없기는 마찬가지였다.
누가 곰들의 우직한 끈기를 찬양했던가?
나 역시 그 끈기를 찬양하지 않을 수 없구나 !
많은 민족들이 곰을 그들의 신화적 조상으로 숭배해 왔다.
(고대 한민족도 그중 하나였다.)
그것은 내가 지구온난화에
관심을 기울이지 않는 것에 대한 경고였을까?
그것은 북극곰들의 운명을 염려하지 않는
나에 대한 저주였을까?
나는 핫 쵸콜릿을 더 이상 마실 수가 없었다.
나는 노트북을 펴고 일하기 시작했다.
가끔, 나는 북극곰을 몰래 힐끔힐끔 쳐다 보았다.
두시간이 지나고 북극곰의 얼굴을 다시 보았을 때,
나는 단지 얼굴의 희미한 윤곽을 볼 수 있을 따름이었다.
별 특별한 이유도 없이
나는 내가 핫 쵸콜릿을 모두 마셔야 한다는 생각이 들었다.
그것은 북극곰의 신성한 희생이었을까?
무엇때문에?
나를 일깨우기 위해서?
어쨌든, 나는 기다려야만 했다.
북극곰의 얼굴이 완전히 사라져
내가 그것을 인식하지 않게 될 때까지.
반시간이 지난 후
나는 다시 그 윤곽선을 쳐다 보았다.
그것은 그대로 거기 있었다.
전혀 변한 것이 없었다.
반시간이 또 지나갔다.
똑같은 얼굴.
나는 큰 소리로
단지 두개의 점을 얼굴로 인식하는 나의 상상력을 저주했다.
나는 더 이상 기다려서는 안된다고 느꼈다.
그 때는 희생제식을 치를 수 있는 마지막 순간이었다.
구원을 기원하는 한명의 불쌍한 인간으로서 나는
천천히 조심스럽게
컵을 들어올려 북극곰을 아주 조금 마셨다.
내가 그 얼굴을 바라보았을 때,
오른쪽이 사라지고 있었다.
나는 북극곰의 나머지를 마셨다.
한 방울의 눈물과 함께.
완전히 지친 채
나는 컵의 바닥을 바라보았다.
그곳에서 북극곰은 희생제식을 기다리고 있었다.
최상의 우아함과 침묵의 위엄을 잃지 않은 채.
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