[이런 인생 2막]
Samsung Group retired Lee Jong-seop
After 35 years as a PR man, finding myself at 60
“I’m busy doing just what I like.”
From morning to night, I am immersed in performances
The secret to seeing performances every day for 300,000 won a month
‘Do I have to work after I retire? Can’t I just take a break?’
There have been many questions like this around me. It is a question I ask myself as I see my seniors and juniors busy trying to find social meaning or make a living even after retirement.
So I looked it up. Is there anyone who is a bit more relaxed and ‘drinking’? I found Lee Jong-seop (61) on the YouTube channel ‘Retirement School’ and he looked similar.
He worked in the public relations department of Samsung Group for 35 years and retired in July of last year. He runs a blog called ‘The Man Who Watches Performances Every Day’ and is completely absorbed in the stage.
We heard about his busy year after retirement, under the principle of ‘I only do what I like.’
● A man who watches performances every day
On the afternoon of the 10th, in a lecture room at the Seongbuk 50 Plus Center in Bomun-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Six men and women in their 50s to 70s sit together and take turns reading a script. They are part of the ‘Orthodox Theater Research Institute’, an amateur theater group that meets every Tuesday. Since it is their first script reading, they take turns reading a line regardless of their roles. After reading for a while, someone says,
“I don’t really understand the message just by reading the script.”
“Yeah. I think I’ll have to read it a few times.”
Mr. Lee Jong-seop is the general manager of this group. The members met at a drama class that was opened here last spring and staged a 20-minute play called ‘Taxi Driver’ in April, and decided to continue the group because they were sad to part ways.
‘A man who sees performances every day’. Just like the title of his blog, his day starts and ends with a performance. Every morning, he posts a review of the performance he saw the day before, information on new performances, discount information, etc. on his blog. Sometimes, he writes his life story in the form of an essay. In the afternoon, he goes to receive education in various fields and in the evening, he goes to see a performance.
“The whole day is filled with things I like. Among them, the field I have personally experienced is theater. For about three months, all the students worked hard to create a stage. For me, standing on the stage of a play, which was my dream, is the greatest achievement since my retirement.”
![“Retirement… Is there such a world?”[서영아의 100세 카페]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/20/130057659.1.jpg "“Retirement… Is there such a world?”[서영아의 100세 카페]")
● Freedom after 35 years
He spent most of his 35 years working in public relations, explaining the company’s position to reporters and making them understand it.
―You retired at the age of 60, so you’ve enjoyed a long life as an office worker.
“When I looked around when I retired, there were almost none of the people who joined the company in 1988 left. It’s a rare case.”
While many retirees suffer from a sense of incomplete combustion, he was enjoying a sense of liberation. It was as if he had been released from the military or prison. It was also a coincidence that he referred to the world outside the company as “society” throughout his speech.
-How did you feel when you retired?
“I resigned from my position six months before retirement age. The company was considerate. At first, I was worried. Would I be able to eat three meals a day? Who would I hang out with? How would people view me if I lost my business card? I was afraid of not receiving my regular salary on a certain day… People who retired
“I listen to stories and go back to my childhood and look back on my life up until now… .”
More than anything, I wanted to live as myself. Recalling my childhood memories helped me. The most enjoyable memory I had was when I was in front of the elementary school field trip, reporting on society, being in charge of entertainment, singing, and dancing. And then, three months before I retired, a musical I saw for the first time in my life played a decisive role.
“I saw the original musical ‘Hero’ that dealt with the last year of Ahn Jung-geun and was so moved. I thought, ‘Isn’t my path to be on a stage like that, or to live a life where I enjoy that kind of thing?’ From then on, I started going to performances and writing blog posts. Going to the theater itself was fun. I was so excited while making reservations, and the process of waiting for the show, going to the theater, and getting the ticket was so exciting. That’s when I realized, ‘This is the path.’”
-Have you never seen a performance before?
“None during my 35 years of working life. I’ve seen movies, but I’ve hardly seen plays, musicals, operas, or ballets. Public relations life is about dealing with issues that pop up all the time. It’s impossible to have a cultural life on weekends or weekdays.”
● “What did I really like?”
He majored in journalism and broadcasting in college. He passed the Samsung Group exam before he could apply to the broadcasting company he wanted to work for. His first job was Samsung Aerospace. He worked in sales for about 6 months, and a colleague who worked in public relations asked him, “Why would someone who does public relations go there?” This was because he was known to be “good at playing” as he was the “Learning Department Manager” (Entertainment Department Manager) among 200 people in the same class as him. He himself says that he has “talent.”
“There was an aptitude test during a course I took at Seongdong 50 Plus, and ‘art orientation’ came up very strongly. The teacher who administered the test said, ‘I’ve never seen that before in all my research.’ I thought, ‘Talent’ can be proven with data.”
– Have you ever thought about working or earning money after retirement?
“I was worried that quitting my job at age 60 was too early, and I also had concerns that I should find a way to use my 35 years of experience in PR and marketing. However, once I found performance, I boldly gave up PR. I even tried applying for a job in the performance field early in my retirement, but no one wanted me. I don’t think about getting a job right now.”
-Are you so well off that you don’t need to earn money?
“This is something I have to be thankful for my wife. When I asked if I should help my family financially after I retire, my wife said, as if it were a given, ‘You don’t have to think about that. Do what you like to do.’ That one word gave me a lot of strength. That’s why I trust my wife and just focus on what I want to do. In fact, I’ve raised all my children and I have nowhere else to put my money except for our living expenses.”
● “My biggest worry before retirement is communication with my wife”
He lives alone with his wife. His children, a son and a daughter, are all married. He said that his biggest concern when he retired was communication problems with his wife.
-How did you solve it?
“The conversation has changed. These days, we eat breakfast together and talk for almost an hour, which is something that has never happened before. During that hour, I talk about people I met at the concert hall the day before, what happened at the concert hall, and the content of the concert.
My way of speaking has also changed. In the past, I used to mainly talk about ‘blaming others’ or ‘blaming my wife,’ but now I talk mainly about myself, and I assume that ‘all my faults and causes are mine.’ When a problem arises, I ask my wife for advice, saying, ‘That problem was my fault,’ or ‘I don’t know how to do it well. What should I do in this situation?’ As a result, my communication with my wife, who was the most important and difficult thing for me, has improved a lot.”
– Surprisingly, there are many people who worry about their relationship with their spouse after retirement. How did you learn to change your conversation style?
“I think I learned this in a lecture somewhere. Men change a lot after retirement, and they can’t help but change. When I go to my peers or company retirees’ gatherings, I always hear, ‘We have to become Yeongsiknim.’ It’s not ‘Samsiknim’ who eats three meals a day, or ‘Dusiknim’ who eats two meals a day, but ‘Yeongsiknim’ who cooks and offers meals. They say it so naturally that since they’ve been receiving meals up until now, it’s time for them to put on an apron and cook and offer meals to their wives.
I used to do almost no housework. Now, my wife cooks breakfast, but I also clean, separate trash, and wash the dishes. We didn’t necessarily divide up the roles, but I think I do more than half of the housework.”
● Know-how on watching cost-effective performances revealed
He has been receiving his national pension for two years since two months ago. He uses that money to cover his living expenses and pocket money. He says he spends about 300,000 won a month on performances.
-You see so many performances. Is that money enough to cover it?
He took the ticket bundle out of his bag as if he had been waiting.
“These are the tickets I saw from the beginning of the year to August. I saw 146 shows. Most of them were plays, but there were also operas, ballets, and musicals. The average monthly performance fee I spent this year was 278,000 won. That’s about 15,000 won per show.”
-Operas and musicals must be expensive.
“Opera R seats cost several hundred thousand won. However, there are also lower-class seats that cost 10,000 to 20,000 won. If it’s the Arts Center, the cheapest place to watch is from the 4th floor. I watch from that seat. If you use a telescope, it’s clearer than from the 1st floor.
On the blog, I post reviews of the performances I saw for 10,000 to 20,000 won. Then, people will feel encouraged and think, ‘I can enjoy the opera even without money.’ I write about my impressions from the perspective of people who enjoy art without money and also tell them in detail how I purchased the tickets.”
– Could you please tell me more about your discount know-how?
“First of all, you have to know what kind of performances there are. All performances offer early-bird discounts if you reserve tickets on the opening date. Also, about a week before the end of a performance, there is a ‘last-minute discount.’ If there is a performance you want to see but you don’t have the money, you can wait for that.
Most of the Daehangno performance sites offer 50% to 70% discounts. In the case of the ‘Play Ticket’ site, discounts are standard, and there are always 4 to 5 free performances. They are free, so you just need to make a reservation.
Also, Seongnam Arts Center and Sejong Center for the Performing Arts hold events such as ‘10,000 Won Happiness’ or ‘1,000 Won Happiness’ almost every month.
There are many performance halls where you can get more than the membership fee if you become a paid member, such as the National Gugak Center of the Seoul Arts Center. I will tell you more about it on my blog. There are many places where you can enjoy yourself at a low cost. Society also develops where culture flourishes.”
● “There was such a wonderful world”
-How do you remember the company?
“I am grateful for the job that has supported my family for 35 years. However, leaving the company feels like a liberation, like breaking out of an egg. I lived a set amount of time behind large invisible bars. Now, I am free…”
―’When I came out, I realized there was such a wonderful world out there’… .
“I love it. There are so many things to enjoy, and they make life so vibrant and fulfilling. My wife loves it too. Even though I don’t earn money, she’s always happy and joyful.
It’s also fun to see everything I say and do written down. It would be annoying if I spent millions of won, but what can you say when you spend 300,000 won a month, and that’s with your own pension?”
-The charm of theater.
“Through theater, I can realize another life that I dream of and hope for on stage, and the joy I feel when a work is finally put on stage after a long process—those who haven’t tried it won’t know. In fact, whether or not there is a stage I can stand on, I think it’s a huge charm just to be able to escape this routine reality and live another diverse life.”
-What would you like to say to your peers?
“I really want to tell you to find something you like, and if you find it, to boldly pursue it without hesitation. In my case, two things helped me. First, go back to your past self. Ask your mother. What did you really like? Second, I recommend that you do a personality analysis, even if it costs a little money. I think it will help you find your true self.”
● My goal is to live a life that combines acting and volunteering.
-What are your plans for the future?
“I plan to create a stage with the people who practiced today, with the goal of the Citizen Theater Festival to be held in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province next year. I’m going to invite an instructor who teaches theater and create a pure theater troupe for the 5060 generation. I’m preparing to give theater lectures and receiving education on the publishing process to write a book about it. I also got a youth counselor’s license to do youth counseling volunteer work, and I’m currently studying for a social worker’s license. I want to continue doing theater and volunteer work in the future.”
-Is there a reason you are interested in youth counseling?
“It’s because of my experience as a teenager. I went to church in high school and got really into it. There was no one to hold me back. I regret not having someone to hold me back when I was wandering in life.
“I recently went to a children’s center and talked to the young people there. There are so many young people living on the streets, and there are so many places that need help.”
His blog profile has the following self-introduction along with the nickname ‘Heodangwanbo’. After 35 years of work, I’m in the second act of my life. I’m spending the rest of my life with my childhood dream of singing, dancing, and performing. On my tombstone, I’ll write this. My whole life, I’ve enjoyed and shared performances. I’ve been happy. Goodbye~
2024-09-21 03:00:16