 ▲서울시 중구 중림동 1932카페 앞에서의 필자. ©브레이크뉴스 |
필자는 지난 2025년 11월 6일자 페이스북에 "필자가 1976년, 서울에 올 때 내 재산은 3,000원이 전부였다!"라는 제목의 글을 게재했었다.
이 글에서 "필자 나이 24세 때인 1976년, 군대에서 제대한 나는 서울로 향했다. 이때, 나의 어머니는 방 장판 밑에 감추어둔 3,000원을 내 손에 쥐어 주었다. 말하자면, 서울에 올 때 나의 전 재산은 3,000원이 전부였다. 3,000원이라면, 아주 보잘 것 없는 미미한 재화이다"면서 "나의 부모는 나의 손에 당시 돈 3,000원을 쥐어주고, 나를 서울로 내쫒았다(?). 그 정도의 돈이란? 그 정도의 돈이 전 재산이란다면, 한국 같은 자본주의 국가에선 거지 중의 상거지라 할 수 있다. 나는 그런 사람이었다. 나의 출발은 이랬다. 가난했다. 가난해도 아주 가난했다. 나는 단돈 3,000원을 들고, 세상으로 기어 나왔다. 이게 나의 출신 성분이다. 난 3,000원에서 출발한, 최 하층민이다."고 회고 했었다.
1976년 5월. 그해 늦은 봄날. 내 손에는 3,000원이 들려있었다. 자본주의 나라에서, 나의 자본은 그게 전부였다. 나는 그렇게 던져진, 존재였다. 극도로 차가운 현실이었다. 냉엄함. 그 자체였다. 나의 이 이야기는 '가난타령'이 결코 아니다.
 ▲필자의 사무실 책상 앞에 붙여진 사진. 1,000원짜리 지폐 2장+500원 짜리 동전 1개+100원짜리 동전 5개=도합 3,000원. 1976년 5월 늦은 봄, 이게 나의 전재산이었다. ©브레이크뉴스 |
난 6.25전쟁 중(1952년)에 탄생했다. 전쟁은 한반도를 완전 폐허로 만들었다. 이때, 대한민국은 세계 꼴찌의 가난한 국가였다. 기자생활 53년. 난 대한민국의 성장사를 빠짐없이 기록해온 기록자였다. 기업들의 급 성장사도 낱낱이 기록해낸 기록자였다. 난 빈자 나라가 부자의 나라로 변환되는 과정을 기록해냈다.
이후, 대한민국은 미국과 어깨를 나란히 할, 세계 G2 국가로 갈 것이다.
이를 생각하면 생각할수록,...53년 기자생활, 그리하여, 난 행복했었노라! 신선한 생선회에는 가장 맛있는 부분이 있다. 이처럼, 나는 어쩌면 대한민국이 가장 멋진 시기를 살아냈다. 행운이다. "대한민국, 멋진 나라입니다~" moonilsuk@naver.com
*필자/문일석. 시인. 신문사(본지) 발행인.
*아래는 위 기사를 '구글 번역'으로 번역한 영문 기사의 [전문]입니다. '구글번역'은 이해도 높이기를 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 합니다.<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Translate' is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.>
Documenting the transformation of a poor nation into a wealthy one... "53 Years as a Reporter"
[Essay-like Approach] South Korea Will Become a Global G2 Nation... "53 Years as a Reporter, I've Been Happy!"
- Moon Il-suk, Publisher of this newspaper
On November 6, 2025, the author posted on Facebook a post titled, "When I came to Seoul in 1976, all I had was 3,000 won!" In this article, he recounted, "In 1976, when I was 24 years old, I was discharged from the military and headed to Seoul. At that time, my mother put 3,000 won in my hand, which she had hidden under the floorboards in my room. In other words, all I had when I came to Seoul was 3,000 won. 3,000 won was a very insignificant amount of money." He continued, "My parents put 3,000 won in my hand and kicked me out to Seoul(?). What does that amount of money mean? If that amount of money is all you have, then in a capitalist country like Korea, you'd be considered the worst of the beggars. That's how I was. That's how I started. I was poor. I was very poor. I crawled into the world with just 3,000 won. That's my origins. I started with 3,000 won, I'm from the lowest class."
May 1976. A late spring day that year. I held 3,000 won in my hand. In a capitalist country, that was all I had. I was thrown into this situation. It was an extremely cold reality. It was the very essence of harshness. This story of mine is by no means a tale of poverty.
I was born during the Korean War (1952). The war utterly devastated the Korean Peninsula. At that time, South Korea was the poorest country in the world. For 53 years, I've been a journalist. I've been a chronicler, meticulously documenting South Korea's growth story. I've documented every detail of its companies' rapid growth. I've documented the transformation of a poor nation into a wealthy one.
From now on, South Korea will stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States, becoming a G2 nation.
The more I think about this, the more I realize... 53 years as a journalist, and that's how happy I was! Fresh sashimi has its most delicious parts. In this way, I lived through perhaps South Korea's most wonderful time. I'm so lucky. "Korea, what a wonderful country~" moonilsuk@naver.com
[Photo Caption] A photo posted on my office desk. Two 1,000 won bills + one 500 won coin + five 100 won coins = a total of 3,000 won. In late May 1976, this was my entire fortune.
- The author in front of the 1932 Cafe in Jungnim-dong.
*Author/Moon Il-seok. Poet. Publisher of this newspaper. moonilsuk@naver.com
Documenting the transformation of a poor nation into a wealthy one... "53 Years as a Reporter"
[Essay-like Approach] Korea, on its way to becoming one of the world's top two nations... "53 years as a reporter, I've been happy!"
- Moon Il-suk, publisher of this newspaper
On November 6, 2025, the author posted a Facebook post titled, "When I came to Seoul in 1976, all I had was 3,000 won!" In this article, he recounted, "In 1976, when I was 24 years old, I was discharged from the military and headed to Seoul. At that time, my mother put 3,000 won in my hand, which she had hidden under the floorboards in my room. In other words, all I had when I came to Seoul was 3,000 won. 3,000 won was a very insignificant amount of money." He continued, "My parents put 3,000 won in my hand and kicked me out to Seoul(?). What does that amount of money mean? If that amount of money is all you have, then in a capitalist country like Korea, you'd be considered the worst of the beggars. That's how I was. That's how I started. I was poor. I was very poor. I crawled into the world with just 3,000 won. That's my origins. I started with 3,000 won, I'm from the lowest class."
May 1976. A late spring day that year. I held 3,000 won in my hand. In a capitalist country, that was all I had. I was thrown into this situation. It was an extremely cold reality. It was the very essence of harshness. This story of mine is by no means a tale of poverty.
I was born during the Korean War (1952). The war utterly devastated the Korean Peninsula. At that time, South Korea was the poorest country in the world. For 53 years, I've been a journalist. I've been a chronicler, meticulously documenting South Korea's growth story. I've documented every detail of its companies' rapid growth. I've documented the transformation of a poor nation into a wealthy one.
From now on, South Korea will stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States, becoming a G2 nation.
The more I think about this, the more I realize... 53 years as a journalist, and that's how happy I was! Fresh sashimi has its most delicious parts. In this way, I lived through perhaps South Korea's most wonderful time. I'm so lucky. "Korea, what a wonderful country~" moonilsuk@naver.com
[Photo caption] A photo posted on my office desk. Two 1,000 won bills + one 500 won coin + five 100 won coins = a total of 3,000 won. In late spring of May 1976, this was my entire fortune.
- The author in front of the 1932 Cafe in Jungnim-dong.
*Author: Moon Il-seok. Poet. Publisher of the newspaper (this paper).
