“Less Is More” by Do-eun, Yeo-yeon, and Ha-yeon
By Yun Jungeun
Published: August 27,
2012
Translated by Lee Eun
There are 3 women--a mother and her two
daughters--who farm deep in the woods, refusing to rely on modern technology.
They keep their farming moderate in size, just enough to self-sustain and share
with neighbors, not to earn income out of it. The children do not go to school.
The elder child left school when she finished 5th grade, and the younger never
attended school.
Most city dwellers would scratch their
heads at hearing this one-sided information about their seemingly-radical
lifestyle. If children do not go to school and are made to do farm work, isn’t
it a form of child abuse? However, instead of sitting through classes at
school, these two girls learn how to farm and absorb knowledge about nature.
They read at night, and have discussions about what they think of the world
with their mom. They have their own principles, bask in the joy of being free
to study anything they like, and are quite satisfied with their lives.
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| Do-eun and her elder daughter Yeo-yeon. They farm to self-support, keeping their distance from modern technology. |
The majority of Koreans live in urban areas
and do not have a tolerant view of people who live differently. Why is it so?
When most people follow the typical way of life, these three chose to live in a
different way, not giving a damn what others think of them. Perhaps their
daring decision touches upon the sense of guilt in the rest of us, who do not
mind destroying nature to consume limitlessly.
“I’d like to call myself an eco-feminist or
eco-anarchist. It shows my determination that I’d rather live as a warrior who
protests vehemently than a victim who gets hurt and killed powerlessly by the
modern civilization.”
When we read this, it becomes even clearer
why city residents feel uncomfortable. You may reject the comfort that
technology provides, praise the sanctity of hard labor and write poems about
the great joy of being in nature. However, make sure that does not reach the
ears of people in cites. Be all the more careful if you are going to say
something like “Less is more”. We have no choice but to destroy more and
consume more if we are to keep up with the demands of this modern society.
Yet, these women have written a book,
saying “We wanted to preserve our concerns and what we had on our minds looking
at the destructive effect of the era of scientific technology on the
ecosystem.” This story of the three eco-feminists’ struggle is entitled “Less
is more.”
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| Less Is More, written by Do-eun, Yeo-yeon, and Ha-yeon. Published by Hangseong:B, March 2012. |
There is a sense of solemn determination
that you can feel in the title and preface of the book, hence the long
introduction. Being freer through having less does not seem to be a
controversial concept, but maybe it is, as it goes against the popular lifestyle
of the majority. These women argue that having less allows them to be free in
this world that believes that having more equals being freer. But as you read
the book, this early sense of solemnness fades away.
This book is about the different experience
and philosophy of the three women who have lived as self-sufficient farmers.
Mom Do-eun starts off talking about farming, cooking, schools, or books, and
then Yeo-yeon the elder daughter responds, and the youngest Ha-yeon follows on
the next page. Just like a harmonious ensemble, the book illustrates the three
colorful women’s intriguing daily lives.
They grow all kinds of crop--ranging from
grain such as rice, wheat, barley, and sorghum, vegetables like potatoes, sweet
potatoes, corns, and peanuts, seasoning vegetables like hot peppers and garlic,
spices and herbs including basil and dill, and some fruit trees. “From spring
to late autumn, we dedicate ourselves to plant, grow, and care for all
different kinds of crops.” They spend most of their time with different crops,
trees, plants, the sun, wind, rain and land. And their lives seemed very happy
and beautiful. Do-eun puts it this way: “I am indescribably happy.”
The highlight of the book is the chapter
called “Books All Three of Us Enjoyed.” This section introduces the books they
read at night after their hard work during the day. The part “Thank you notes
to books” is quite touching.
The Youngest Ha-yeon writes, “I like
books,” and explains, “Books are quiet, clear, and simple.” She also expresses her
affection toward books by personifying them. “One thing is certain is that
books are considerate to me.”
Books are an important part of this family.
They are companions for every stage of life, friends with whom to pass long
hours, colleagues that share their thoughts and engage in discussion, and
artists that share beauty and fun.
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| The library of the family. For them, books are friends, colleagues, and artists. |
It is particularly moving when Yeo-yeon
writes, “I am grateful to books. I am grateful to all authors who wrote the
stories that are vividly living in my imagination,” and dedicates 2 full pages
to say thank you to books by calling out each author’s name one by one. Here
are quotes from “Thank you notes to books”:
“I enjoyed the luxury of reading Ursula Le
Guin’s coming-of-age fantasy, and compared similar-yet-different novels written
by Luise Rinser and Park Wan-seo. I often stayed up late reading John
Steinbeck, who made me believe the greatness of human being, and Rudyard
Kipling, who wrote beautiful pieces. How beautiful were Carl Sagan’s and Chet
Raymo’s magnificent works on the sky and the universe! (omitted) Thank you,
Michael Ende and Astrid Lindgre, you made my childhood lovely. Thank you,
Somerset Maugham, you taught me the beauty of novels. Thank you, Michel
Tournier, you made me rethink civilization and savagery. I learned through
these two writers from completely different cultural backgrounds that passion
cannot be defined in one way. Thank you Baek Seok, you filled my solitary
winter days with dreams.
Books are special to Do-eun, too. “To me,
books are something I dream of, long for, find ideals in and fantasize about.
Books console my sorrow and comfort me like a therapist.”
There can’t be many families out there who
love and respect books as much as this family does.
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| Various crops in the family garden |
When doing something, we tend to think that
we are “wasting time” unless we place the top priority on earning money. That
is why we get confused and feel lethargic when our activity does not generate
income. It seems that earning and spending money is everything in this world.
However, does this family’s life look meaningless to you? Are they doing
nothing?
Rather, they work hard and sweat, produce
what they eat, read books, and lead a happy life in nature. They just do so
without going to school or having typical careers. They live and develop
philosophies, finding their own meaning in every little thing around them.
Do-eun is an independent scholar who
studied philosophy in university back when it wasn’t common for women, and
later began to seek ways to educate herself. Yeo-yeon is a teenage philosopher
who learned by farming and reading without school education. Ha-yeon is a baby
philosopher who made a companion of nature instead of her peers. I would like
to strongly recommend theri philosophical essays in this autumn, the season for
reading.
We had a short interview with Do-eun, who
is the leader of this family - also called, by Yeo-yeon, “the Dictator”:
- It’s been 15 years
since you moved and started farming. How do you feel?
I’m happy. I myself have changed a lot. I
no longer think I am weak. When I was living in the city, I was dependent on
other people, on the system, and constantly thought I had to find a job. Now,
as time has gone by, I have become far more independent. I don’t feel weak. I raised
my children, and I learned a lot along the way. I am satisfied.
- We tend to think
we are weak so we should relyon materials and social relations, don’t we?
That is why I was dependent on
relationships, but doing that, I started to feel lonely and left out. Now I
don’t feel any of that. Before, I was the most system-dependent person, but now
my view of the world has changed. I encountered the earth and nature that I
missed from my heart. But it was not the romanticized nature that people
imagine.
There are downsides, yet I could also
explore certain areas. My view of the world changed as I worked with my body
and tried to fix my emotional state. I am proud that I became a person who can
do physical labor. I now know how to use my body. There’s nothing I’m afraid
of, and I feel like I could do anything.
- It must have been
difficult when you first came here 15 year ago.
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| Do-eun, who learned how to trust herself |
I didn’t know what to do. The first 5 to 6
years were tough because I was unstable, hurt in relationships, and saddened. I
cared a great deal about how others would look when I started living here and
it was terrible. I was jealous of others, and others of me, we became
competitive and all that. After passing through some ups and downs, say since a
few years ago, all those hard feelings were suddenly gone. Things that brought
competitive spirit, jealousy, and so on disappeared over time. I feel a great
sense of freedom.
We all grow old. I think people tend to
become unpleasant when they reach their 40s unless they continue to grow.
People grow when they are exposed to pain and suffering. They do not mature
without it. And when as they go through it, they learn how to be responsible
for their lives. I do not envy children with means at all. I strongly believe
that now.
- What’s your
average day like?
We take care of the house and farm, and
explore, each on her own. By ‘explore’, I mean we grow various kinds of plants
and trees, read to see what’s going on, and reflect on ourselves. We do these
things for ourselves. I write, too. Sometimes I write only for myself, and now
I’m making my personal collection. I write for myself. If needed, I go out to
earn money at times.
I love growing plants, so I collect all
kinds of seeds. When I get a rare kind, I study how they grow. I have planted
many plants. Once I figure out how they grow, then I move on to other kind. My
friends bring me seeds when they travel abroad. Many of them failed to sprout,
but some did. I’ve raised fennel, dill, basil, and green beans (for about the
last 5 years) that way. There are a few non-native species that I made take
root in Korea.
And not just here--in the last 15 years, we
moved 5 times and planted many trees every time. We don’t care if someone cuts
them later. When we came here, we could plant lots of trees around the farm because
we had space. Even in the mountain, we planted schizandras, chestnuts, Siberian
gooseberries, Korean wild grapes. We scatter seeds over the mountains such as
balloon flower seeds, deodeok, Korean
angelica, and poppy seeds. The seeds that we grow in our farm are no exception.
We cast those seeds in the mountains too, in order to let them grow in the
wild. I like walking through the forest, so I do so often from late autumn to
early spring. I say I’ll become the lady of the forest. Sometimes I sing a song
I make up while walking.
- Do you have
anything to pass on to the people who dream of living like you?
Don’t be afraid. You will get to learn that
which you never even expected. That’s a gift. Don’t try to be harsh on
yourself, don’t cling to setting principles. Do not give up on your view of the
world, but enjoy yourself. Then you will see what happens. That was how things
worked for me.
I’d like to tell them, “It’s ok. It’s a lot
more fun than living in a city. Your life becomes productive. It becomes not
only about consuming. It holds its own value.” You can get married or not,
either is fine. If you just live, life will go on. There’s nothing to worry
about.
- Yeo-yeon and
Ha-yeon will soon reach the age to leave the nest. How do you feel?
I feel free. It makes me feel that I’ve
completed my share of work in my life. I have faith that they will return to
this life in nature later in their lives. They will probably be better at it
than me. On the other hand, my time of child care responsibility Is coming to
an end.
This book is, in a way, a record of my
child-nurturing time. Now they are growing up and becoming more and more
independent. I have spent most of my energy caring for them, and it makes me so
happy when I think of the time lying ahead which I will spend for myself. Even
though I still feel somewhat attached to the younger one, in the big picture I
feel free. I believe that my children will lead even happier lives than mine
because they will be free to choose what to live with, develop themselves as
they wish, and form their own morality. But still, we will remain friends. I
don’t remember when it was, but I started hoping that they’d grow quickly so we
each live independently, and now it’s going to happen soon.
There was a time when freedom mattered the
most to me, and then it was ecology, and now I’m most interested in seeking
answers. You can call it philosophizing. I have this hope that I might be able
to look at things more closely from a perspective that the modern civilization
cannot.
Now, I trust myself. I tell myself, “You
are living truthfully,” with confidence. Believing in myself, that’s what I
learned. It took a while.
*Original article:
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