“Don’t follow the past, don’t look forward to the future. What has once passed has already been abandoned, and the future has yet to come. Do diligently what you have to do today. Who can know tomorrow’s death? When he lives (to the present) without mourning for what has passed and not longing for what has not come, his complexion shines with vitality. When you covet what’s out of the fountain and grieve over past events, foolish people wither like a broken reed because of it.”

▲ Lim Young-seop, Chairman of the Insicheon

Insicheon chairman Lim Young-seop is the person who launched the ‘1 household 1 tree planting campaign’ with the idea of ‘making Dalan-dong the best neighborhood in the country’. He served as a member of the Anyang City Council and the chairman of the Dalan-dong Resident Autonomy Committee. He said, “It is true that there were not many residents who would actually work for the neighborhood. However, when everyone came to Dalan-dong, it felt like a kind of responsibility to make them feel, ‘This neighborhood is so beautiful, I want to come and live there.’” Of course, if he had been alone, none of this would have been possible. He said, “I was able to move forward a flower gardening movement because the people around me have continuously helped and supported my will. I am so grateful even now, even after much time has passed.” He is the great-grandson of Lim Gyeong-yoon, a leader of the Donghak Movement in Hampyeong, who led tens of thousands of farmers with General Jeon Bong-joon in Gobu, Jeolla-do in 1894. He said, “As a descendant of Donghak, I have long since taken to heart the thought of Insicheon, the core of the Donghak Movement, and has resolved to serve people like the sky. This mindset is also the reason why I have insisted on walking with integrity and conviction.” He officially launched Insicheon this year and started activities to spread the idea. He plans to hold an official event at Seoul Station on the 18th. He said, “Starting with the 1994 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, I sincerely thank the descendants. The 199th birth celebration of Suwoon Choi Je-woo was prepared with a small amount of sincerity. Life can be said to be a causal law that comes and goes once and for all, and is created and destroyed in the great nature of heaven and earth. It doesn’t matter what you become, I think it matters how you live. I am also a person who will leave things behind and pass away someday. Donggyeongdaejeon and Yongdamyusa left behind by Suwoon are very important bibles for our nation. In order to spread this widely, I started Insicheon. I ask for your interest and support.”