He never stopped learning
As a boy he read books while tending the cow. In retirement he earned a driver's license, learned the computer, and took up Japanese again.
A real record, made with Keeper
Choi Ju-ho put ninety-six years into one book
A real record, made with Keeper: a teacher who crossed occupation, war, and poverty, and gave forty years to the classroom.
Below, turn a few pages of the actual book.
Book previewA few actual pages from the printed book, in Korean. The caption gives the gist.
최주호 · Choi Ju-ho · b. 1930
Ninety-six years, drawn up from one well
『한우물』
Ninety-six years, drawn up from one well
Ninety-six years of memory became
one book, over twelve conversations.
Keeper measures every book against this one.
Prologue: the oldest memories surface first.
Prologue: looking back on a life.
“I was never one to talk big. I did my best in the place I was given, taught the children hard, and always hoped my family would live in harmony.”
Choi Ju-ho, from Hanwoomul
This is how one life settled onto its pages. In your own parent's book, it will be their life, in their words.
He believed in his students
Teaching in a poor mountain village, he saw the spark in his students and made sure poverty never decided how far a child could dream.
His last word to his family
Choose harmony over pride, and love over success. The inheritance he named was a family that loves one another.
To the next generation“Love one another.
That is everything.”
The shortest, deepest testament of a man who crossed ninety-six years.
Shared with the family's agreement. Some names and details were changed.