A Wish for Peace from Jeju, The 11th Anniversary of the HWPL September 18th World Peace Summit

Hello, I’m Kkotnim(Florence), peace-loving soul from breezy Jeju.

I think I’m more sensitive than most people.

Maybe that’s why even tiny quarrels tend to linger in my heart.

When people exchange irritated words on the bus, the air quickly grows heavy, and I feel like I can hardly breathe.

I feel a chill run through me when I see scenes in movies where cities collapse and people push one another away.

Perhaps for this reason, I find stories about conflict or war especially heavy. 

That’s why the word 'peace' feels all the more urgent to me.

Here in Jeju, under the wide blue sky and along its endless sea, I’m always dreaming.

I have my own small dreams, but I’ve realized there’s something essential for all dreams to grow—and that is 'PEACE'.

Recently, the 11th anniversary of the HWPL 9·18 World Peace Summit in Cheongju moved me deeply.

To put it briefly, it was a place where leaders and citizens around the world raised their voices together for peace.

I heard it was held simultaneously in 78 countries beyond Korea, which made me feel that peace is no longer a distant story.

Since entering my twenties, my list of dreams keeps getting longer. But sometimes I think:​

“If war breaks out… what happens to all of my dreams?”

The moment we lose an ordinary day, all our goals and plans for the future simply vanish.

So I believe peace is not simply “nice extra” but something we “must protect.”

Peace can be kept when we each add a heart, little by little. When those hearts stack up, a world without war can become real!!!

The wind in Jeju is always fierce, but its black basalt stone walls stand steady. When I see them, I steady myself as well.

“Let me be a small wall that upholds peace.”

Just as the tangerine orchards bloom and bear fruit along the seasons, I believe that small attentions and actions, when gathered, can one day ripen into the great fruit of peace.

That’s why the news of this year’s HWPL September 18th World Peace Summit gave me hope.

Hoping that more people in their twenties can dream freely, and that we can guard our ordinary days for a long, long time.

I sincerely hope this cry for peace spreads beyond Jeju’s sky and across the world.