Lee Seung Gi Mini Album 5.5 Photo Essay, Part 1

*updated*

AY has very graciously volunteered to translate the photo essay, but there are only a few passages that have been translated into Chinese. So this is a work in progress. 😛

Prologue (The original prologue is almost 3 pages but it became just this one paragraph?)

Usually, I am not sensitive to changes in weather. When I was shooting ‘The King 2 Hearts’, I felt the cold air became warm. That was the only time that I felt spring had arrived. I had to travel a lot and very far to the shooting locations for ‘The King 2 Hearts’. When I was in the car or waiting on the set, I would listen to music. The playlist was actually not as extensive as one would expect. There weren’t too many songs. So I played the same songs repeatedly. Perhaps, the people who worked with me had got bored with them. But I was not. It seemed that the music just flowed in the air, and I just enjoyed it. As the shooting became more intense, I became tired physically and mentally. It might sound a bit exaggerating but listening to the music on the playlist unwound me. I wondered if people who listened to my songs also experienced the same relaxing and comfortable feelings? Even after listening to them over and over again? This question popped into my mind and the question became the desire to make this kind of music.

P. 54 to 65

I was surprised that near Gyeongpodae, where I often visited when I was on ‘One Night Two Days’, there is this unknown, secretive place…..I wonder, in how many brief moments, we cross paths with people and things without knowing it. By the seaside of Sacheon, on the road along the beautiful beach, I cycled back and forth. I did not feel tired at all. I felt happy. I had a good feeling, knowing that I had accomplished something. Was I too sentimental?

P. 66

Photo 1:

I first heard about this place from the cameraman of my MV. He said that, like my music, this place had a warm feeling, the “DaeOh Bookstore” that sells old books. The feeling started with the signage. The grandmother heartily welcomed the young, unknown stranger who approached her for a photo shoot. She exuded all the warmth that I wanted to express in my songs. Thank you!

Photo 2:

They took one word each from the names of old grandmother and grandfather and called the shop “DaeOh Bookstore” . It’s amazing that that we still have such a small, old bookshop in Seoul!

Photo 3:

Among all the books, would I be able to find the one that I wanted?
Maybe… I had that strange feeling that I would.

P.20

In the MVs or posters of some artists, this would be the forlorn, abandoned station. We tried to see things a bit differently. It will not be abandoned forever. It is only taking a break, recuperating from the toils of a lifetime of hard work. The evidence is in the abundant brightly-blooming wildflowers at the side of the station. I also took a rest on the bench. Ganhyun Station in Wonju – a train which was temporarily resting.

P.17

Grassy green makes people smell good

On my way, I passed the woods in Cheongtaesan and wandered among the trees. Here, there was the green nurtured by the soil of the graveyard and the warmth brought by the sun that beams through the tall trees. Would it be too much to say that this was paradise? The scent of the green forests really felt like paradise to me.

P.14

People often said ‘as gentle as a lamb’. But the staff told me that this was a wrong concept. In fact, sheep were so violent that people hoped that by saying that sheep were tamed, they could really tame them. When I saw these sheep quietly enjoying the food given by the ‘inexperienced keeper’, I was sure that they were the gentle sheep that I once heard of. It was a rare and happy experience.

P.72

I am passionate about good restaurants and good food. The most searched items on my mobile phones and computer are restaurants in the country that serve good food. I particularly love tteokbokki and this was the result of my search for the most delicious tteokbokki. The steamy hot food and the ambience of the shop made the food more delicious. “GiReum (fried) Tteokbokki”–the name already conjured up an appetizing taste!

The historical moment of trying out the taste at a restaurant on my tasty-restaurants list. But more satisfying is the warmth of the ajunma shopkeeper.

P.46

I have a fear of heights. I hate terrifying games. On the way to the seaside, I came across an amusement park. When winter arrives, it will go into hibernation. Wasn’t it too predictable? Pirate ship–normally I would absolutely refuse to go up there. The feeling of almost flying up to the sky terrifies me. Screaming Screams mixed with laughter. What was going on? (Viking–keke)

Photo source: as labeled via baidu tieba
Korean to Chinese translation by 全薇1116, 李升基咖啡微博
Chinese to English translation by AY, special contributor to Everything Lee Seung Gi

I have acrophobia(fear of heights). I’m not fond of scary stuff.
On the way to seaside, I ran into an amusement park. It was a day before the close.
When winter comes, this amusement park is entering in to a long rest period just like bears entering hibernation^^. I thought of it too easy. I shouldn’t have been on the Viking(pirate ship).
Feeling like I almost touch the sky, I felt fear.
I screamed. But …why was it that scream accompanied smile?

Korean to English translation by Milano