[Eng] 17.11.01 From SeungGi

For SeungGi’s original message in Korean, please visit leeseunggi.com

This is Lee Seung Gi who has returned to your side^^ 2017-11-01

It has really been a long time since I last greeted you here.
Did everyone get home ok yesterday~??
The weather got cold all of a sudden, so I was really worried.

Preparing placards/banners and waiting from the night before…
It was not even your own family member’s military discharge event, but all of you who celebrated it so passionately…
Thank you to the fans from home and abroad and the residents of Deoksang-3-ri. ㅎㅎㅎㅎ

Before I passed the guardhouse yesterday, I really agonized over what I should say to you. But with those reporters there, I surprisingly got quite nervous, so I don’t think I talked very much.

That’s why I’m writing this on November 1 as a complete civilian and Army Reserve Sergeant Lee Seung Gi.

Just like yesterday, a lot of people came to see me off when I first joined the army through the Nonsan Training Center. I still remember it vividly.
The army I joined with surprising calm and cool was tougher than I thought. ㅎ

On the first day, lying there side by side in a row with comrades (of course I was about 10 years, on average, in age apart from them) I enlisted together with, and staring at the red night light, I think I was in a daze like that for 2 hours.

Moral education. Close-order drills. Shooting. Individual combat. And more. As I went through these trainings one by one and adapted, it was already time for base assignment which is the recruits’ greatest concern.
Indeed, which area would I go to, and in what position would I fulfill my military duty?
Everyone prayed to the god they each believe in for the good fortune of serving somewhere that’s close to home.

With such anticipation, the training completion ceremony came and the place I was assigned to was none other than ‘Special Warfare Command’, also known as Special Forces.
That was the first time I heard of SWC. I knew nothing about the kinds of missions this unit carries out, so I wasn’t too flustered.
When I learned that it’s an extremely intense and mysterious unit where I have to complete without fail airborne training and other trainings that I never heard of in the (Nonsan) training center in order to become a member,
I tried to say that I didn’t think I could do it because of my fear of heights and was there any way that I could get reassigned to a different unit?
But in the military, you obey superior orders. Besides, personnel orders impartially assigned by a computer system cannot be changed.
That’s how I, full of dread, ended up serving in the 13th Airborne Special Forces Brigade under the Special Warfare Command.

However, no one can predict the future.
Through my military life and training, I conquered the fears I had.
Seeing myself getting excited about intense training the moment I leaped over my fears,
it was an opportunity for me to look back at the life I have lived so far.

I learned with my body and mind what’s more important:
it’s not where you do something but who you do it with;
it’s not what to do but how to do it.

I think it was clear what Lee Seung Gi in his 20s could and couldn’t do.
Having to take a break if it was hard, and having to catch his breath if it was exhausting…
However, while serving in the SWC, Lee Seung Gi in his 30s felt that
he was a little too indulgent of himself during those moments in his 20s that were hard and exhausting…
Now I think it would be ok to go a little further before taking a break.

When doing the long-distance march, we could walk and then rest by following fixed time goals.
But when aiming for distance goals, no matter how hard it got, we had to keep going and could not rest until we reached that distance.

Of course, there was the fear of falling in rough terrain when marching at night,
knee pain, cramps and treating by acupuncture with hundreds of needles stuck in the thighs, wearing the blood-stained combat uniform pants as if it were a medal, and shoulders feeling like they was breaking apart… I felt conflicted about if I would be ok overtaxing myself like this, but the conclusion was if I didn’t go for the finish line nonstop, I would not recover my strength no matter how much I rest midway.

Every day, I got blisters on my feet, and I would thread a needle and poke the bottom of my feet many times and then walk, and repeat this process again and again.
When going to bed, I kept thinking that there was no way I could walk again the next day.
But after sleeping for about 4 hours, I would determinedly pack up my gear again, catch my breath and finish the march.
I did ponder what exactly I was doing it for, and how I was able to do it.

The conclusion I drew was that it was all possible because of a strong desire and the comrades with me.
Something that was impossible to do alone became possible because of an earnest desire and support from people by my side who wanted to do it together.

Before my discharge, a lot of people talked (to me).
And they said I (should) get some rest after discharge, recharge, and then start working.

I fully understand what they said, but because I’m already completely full of energy,
I want to use this healthy energy in doing something that I can do well.
I know some of the fans are also worried.

However, I’ll decide on what I’ll do from now on by prioritizing what I want to do and what I can do best.
Of course that confidence can be met with poor results.

And at every such moment, I think the people by my side can be fellow entertainers or staff members I work with,
but they can also be my family, agency members, friends, and fans.

I wonder how happy I would feel if I could do what I want with support from those people by my side.

With no talent for writing, I’m afraid that I wrote too much for no reason. ㅎㅎㅎ

Personally, I hope that my wish of greeting you through the small screen before the end of the year will come true.
Until the moment I return to TV, please diligently keep up your strength, everyone~^^ㅎ

I’ll prove to you that it was not a lie when I said you’ll see me until you’re tired of me. ㅎㅎㅎ

From the bottom of my heart, thank you once again to all the fans who have been waiting. I wish all of you happiness.

I love you.

source: leeseunggi.com
English translation: tryp96.wordpress.com