What happens when successful professionals reach the peak of their careers yet continue searching for something deeper?
A Weekly Chosun feature story explored this question through the experiences of three accomplished Korean professionals in their 50s: a senior banking executive, a KAIST aerospace engineering professor, and a high-ranking government official.
Despite their achievements, each found themselves facing stress, uncertainty, fear, or questions about life’s deeper meaning. Their common path toward change was the practice of Ma-eum Su-ryun.
🌱 A Search Beyond Success
The three men featured in the article had already achieved what many people would consider successful lives.
They held prestigious positions in:
- Banking and finance
- Higher education and scientific research
- Government leadership
Yet success alone did not eliminate stress, anxiety, or the desire to understand life’s fundamental questions.
According to the article, each man began exploring Ma-eum Su-ryun while seeking greater clarity, peace, and understanding beyond external accomplishments.
💼 Moon Hong-soon: Finding Peace After a Lifetime of Pressure
Moon Hong-soon had spent 27 years serving in major financial institutions, including the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service.
After years of demanding work, including navigating the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, he found himself exhausted and searching for answers to questions he had carried throughout his life:
- Who am I?
- Why do I live?
- What is the purpose of life?
What began as a short retreat unexpectedly became a nine-month period of intensive practice.
Moon later described that period not as an interruption to his career, but as a time of complete renewal. He reported experiencing a deep sense of peace and a new perspective on life.
Upon returning to professional work, he found that stress no longer affected him in the same way. He felt more productive, more relaxed, and more harmonious in his relationships with others.
Former colleagues even remarked that he appeared softer, brighter, and easier to approach than before.
✈️ Professor Lee Deok-joo: Freedom From Fear
Professor Lee Deok-joo of KAIST spent his career researching aircraft and spacecraft.
Ironically, he suffered from a severe fear of flying.
For years, claustrophobia made every flight a stressful experience. Despite medical treatment, the fear persisted.
According to Lee, this changed dramatically after beginning Ma-eum Su-ryun.
Through self-reflection, he traced the source of his fear to a childhood experience that had remained buried in his memory for decades.
As he examined and released those memories, his claustrophobia disappeared.
But the changes extended beyond fear.
At the time, Lee was also dealing with financial pressures, family difficulties, and the collapse of a family business. Through the practice, he came to recognize how attachment, competition, and desire had influenced many of his decisions.
After letting go of those burdens, he described experiencing greater peace, deeper research focus, improved family relationships, and stronger connections with students.
Even his teaching changed.
Rather than lecturing from his own perspective, he found himself teaching from the students’ perspective, resulting in better communication and improved evaluations from his classes.
🏛️ Jeong Ki-eon: Letting Go of Fear and Perfectionism
Jeong Ki-eon was serving as a senior government official after a distinguished public service career spanning more than two decades.
Despite professional success, he carried a constant fear of failure and a perfectionist mindset that left him feeling tense and burdened.
Seeking an opportunity to reflect on his life and career, he attended a seven-day Ma-eum Su-ryun program.
What followed was a deeply emotional experience.
He described moments of profound self-reflection and repentance that brought unexpected tears and a sense of emotional release.
Afterward, he reported several positive changes:
- Reduced anxiety
- Improved relationships with coworkers
- Greater patience with subordinates
- Less fear about the future
- Improved emotional balance
He explained that situations which once caused worry and tension no longer affected him in the same way.
Instead of focusing on the faults of others, he found himself more able to appreciate their strengths.
Most importantly, he said the vague anxiety he had long carried about the future disappeared.
🧠 Understanding the Mind Through Self-Reflection
The article describes Ma-eum Su-ryun as a method of examining and letting go of the emotions, concepts, and attachments connected to one’s memories.
Rather than focusing on physical exercises or religious beliefs, the practice encourages individuals to look deeply into the accumulated experiences that shape their perceptions, emotions, and behaviors.
According to the article, the goal is to free oneself from the mental burdens created by those accumulated memories and attachments.
🌿 A Common Theme: Inner Change Leads to Outer Change
Although the three men came from very different backgrounds, their experiences revealed several common themes.
They reported:
- Reduced stress
- Greater emotional stability
- Improved relationships
- Increased focus and effectiveness
- Freedom from fear and anxiety
- A deeper sense of peace
Their stories suggest that meaningful transformation often begins not with changing external circumstances, but with changing one’s relationship to the mind itself.
💙 Looking Beyond Achievement
Modern society often teaches people to pursue more success, more recognition, and more accomplishments.
Yet this Weekly Chosun feature highlights a different perspective.
Even highly accomplished individuals may continue searching for peace, meaning, and freedom from internal struggles.
For the three men featured in the article, the journey inward proved just as important as the achievements they had accumulated throughout their careers.
Their experiences remind us that true well-being may involve not only what we gain in life, but also what we learn to let go.
📰 About the Article
Publication: Weekly Chosun
Issue: No. 1794
Article Title: When I Discarded the Mind, I Could Finally See the Mind
Reporter: Kim Chang-ki
