By Karen Song
Korea Times Intern
Korea's beloved poet and nun Lee Hae-in, 63, is battling cancer, Yonhap news said.
On July 24, Lee wrote about her fight against cancer on fan cafe ``dandelion's turf'' after receiving surgery and treatment at a hospital in Seoul. She apologized for worrying her fans.
``Although this is not the last goodbye before I leave this world, since I would have to solely concentrate on my disease for the moment (or maybe longer), please forgive me for only being able to meet through letters,'' she said, and added ``live every moment to the fullest'' quoting ``the time you wasted today was the day the dead of yesterday wanted to live.''
On July 28, she posted a letter in her own handwriting titled ``dear loving 'dandelion's turf' families'' to express her sincere thankfulness for the concerns her fans have shown.
Lee expressed her will to fight the disease by saying ``with gratitude for the attention and prayers of love, I would like to say goodbye for a moment. Parting is the starting point of prayer; parting is the start of meeting… There must be hope for the day to encounter an oasis when you walk through the desert, wouldn't there?''
Entering Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan Wednesday, she spoke of her plans to receive the treatment formally in due course.
Lee has published her 8th collection of poems ``Jageun gippeum''(translated as small happiness) this March upon her 40th anniversary since taking monastic vows.