What does Lee Hyon-soo say retirement allows people to do?

He says retirement frees people from work-related responsibilities and gives them a chance to rethink priorities, rediscover interests and pursue activities that bring joy and fulfillment. He also says it creates more time to deepen family and social relationships.

How does Lee Hyon-soo spend his retirement?

He says he spends much of his time reading, including books that had been left unread for years. He also blogs, writes columns in English and Korean, travels, and climbs mountains in Korea with old friends.

Why can retirement feel unsettling for some people, according to Lee Hyon-soo?

He says some retirees may feel a loss of purpose because their job is tied to their identity and daily routine. He also says retirement can reduce social interaction because the workplace is often a person’s main social environment.

Retirement is life's new chapter

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Summary

Lee Hyon-soo says retirement can be daunting, but it also offers freedom to pursue interests, deepen relationships and embrace a new chapter of life. He describes retirement as a chance to read, write, travel and reconnect with society. He says his own retirement is fun.

Key Facts

The column says retirement can bring apprehension because work is part of identity and a primary social environment for many people.
It says retirement gives people time to reevaluate priorities, rediscover interests and pursue activities that bring joy and fulfillment.
Lee Hyon-soo says that after retiring, he reads voraciously, writes prolifically and travels widely.
He says he has written English-language pieces for The Korea Times and Korean-language pieces for newspapers published in Canada.
He says his favorite hobby after retirement is mountain climbing in Korea, where he visits most often and climbs with old friends.

Published Sep 11, 2024 9:04 am KST
Updated Sep 11, 2024 9:04 am KST

Retirement is a well-earned reward for a lifetime of toiling. Be that as it may, in today’s challenging financial landscape, those fortunate enough to retire on their own terms are indeed the lucky few. But some of them may view retirement with a hint of apprehension for various reasons.

Their job is a significant part of their identity and daily routine, and losing it may lead to a sense of purposelessness. Retirement can also lead to reduced social interaction in that the workplace, for many, serves as their primary social environment.

However, their apprehension can be overshadowed by what retirement offers — namely, a unique opportunity to embrace the beauty of life in a way that is unattainable during one’s working years.

For most of us, working to earn a living consumes a significant portion of our time and energy, leaving little opportunity for other pursuits. But retirement liberates us from the constraints of work-related responsibilities and provides the freedom to reevaluate our priorities, rediscover our interests and pursue those activities that bring us the greatest joy and fulfillment. Indeed, retirement is a time to embrace new experiences and explore all that life has to offer.

Furthermore, retirement provides the opportunity to deepen our familial and social relationships. Throughout our working lives, we often find ourselves pressed for time, with little opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends. Retirement allows us to spend more time with our loved ones, create lasting memories and strengthen the bonds that enrich our lives.

In a nutshell, retirement offers the freedom to pursue our passions, fulfill lifelong dreams and reconnect with our loved ones. While the transition to retirement may seem daunting at first, it is ultimately a time to embrace the beauty of life’s new chapter and savor all that it has to offer.

When I retired, I gained newfound freedom. But I do not idle away my time. I occupy myself by reading voraciously, writing prolifically and traveling the world to my heart’s content.

As I do not go to work, I spend most of my time at home and my favorite pastime is reading; I bury myself in books. Not only do I read new books, but I also delve into a pile of books that have been collected over a long period of time but left unread.

After I retired, I embarked on a blogging journey. The act of putting thoughts and opinions into words and sharing them with other people is not only a means of self-expression but also a powerful tool for reconnecting with society.

In addition, I mustered up the courage to pass myself off as a freelance columnist, writing on a variety of topics. I have contributed the pieces written in English to The Korea Times and those written in Korean to Korean-language newspapers published in Canada.

I also set out to satisfy my dormant wanderlust. Although I have traveled far and wide, my most frequent destination has been Korea, which I left half a century ago. Whenever I sojourn in Korea, I climb mountains with my old friends. I love the mountains in Korea as they are beautiful, accessible and easy to climb. Mountain climbing is my new hobby, which I took up after retirement.

I can sum up my retirement in three words: It is fun.

Lee Hyon-soo (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is a blogger-cum-columnist based in Canada.

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