"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.""Sajeonogi" is a Korean phrase that was popularized when lightweight boxer, Hong Su-hwan, was floored 4 times before he knocked out his opponent and won the World Boxing championship. So "Sajeonogi" has become a Korean national mantra on resolve that means "Knocked down four times, rise up five."
I loved an article last week in the New York Times about a 69 year old woman, Cha Sa-Soon, from South Korea, who has given new meaning to the "Sajeonogi" phrase. After failing her driver's examination hundreds of times, finally, on the 960th try, Cha passed the test! 960 tries! (960 is not a typo)!
Cha's tenacious persistence has made her into a national celebrity of sorts! After a life of poverty, her husband had died, she'd raised 4 children and Cha decided she'd like to learn to drive to be able to take her grandchildren to the zoo.
So, in 2005 she started taking the written driving test every day, five days a week. One of the instructors said: "It drove you crazy to teach her, but we could not get mad at her. She was always cheerful."
When Cha finally did pass, one of her driving teachers noted that perhaps Ms. Cha should "content herself with simply getting the license and not endangering others on the road by actually driving!"
Cha's son said: "Mother has lived a hard life, selling vegetables door to door and working other people's farms. Maybe that made her stubborn. If she puts her mind to something, no one can argue her out of it."
I loved reading about Cha's perseverance! It's beyond what most of us would consider normal behavior but it's inspiring! Anytime I whine about my failures someone in my family should remind me about Cha-Sa-Soon. If nothing else, it'll give me better perspective!
