Former professional golfer Park Se-ri opened up about the practical struggles of having to take responsibility for her employees' salaries and taxes after retirement. Park confessed that the period when salaries are paid on the 1st of every month is the most burdensome, and that life after retirement—where she has to personally meet people and even engage in broadcasting activities—is not easy.
In the 65th episode of tvN STORY's "What's the Point of Leaving It Behind," which aired on the 2nd, Lee Young-ja, Park Se-ri, and Kim Chang-ok shared stories about life and life after retirement while eating seasonal blue crabs.
While tasting the crabs, Kim Chang-ok reflected on his past, saying, "I lived without knowing the flavors of the world. I didn't really know what was in season in which month," and "I just worked."
Park Se-ri empathized, saying, "I didn't know either because I only worked." She added, "I think my perspective changed a lot around the time I retired."
Kim Chang-ok showed interest in the lives of athletes who retire at an earlier age than ordinary office workers.
Kim Chang-ok remarked, "While office workers usually retire in their 50s or 60s, athletes retire early," and asked Park Se-ri what she was thinking as she approached retirement.
Park Se-ri revealed that she had been thinking about when to wrap up her playing career in advance.
"I was planning to retire around that time," Park said. "I wanted to retire and focus on discovering promising young talents."
She then recalled the time she entered the international stage in 1998.
"Even when I went overseas in 1998, it was my own personal dream," Park confessed. "It was my dream alone, but as I continued, it became someone else's dream."
As junior players began to look up to her and nurture their dreams of becoming golfers, her sense of responsibility grew.
"I had seniors, and now I have juniors, so I wanted to be a senior who could be helpful to them," Park explained, describing the reason she became interested in nurturing promising young players after retirement.
Lee Young-ja was impressed by Park Se-ri's story of concluding her playing career at the age of 40, but she also asked a realistic question. Lee Young-ja remarked, "That is truly wonderful. But you have to pay a monthly salary," mentioning that the salaries of her employees are one of the reasons Park Se-ri continues her broadcasting activities.
She continued, "The reason you do broadcasting is to pay your employees' salaries," and asked, "When in the month do you feel suffocated?"
Without hesitation, Park Se-ri replied, "The first week is suffocating," causing a burst of laughter.
Park Se-ri confided the burden of the monthly payday, saying, "Salary is paid out every 1st of the month."
She added, "Taxes are also a struggle," conveying the realistic difficulties of running a business.
Upon hearing this, Kim Chang-ok laughed, saying, "That is so realistic."
Kim Chang-ok then asked what other difficulties she faced after retirement.
Park Se-ri confessed, "Since I was someone who only focused on sports, starting something new wasn't easy," adding, "Broadcasting was particularly difficult."
She also found it challenging to meet people in person and build relationships. Park Se-ri explained, "Before retirement, I couldn't go out of my way to meet anyone," adding, "During my playing days, only the competition mattered."
She continued, "After retiring, I had to do things on my own and even voice my regrets," confessing, "That was a bit difficult at first."
In response, Kim Chang-ok offered advice to Park Se-ri, mentioning the commonalities between golf and life.
Kim Chang-ok said, "I learned a little golf, and golf and life were very similar," and shared his past experience giving a lecture on the theme "Golf is Life."
Kim Chang-ok explained that human relationships, like golf, do not always flow in the direction one wants, stating, "It seemed like the principle of the world was to put the ball into the hole in the other person's heart."
He added, "If you try to open the other person's heart too quickly, the hole seems to narrow," and remarked, "If you adjust to each other's tempo, they seem to recognize your sincerity."
He emphasized, "It may seem like you are competing against others, but ultimately, it is a competition against yourself."
Kim Chang-ok shared that he felt an extraordinary sincerity in Park Se-ri's everyday behavior.
"But there is something that surprised me about Ms. Park Se-ri," Kim Chang-ok said, mentioning how she looked after the staff.
He added, "(Ms. Park) distributes food to the staff with a straight face, and even now she is making fried rice for us. They say the language of actions is the language of the soul. Words that come out of the mouth are not the only words."
In particular, Kim Chang-ok praised her, saying, "Ms. Park is someone who speaks through her actions," and highly valued her thoughtfulness.