Have you ever asked the question: “Why do you collect them?” when you see a person who collects one thing so heartily. Though our eyes, that is just something that should be thrown into the garbage bag. However, if you see the results of collecting from one to several things, you might just be surprised about it. Here are some Kookmin people who like to collect. Things that look strange are just the tip of a huge iceberg. 

Q. In my case, when I arranged my bookshelf I threw away written diaries, how could you have yours until now?
-When I was young, a teacher told me not to throw diaries away so I knew I must not throw them away. However one day, when I was roasting chestnuts, there was nothing to burn so I brought all of my diaries and began reading them again as I was burning them. But they were so interesting that I didn’t throw them away from that moment on. I have been collecting them until now.

Q. I know that we should not write simple things like ‘ate a meal and slept’ in the diary. Do you have your own way to write a diary well?
-That’s not a good way so I just write about things that I want to memorize. If you do that, you can remember what happened and what you did at that time. Recoding is very surprising. I’m sure that I write diaries when I feel good but I also write bad things after feeling bad.

Q. Do you write in your diary continually?
- Of course. I like to write in my diary as well as letters. I also give a card that I made to my friends on Christmas so I won’t skip writing in the diary. I even write in my diary during exam term. 

Q. Is Lego for only children? Maybe a Peter Pan syndrome?!
-What? I’m an adult. When I was young, my mom used to buy Lego as a gift for a special day so I like Lego so much. Hmm… Lego is like a gift for me. I’m so happy whenever I see a Lego collection in a bookshelf or cupboard.

Q. There are Lego series; do you collect them as a series?
- Yes, I do so I collect Star Wars Lego series. I like Lego with detail and small ones. I can’t explain it exactly, but Lego is just attractive to my eyes so I collect them. There aren’t too many Lego’s in this picture but I have more of them in Japan where my parents live. I think I have about 100 in Korea.

Q. Where mainly do you buy them?
- I can buy them in a common market but to get more various Legos I buy them in a store called ‘Toys R Us” which only sells toys. Also, I look around on websites to buy them. One of my friends asked me: “Why don’t you buy some clothes instead of Lego?” But I couldn’t pass up Lego; it’s like a sibling to me.

Q. Why do you collect them?
-Actually, a person brought an “Inkstone” poster, which is from an old TV show, and then it turned to an antique and valuable. I was so surprised at that moment. From that time on, I decided to collect something, and it would be movie posters. Whenever I go to a movie theater, I collect posters regardless of foreign or domestic films, but I have more domestic ones because I live in Korea.

Q. I heard you collect posters even when you don’t watch the movie?
- When I go to a theater it’s convenient to bring posters, but even though I don’t watch the movie, I drop by the theater just to get posters. If I watched all of the movies for which I have posters, I would be a movie king. However, my interest is only in the posters.

Q. Have you ever counted exactly how many posters you have?
I didn’t have a plan to keep getting posters so I don’t know exactly how many, but it could be about 540. Now I will spread out all the posters to count, then I will rearrange them by date and collect them more systematically.

To the reporter, I have something valuable as much as give a space of room. For example, I collect magazines one by one, reusable papers which one day I will use, paper cup holders that I take from coffee shops, etc. Now while writing this article, I realize that I’m also a collector who gathers things. I didn’t collect something with an obsession but now I have a responsibility to keep it. If Kookmin people collect something, I want to know what it is.