Screenshot of YouTube channel of Kim Young-hoon, holder of the Guinness World Record for IQ 276. 

Poet and ColumnistIt is correct to plant onions in November. Garlic is best planted in October, and onions should be planted in November. There are several reasons, but if an onion develops a flower stalk and blooms, that onion cannot be eaten. This is damage caused by early planting.

We decided to plant two types of onions: purple onions and red onions, choosing varieties with good storability. Purple onions are said to be better, but I don't know the difference.

Onion seedlings should be soaked in water mixed with disinfectant for about an hour before planting. While doing this, I check the news on my phone and find a report that Kim Young-hoon (36), known for having the world's highest intelligence quotient, IQ 276, has applied for asylum in the United States.

An IQ of 276 is a national treasure. I myself have always held Kim Young-hoon in awe. My own IQ is just a little over 120. I'm far from being in Mensa; I'm just ordinary. An IQ of 276 is beyond imagination. Such intelligence must be a special gift from heaven, and as the world's number one, it is a brain that the nation should protect as a national treasure.

I take out the onion seedlings and start planting. I lay down a cushion and sit, moving backward little by little, planting row by row. The onion field is covered with plastic sheeting, and there are 9 holes per row in the plastic. A seedling is planted in each hole. It is a very tedious task.

While planting onions, I think of IQ 276 Kim Young-hoon again. He cited being unable to remain in Korea, dominated by pro-North Korean leftists who betray freedom, as his reason for seeking asylum.

Pro-North Korean leftists are, in a word, communists. Therefore, it means he can no longer live in a country ruled by communists. If one understands what the word "communist" implies, Kim Young-hoon's dilemma becomes clearer.

Communists have no truth. They use countless lies to hide the truth. They claim to love without loving. They claim to help the poor while stealing. They speak of peace while perpetrating violence as labor unions do. They talk of equality while wanting to take the wealth of their prosperous neighbors. The Republic of Korea, a country ruled by such communists, is a country filled with lies. Kim Young-hoon must have disliked this very fact.

My cat, June, approaches. It would be disastrous if she rolled around in the planted onions. She rubs against my leg and then flops down. She wants to be petted, but I don't have time to play with her now. I pet her a few times and gently pull her legs to the side. She closes her eyes and doesn't move. However, her tail wags, so she seems to be in a good mood.

There is no reason to like a country where lies are treated as justifiable. Am I the only one who feels nauseated watching the group called the Democratic Party of Korea, a communist collective, deceive the public with all sorts of lies and smirk? Who can eat comfortably while looking at Park Jie-won, Seo Young-kyo, Choi Min-hee, and Choo Mi-ae?

My cat is currently nursing. Looking at her nipples, all six appear to have been suckled. Soon, she will appear with her kittens. Fortunately, we have a shed where she can raise them, but the puppy Ban-sil is a problem.

Out of the four puppies born this spring, only one survived. On a day of severe drought, I returned home after a week to find them all dead except for one, and my heart ached. I named her "Ban-sil" after her mother Ban-hee. Ban-sil is now entering adolescence and is all over the place. There's no way she'll leave the kittens alone. I think I'll have to tie her up.

Kim Young-hoon has labeled the Lee Jae-myung administration as evil. He then elaborates on his reasons for seeking asylum.

"Today, the Korean government punishes patriots, persecutes religion, and praises communists."

"I will not yield to evil. I am seeking refuge in the United States where my faith will not be persecuted but protected."

I stop planting onions and look up at the blue autumn sky. It's just blue. I've long since run out of things to say about the sky. When did we ever live by believing in the sky? And I called for the puppy Ban-sil. She needs to be tied up for the sake of the kittens.

Many kittens have been born over the years, but they all left when the time came. One cat, however, stayed, watching with a wary eye, so I named her "Nunchi" (meaning "sense" or "awareness") and have been feeding her. Mother June does not allow her kittens to stay near her when they grow up and are ready to be independent. Nunchi also hides when her mother appears.

Who wouldn't want to leave this land, like Kim Young-hoon? I can't help but spit at this dirty reality. However, the cat June and the puppies Ban-hee and Ban-sil are small lives that I am responsible for. If I'm not here, they will become strays or die. They are lives that will suffer abuse as strays and wait only for me, starving. They are my lives that I must protect with my own hands. Kim Young-hoon must also have someone he is responsible for.

During my break, I caught Ban-sil, put a leash on her, and prepared a new space next to her mother Ban-hee's nest. It's her first time being tied up, so she resists strongly. I pretend not to see and continue planting onions. After a while, she quiets down, but she still sits there, glaring at me.

After planting over 500, then 800, and then 1000, I can finally see the end of the work. Even if a third of these don't grow, 600 will be enough. 300 can be given to relatives, and 300 will be enough for our family's seasoning for a year. This is all the harvest I can get from growing without pesticides.

I hope Kim Young-hoon would have thought at least once more about the lives he is responsible for before seeking asylum. Even if he believes there is no just Republic of Korea, and only North Korea and its followers exist, the fight is not over. Teacher Jeon Han-gil is a person reborn from such suffering. He has abandoned his personal safety and is walking the path of a sage for the lives in this land that he must protect.

Meanwhile, cat June, having visited her kittens, walks slowly towards the onion field. Perhaps she likes the "housekeeper" who visits only once a week that much. Now I have to pick persimmons. I pat Ban-sil's grumbling head once and then lift my heavy body.

Jeong Jae-hak, Poet and Columnist