Even an Uncertain Artistic Path Ripens Through Patience
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Choi Sang-ho, director of the National Opera, reflects that artistic (and educational) careers are inherently uncertain—slow, unpredictable, and often foggy. Those who succeed do so not through arrogance but through an inner conviction that they are already ‘‘winning’’ the struggle: they bring calm and steady belief to the stage. Patience here is not mere hardship-bearing but the “time to ripen”—letting imperfections persist, refining oneself through daily repetition, and trusting time like wine that deepens in flavor. For teachers, patience means quietly waiting for students’ own realizations; for artists, it means listening in silence until the work speaks. This slow, sometimes lonely discipline produces an original voice that resists imitation and moves listeners by depth rather than flash. Choosing direction over speed and maturity over quick achievement, the patient create future ripeness that in turn becomes others’ confidence—life, Choi argues, unfolds as a shared, majestic piece of music.
