Our lives are filled with limitations--mental and physical boundaries each individual possesses that they cannot change, however despite these limitations we still have a differing range of control within our lives. In our life, although we may not control the outcome, we can control the present actions we take toward reaching a goal.

There are those of us who are forced to give up on prior dreams. No matter the reason, whether it’s money, age, or health, we’ve all faced struggles and limitations that have brought us back to a tragic reality. In the Drama Navillera, we are told that, yes there are harsh realities, but as long as we are still alive and breathing there is still time to pursue our goals. The only limitations that truly stop us from achieving a goal are the ones we’ve set up for ourselves, within our minds or societal expectations about pursuing certain skills

The drama Navillera is a metaphor for life. Through the sport of ballet, we can take the teachings of the show and place them into any of our real-world situations. Although I have never done ballet, this drama struck a chord with me and the hobbies and careers I have chosen in life.

The fact of life is that we are all bound by our limitations, but the biggest limitation is not the physical, but the mental boundaries we place on ourselves about what we cannot achieve. In the present, we can still carve out our future with persistence. We can set small but realistic goals to build our future and fight against our limitations. In Navillera Deol-Chul’s is to soar, but he knew that to do so he would have to put in the effort to learn the fundamentals of ballet, and so through the help of Chae-rok, but more importantly through Deol-Chul’s own perseverance and persistence towards achieving his goals, he is able to learn ballet.

Freedom of expression can take forms in multiple fashions, but in a world where there are boundless opportunities for self-expression, it begs the question: what defines success? Is it following one’s passions, reaching fame and stardom, and earning a lot of money? Navillera explores the open-ended nature of success and how each individual has to come to their own definition of what success means to them.

Here is one of the main questions that the drama wants the audience to ponder: is a 23-year-old ballerino successful and a 70-year-old amateur ballerino unsuccessful? It becomes clear that the answer to this question is no and that ballet, whether it be professional or amateur, is meaningful to individuals despite age and skill level. Success becomes something that isn’t measured by age or skill level, but by the meaning, it has for each individual and the amount of effort they are willing to put into their desired goal.

Time is a limitation that we all have to face. On the adjacent side of time, is inevitably regret. The regret of not starting early, or not putting in more effort, of living with the fact that you cannot go back in time to pursue something you wanted to. However, despite this tragic reality, we can still hold onto our present and future. If we set past our own limitations of society and what it has deemed as ‘silly’ or ‘unattainable’, we can accomplish our goals.


The reminder for all of us, after watching this drama, is that limitations and struggles are inevitable--a part of life. Just like a Nabi (Butterfly, 나비) we can also soar towards our individual goals.