Hana Min: You have been involved with koi for decades. What first attracted you to koi keeping?

Hugo J. Smal: At first, like many people, I was attracted by beauty.

Koi are extraordinary animals. They move through water in a way that naturally draws attention. But after some years I realized that koi are not really the only subject.

Water is.

A koi can only be understood through the environment in which it lives. The fish teaches you to observe the pond. The pond teaches you to observe yourself.

Hana Min: Many people think koi keeping is mainly about expensive fish and prizes. Do you agree?

Hugo J. Smal: That is one part of the hobby, but it is not the heart of it.

I have seen wonderful ponds filled with modest koi that gave their owners tremendous happiness. And I have seen expensive collections where the owner spent more time worrying than enjoying.

A koi pond is not a stock market. It is a living environment.

Koi keeping is not only for prize-winning koi or international shows. It is also for the person who comes home, sits beside the water, recognizes the fish, sees the seasons change, and learns to care for something living.

If you cannot sit quietly beside the water and simply watch, you are missing something important.

Hana Min: KoiTalk uses the phrase “To observe is to feel. To feel is to know.” What does that mean?

Hugo J. Smal: It comes from many years of looking at ponds.

Water testing is important. I encourage it. But experienced koi keepers know something else too.

Long before a test kit reveals a problem, the pond often tells you.

The fish behave differently. The water feels different. The sound of the pond changes. The rhythm changes. Something is no longer quite right.

Observation comes first. Over time, observation becomes intuition. And intuition is often simply observation accumulated over many years.

Hana Min: For many years you became better known for Mantifang, Korean culture, and writing than for koi. What happened?

Hugo J. Smal: People sometimes think I left the koi world. I do not think I ever did.

The center of gravity simply moved.

What began as an interest in koi gradually opened doors into Japanese and Korean culture, history, landscape, Buddhism, philosophy, and writing. Over time that journey led to Mantifang, my work around Korea, my friendship with people such as Kim Young Soo of Goyang Koi Farm, and eventually to The Jijang Fractal.

For many years I spent more time walking through temples, studying Korean history, writing, and building Mantifang than attending koi shows.

But the lessons of koi never disappeared.

Observation. Patience. Attention. Responsibility.

Those are lessons that work equally well beside a pond, in a temple courtyard, or at a writing desk.

Hana Min: What role did Goyang Koi Farm play in that journey?

Hugo J. Smal: Goyang Koi Farm reminded me that koi are not only a Japanese story.

Of course, Nishikigoi belong deeply to Japan. That history matters. But koi also became part of a wider Asian story and part of my Korean journey.

Through Kim Young Soo and Goyang Koi Farm, I saw how koi can connect people, landscapes, businesses, friendships, and cultural exchange.

That reinforced something I had already begun to suspect.

Koi are never just fish.

They are often a meeting place. Between people. Between countries. And sometimes between different parts of a person’s life.

Hana Min: Does this connect with The Jijang Fractal?

Hugo J. Smal: I think it does.

The Jijang Fractal is ultimately about responsibility. Not responsibility imposed from outside, but responsibility that grows naturally from attention.

When we pay attention, we notice connections. When we notice connections, we recognize consequences. When we recognize consequences, responsibility follows.

That applies to families. It applies to societies. It applies to culture. And surprisingly, it also applies to koi ponds.

A pond is a small world. Everything affects everything else. Water, oxygen, feeding, filtration, weather, stocking, patience, neglect, care — nothing stands alone.

That is why koi keeping can become more than a hobby. It can become a quiet form of ethical attention.

Hana Min: Why do Japan, Europe, and Korea all matter for KoiTalk?

Hugo J. Smal: Japan gives koi their deepest cultural and aesthetic foundation. Without Japan, there is no real understanding of Nishikigoi.

Europe gave the modern hobby much of its pond engineering, filtration development, club structure, shows, magazines, and commercial infrastructure.

Korea, for me, opens another dimension: water technology, landscape, smart systems, aquaculture, culture, and the future relationship between tradition and innovation.

KoiTalk is not only about products. It is about connecting these worlds in a responsible way.

Hana Min: What do you hope KoiTalk becomes?

Hugo J. Smal: I hope it becomes more than a website.

I hope it becomes a place where knowledge, experience, technology, history, and responsibility come together.

Not only for people who want champion koi, but also for people who simply enjoy sitting beside a pond after work.

The koi world needs both.

Hana Min: What would you say to someone building a first pond?

Hugo J. Smal: Do not start with the fish.

Start with the water.

Learn to observe. Be patient. Do not confuse buying with caring.

A pond is not something you own in the ordinary sense. It is something you are responsible for.

If you learn that lesson, the koi will teach you the rest.