The stories behind their books

“I have so much I want to talk about that even writing it as an epic novel on the scale of *Toji* wouldn’t be enough, but…”

““I also read the slice-of-life novel The Uncanny Convenience Store,””

“The scenes where Tsuchida, a bookstore clerk, delivers monologues about impressions he has formed while watching customers, family members, and others are striking.”

“I wanted to build my own stage with “Ruby.””

“Even things I had never tried and couldn’t say I liked often turned out to suit me and become things I cared about once I actually experienced them.”

“It’s a book written for artists, and I felt like it really opened up my perspective.”

“I wanted to share with more people my everyday thoughts and feelings that I couldn’t fit into song lyrics.”

“It’ll be a happy ending anyway”

“I recommend it to you all too❤”

“If I were good at English too, I would have read it that way.”

“The book I read quickly and enjoyed just as much is Dante’s Divine Comedy. Turning each page is so enjoyable and fun.”

“It’s a name taken from a character in the webtoon *Tower of God*. I was so gentle-natured, so the CEO gave me the name to make me tougher.”

“I read *At the Edge, But I Haven’t Fallen Yet*! It’s divided into various topics, so I enjoyed reading it, and it warmed my heart. It’s a book that really helps you regroup. Now let’s get moving!”

“"The Little Prince feels different every time I read it—now, five years from now, or ten years from now."”

““The love and psychology between men and women in many different situations are captured like a movie.””

“And the book I’d like to recommend today is The Tea House at Cape Rainbow. It’s a book I read as I entered my thirties. Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to the author’s descriptions of scenery and flavors. When I encountered abstract and emotional ideas, I felt a deep attraction to the writing, savoring it as I formed my own images from my experiences.”

“Among the books I’ve read recently is one called *Reading Schopenhauer at Forty*. I wanted to read it when I was 20, so I did.”

“The last book I read was in middle school—Life at Nine?”

“I started reading so that I could live as an ordinary person. I’m reading to find out what I want to become and what I need to do from now on.”

“Financial security creates creative freedom.”

“It was the last birthday present my late grandfather gave me. He also wrote me a letter. Since it was a story about a grandfather and granddaughter, a lot of it really resonated with me. I kept reading it again and again—two or three times.”

“Wow ㅠㅠ Make sure you read it all!!”

“The way it unfolds is so unique and captivating that I read the whole thing in one sitting. I had been caught up in a hectic routine amid my busy schedule, but throughout the book, its gripping storytelling gave me a very new feeling.”

“A while ago, a director I know gave me What Is Death? as a gift. It compiles lectures by Professor Shelly Kagan of Yale University, but honestly, it’s very difficult.”

“I also, in any case, started out as a reader, so the texts I read...”

“You have to put down deep roots so you can stand more firmly as you rise.”

“It explains humanity’s past and future from multiple perspectives.”

“저 절창이라는 책을 사봤는데 재밌는 거 같아요!!”

““When I ask you an awkward question, you know? (Announcer Kim Ju-woo) smiles and politely turns me down.””

“As I got further into the latter half, I found myself thinking how astonishing it was. This is the first book that has made me feel that way. I was amazed by how it planted clues and then brought them back later.”

“I started reading *Darkness at Noon* the day before yesterday.”

“The most recent book I read was *Almond*. A friend told me to give it a read, so I did.”

“I brought it because Demian is my favorite.”

“The Little Prince”

“While reading that book called Tools of Titans”

“I also read poet Kim Seung-il’s *Prometheus*. Poet Kim Seung-il’s poems were very difficult, but I was shocked in many ways.”

“Paulo Coelho once said, “Travel alone or with your wife.” To me, it sounded like, “Travel alone.””

“Make notes.”

“Two people, each with their own wounds, meet and make each other's everyday lives feel okay. To me, you're that kind of friend.”

“A little arboretum breathing in the palm of my hand”

“The Devotion of Suspect X.”

“The Little Prince is such a famous work, you know. I first encountered it as an animated film, and later read it as a book. I want to express the feelings I experienced through contemporary dance.”

“Rather than self-help books that offer comfort, just something intuitive…”

““The part I like best is when the man, who had kept his heart closed off, opens up to the woman and says, ‘Stay with me tonight, Clara.’ Even in the film based on the novel, that scene is the best.””

“I think my attitude changed after reading this short story, because it made me realize that there is hope even in places I had thought were dark times. It made me want to look around more carefully and find things to be grateful for, even in the little things. That’s why I recommend reading this short story, titled *Ahopsu Gawi*.”

“I hope that the fleeting emotions I feel from moment to moment, captured in the hope that they might bring even a moment of comfort and strength to someone who encounters this book, will make it possible for us to share empathy and communicate—not as author and reader, but as people.”

“Tongue Fu! is a book I've read several times.”

“I really want to recommend the book I’m reading right now to you all. A Man Called Ove. I bought it and started reading it without giving it much thought, just because people said it was fun. As I read, there were times I laughed, I almost cried, and I learned a lot. You should definitely read it 👍”

“Art is close to us. I sincerely respect CEO Kim Do-hoon, who takes it and creates another kind of art. I think this book, too, is a “work” made from another part of Kim Do-hoon’s blood.”

“The Little Prince!”

“Maybe it’s also similar to the story of *Peter Pan*. So before this round of activities, I started digging into *Peter Pan* and went through various dark fairy tales. The dark fairy tales in particular felt new to me because they were different from what I knew as a child.”

“It contains ways for creators to express how they communicate with the public and inspire empathy, as well as methods for finding inspiration.”

“I thought about what would be interesting and worth watching all the way through. It’s about a girl who’s a born idol but is actually hiding a huge secret, and makes it into the underground scene…”

““A book Choi Ja recommended to me; it was written based on research on aging.””

““I know how avid readers actually read books and how intellectual people think, so I hope people will just read it casually.””

“I think I found a lot of comfort.”

“Of course, you need to have practiced enough, and you also need to be fully prepared in terms of how you look onstage. But what matters most is believing in yourself and enjoying the stage.”

“It’s called ‘Übermensch’—advice you need for living? That’s the sort of thing it is. I haven’t finished reading it yet either. It has content similar to the ‘values’ I mentioned earlier. I haven’t even read quite half, but it was such a good book that I’d like to recommend it! And it’s not thick. You know how the book Cosmos is, like, this big, hahaha. I think it’s good to carry around and read. I think it was in the car...”

“Through the book, I came to realize that when you think of a person as a kind of “vessel,” they can become a much finer vessel only after being broken once.”

“In particular, the poetry collection *Love as if You Have Never Been Hurt* left a deep impression on me.”

“This book is fun~!”

“It’s kind of giving me chills, but when I read this first sentence, I realized I’m the one who became Spencer as Holfield grew up.”

““They say that there are five languages of love: ‘words of affirmation,’ ‘quality time,’ ‘gifts,’ ‘acts of service,’ and ‘physical touch.’””

“I’d like to recommend A World of Children to people who enjoy watching My Golden Kids and want to understand themselves and others a little better.”

“I realized that Gu Byeong-mo's books really aren't a good fit for me.”

““I enjoyed reading the novel Coffee Prince, 1st Shop.””

““Rebonds” is a particularly special project to me. I’m very proud and excited to be part of this project supporting UNICEF. This initiative shows how important it is to protect and support those in need, especially children. Every child deserves equal opportunities in life, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the most vulnerable receive essential support.”

““At the time, the bestseller was The Courage to Be Disliked. I came out with a lot of courage to be disliked.””

“I find it so amazing too, and hearing that the song I made as a gift for my child is coming out as a picture book like this feels quite moving.”

“It is a quick-results diet book for getting bikini-ready for summer.”

“Publishing a photo book wasn’t something I had planned. Since these were photos I’d taken on my phone in my spare moments, I was hesitant to release them, but thinking of it as leaving a record of everyday life, I’ve made it this far.”

“Actually, there were many more kinds of baby food I fed Seo-a. I recorded them in a notebook or on my phone each time. They said the book shouldn’t be too thick, so I included about 20 recipes and snacks for each stage, making a total of 131 recipes.”

“I’d read a book called *The Secret* before, too, and it was similar to the law of attraction described in it...”

““There are a few rules I dislike. (…) First, rhymes are usually grouped in sets of an even number, and one criterion is that the two words shouldn’t both be nouns. I also tend to dislike rhymes like ‘did something, would do something, did something? would do something?’ On the other hand, the rhymes I consider best follow all these criteria, while still making the content clear in your mind just from reading the rhymes. For example, there might be 16 bars of lyrics, but even reading only the rhymes should bring the content to mind. (…) (In the hook of ‘Jakdu,’) ‘Jakdu’ and ‘ssakduk’ rhyme, but one is a noun and the other is an onomatopoeic word. The rhyme works, their parts of speech are different, and the meaning makes sense. That’s what I think makes a good rhyme. _p.354””

“I've been reading a book lately. It's called The Bare Minimum of Korean History. It does a very good job of explaining things concisely, from Gojoseon through modern and contemporary history. It made me think, “I should study more history,” and I hope many people will read it.”

“This is a silent human drama. It’s such a joy to see a friend you care about succeed. It brings back all those ambitions we had back then: we especially loved the weird and wanted to be even weirder, in some way. Thanks to this book, I feel as though a passion that will never rot, like Kim’s fruit, and the spirited Moonchi I was back then have come back to me. Thank you so much! And there’s nothing about me in it, huh?”

“As I was writing this book...”

“In the early hours of Friday, I finished reading A Little Life.”

“A book I want to take out and read whenever I think of my beloved pet who went to Dog Star. I related to Jiyul’s feelings and was deeply moved by Byeol’s love!”

“There’s a book by author Kim Eana called *Ordinary Words*.”

“I hope you’ll love it. You won’t regret it.”

“I highly recommend it.”

“The 8 Rules of Love, by Jay Shetty.”

“At first, it was hard because I kept trying to write only grand, impressive words. I completed it by making a great effort to take the force out of my writing.”

“There was nothing to do at the training camp, so I read books. I also kept a diary, and I cried twice.”

“At the time, I really liked the great insight I gained from the story of the Indians in writer Park Min-gyu’s book *Pavane for a Dead Princess*.”

“I also liked Hideo Okuda’s The Aerial Trapeze. Each short story features unusual patients who receive counseling and suggested treatments. I wanted to get counseling from Ibura, the doctor in the novel, too.”

“The book I’d like to give as a gift—I’d like to recommend this book.”

“The book is called "Verbal Abuse of Comfort."”

“It's a poetry book by Doyoon Na.”

“This book is summarized in one sentence on the cover.”

“Although it's a poetry book, it's like... realistic, and it describes negative and sad emotions so well.”

“You might wonder, "Huh? How's reading that book gonna help you get comforted?" but...”

“Just like the title of this book "Verbal Abuse of Comfort,"”

“So here's a poem. Let me read it to you.”

“So there are lots of poems with this kind of a vibe.”

“I think the overflowing comfort from these poems really will comfort you.”

“So I recommend you read this poetry book when you're exhausted and going through a hard time.”

“I ended up making an effort to get away from the media world a bit.”

““Don’t compare yourself to anyone else; compare yourself only to who you were yesterday. When someone else is speaking, think of them as someone who may tell you something you need to know. Speak clearly and precisely. Keep company only with people who expect the best of you. Choose the meaningful path, not the easy one. Through these and all twelve rules, I hope you can end a meaningless life and wisely ‘navigate’ the sea of life.””

““Thrillers are the best airplane reads and this one is an all-time fave when I need a little escape from reality. I am personally addicted to stories about people who will go wild lengths to get what they want.””

“He gave me a book as a gift.”

“It’s a book called The Joy of Young Werther.”

“I haven’t read it yet, but I think my dad gave me a book he’d already read. It wasn’t new!”

“Not that famous book! I think it’s another essay!”

“Actually, I haven’t read The Sorrows of Young Werther either, so I’m going to start with The Joy of Young Werther!”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe he hoped I’d find the wisdom in the conversations I’d had with my dad in this book, too. I should read it!”

“Anyway, I thought that someday I want to be someone who can pass on this kind of wisdom to someone else in my own way!”

“I find that wisdom in our ATINY, too, so I should become that kind of person myself.”

“The book has so many meanings and I have a lot to learn from the Prince. [Despite his age], he’s emotionally more mature than adults. His values are incredible,”

“She doesn’t express her feelings well, but in every action, sincerity is included. I think she and I deal with things similarly. I try to express my real thoughts and emotions truly to others, but it’s not easy.”

“I believe that sincerity does reach others eventually,”

“the bond depends on how much each [person] cares about developing that particular relationship.”

“This is a book I really recommend to people wondering how they can do their work well.”

“Perhaps it means that you shouldn’t worry so much about other people’s opinions and should live at ease. I think they want me to know that even if I live according to my own opinions, the world won’t change all that much.”

““I read it when I was young, too, but it seems to mean something different each time I read it. As I get older, and at each stage of my life, my interpretation changes. There are lots of plays on words in the book, and it’s a world of make-believe, isn’t it? They stimulate my imagination, and it’s fun to picture a Wonderland in my mind. And above all, I think the book’s strength is that it doesn’t force a lesson on you.””

“I usually don’t like rereading books because I want to hold on to my initial impression of them. I happened to find this book while tidying my room and read it again, and it was fun because it felt different from when I first read it.”

“I didn’t study music theory separately, and there’s a book called Popular Music Theory. It’s a thick book that teaches you things like the basics of arranging and how chord progressions work. That’s how I learned.”

“I was surprised by the content, which seemed to look into the joys and sorrows I experienced while promoting as a member of H.O.T.”

“I spent a long time with him, but knew absolutely nothing about him. In fact, I never really asked. He was someone who laughed a lot, but his laughter didn’t seem particularly genuine. There was a bitter taste to his laughter and words, so I didn’t casually cross his boundaries. I wanted to help him protect himself in his own way, and that was my way of being a friend. I thought it was so like Yoon Seol-ya to put it into writing only now and tell his life story, and I was so glad there was at least this outlet for letting it all out. In a word, he’s such a romantic. I’m honored that one of the songs I wrote was included in it (I was a little surprised by the unexpected song choice)!”

““Reading is the foundation of music creation.””

“I immediately bought and read the translated original novel.”

“I went to Canada to study abroad when I was 12. I compiled the diary I wrote at the time and published it as a book.”

“I brought a book”

“I read it straight through for eight hours on the 15th, which was a weekend, and my mother, whom I had buried deep in my heart and forgotten about in my everyday life, came to mind, and I sobbed uncontrollably.”

“This is my first book report! I’m a man who keeps his promises.”

“When I was thinking about my stage name as I was making my debut, I read Han Kang’s The White Book on my CEO’s recommendation. It’s a book that contains reflections on various white things.”

“An Ordinary Existence.”

“Finally 😭 I finished reading it”

“I want to return to my childhood and reread Jules Verne’s classic science-fiction novels, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days, which I read a long time ago. These days, getting in touch with my inner child helps me relax.”

“Wow, author Shim Yong-hwan’s new book #365DaysOfKoreanHistoryInOnePage is coming out soon 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻”

“A book I read while at the TWICE dorm. A book that made me focus on myself. A book that helped me not be consumed by pressure.”

“I read books whenever I have a moment to gain indirect experiences.”

“Actually, when I'm having a hard time, I don't seek comfort from anyone. I can't even read books like *You Did Well Today*.”

“A book that gave me a lot of courage.”

“As I read this book and worked through the problems, I don’t think “really good” is enough to describe it.”

“Recently, I enjoyed reading author Kim Ho-yeon’s book *The Inconvenient Convenience Store*. It’s about a homeless man who works part-time at a convenience store, comforting various customers and reflecting on himself. It’s a book with an emotional impact I can’t convey just by explaining it this way.”

“Finding this book was a great stroke of luck. It helped me understand fans a little better and made me want to become a better version of myself. I too want to hold on to the precious feeling of admiring someone.”

““After reading The Power of Positive Thinking and The Secret, I changed even more.””

“This dog-food book is, of course, also a book I wrote to repay dogs for the happiness I’ve received as a dog owner. I think it’s especially a book for people who have lots of dogs, but actually, I wrote it in a fairly conventional format.”

“After reading it, I was completely influenced by it.”

“There’s also a book I recently bought after it was recommended to me, which I’m planning to read: The Laws of the Mind by Volker Kitz and Manuel Tusch. My acting mentor, Min Jun-ho, head of the theater company Ganda, recommended it, and I’m planning to read it soon.”

“A book that spoon-feeds you.”

“Through Demian, the embodiment of the perfect, ideal human being, I discovered the essence of jealousy within myself.”

“After Blonote, I think this book is going to become my all-time favorite.”

“I think it’s right now. I can see <You Have to Look at It for a Long Time to Find It Lovely> right in front of me. It’s a book I’ve been reading recently. As I was reading it, I suddenly felt a sense of romance.”

““When I was 20, I suddenly remembered a book I had come across called ‘Happy Reading the Analects.’ At the time, while reading it, I felt for the first time that my thoughts were awakening. That memory led me to learn about thinkers other than Confucius, and I found ‘Essay on Eastern Philosophy,’ which clearly explains the main ideas of the Hundred Schools of Thought. I liked that the different philosophies and interpretations weren’t dressed up or presented narrowly, so I could read the book using my own judgment and thoughts. I think it’s a book that even people who aren’t interested in philosophy can easily approach, and that can serve as a first step toward developing a philosophy of their own.””

“We also read it very carefully like this. Right before it came out, we were really meticulous about the parts that were wrong...”

“Someone recommended a book called Look at This Poem to me.”

“My mom bought it for me.”

“#Coloring”

“As I read this, I was able to learn a little about the CEO’s life before I joined the company, since I first got to know the CEO after I started working there. It was also a chance to spend that kind of time.”

“That's right, people would tear it out and take it.”

“I was intrigued by the way he invited people close to him to a funeral before he died, so they could share their memories of one another. It even made me want to have a funeral like that before I die.”

“A piece that once again reminds us how precious and radiant it is, in the midst of life, to ask one another how we are.”

“I’m embarrassed to say, but I’ve only read it as a comic. I actually haven’t read the novel; I’ve only read the comic.”

“The Giving Tree, but this feels less like it’s a person I am and more like an ideal I want to become.”

“For anyone nurturing a dream of making music, this book lays itself bare, offering many treasures to take away.”

“It’s a story about my cat. It’s called *I Love You Every Day*. But after I finished writing it, I realized there was a lot about my dad in it.”

“The book I’m reading is There Is No Such Thing as Nothing Now. I get a lot of comfort from it, and I’m learning how to think differently.”

“I thought people working in the music industry would get a lot out of reading this.”

“I was immediately drawn into that book.”

“That book, Na Tae-joo’s *Wildflower Life Lessons by Na Tae-joo*—my dad went to a bookstore, bought it, and got me a copy to read on the way.”

“A time when I looked back on my own capacity for empathy, wondering whether I had been viewing socially disadvantaged people through a biased lens all this time.”

“I think I would recommend reading this book.”

“Through stories of biblical figures, it explains the reasons for suffering and ways to overcome it to Christians going through difficult times. It even makes you look forward to the joy that may come after trials.”

“Though our nationalities, languages, and ways of expressing ourselves are all different, I feel that sincerity always gets through.”

“Kim Do-hoon is truly a hit songwriter. This book does not simply focus on explaining theory; it also explains the know-how of a popular music composer, so I believe it will be a great help to aspiring composers.”

“For me, who has been running nonstop since my debut, books give me a little breathing room and help me gain insight.”

“After reading the book, I also gained the courage to take on a field I want to study, using my spare time even when I’m busy with group activities.”

“I bought those three books by myself.”

“A few days ago, I took that book out and read it again. It’s still on my desk.”

“All I could bring was a book and two pairs of AirPods.”

“DinDin reading at 4 a.m., photographed by my salon buddy Seon-ho hyung #TheInterpretationOfMurder #ILoveYou #KimSeonHo #JongminHyungToldMeToVote #DontBeUpset #DinDin #2DaysAnd1Night #DanbiIProtectedYou”

“I've been really enjoying Alain de Botton's book The Sorrow That Brings Joy lately.”

“It’s a book I really hope you’ll make time to read.”

““I also read a book called ‘Shoko’s Smile.’””

“I recommend giving it a read.”

“I’m going to read my first book (manga) today! This was a recommendation. Actually, Ni-Ki has also mentioned this series before. So, I’m going to give it a go.”

“Yoon Ji-un’s <Pahanjip>. I started reading it a few years ago, and I pick it up once in a while when I’m bored.”

“After reading that book, my worldview changed.”

“I was impressed by reading *Illionaire Life*, written by my senior, Dok2.”

“Recently, I read José Saramago's *Blindness* and *Seeing*.”

“One thing that really stuck with me from it was the line, “It was possible because I didn’t know it might be impossible.” I tend to think positively, so I always read it believing that anything was possible.”

“I think it would be good to read it with a light, relaxed mind.”

“The book I recently enjoyed reading was Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.”

“This is a book I'm reading. It's called The Consciousness of Seth Nutter. I went to the store, saw it right there, and thought, “Oh, I'm curious,” so I opened it up. I was struck by one sentence, and that's why I bought the book.”

“Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince”

“I recommend the Japanese novel *Please Eat Something Warm*.”

“Please read this author's book *Cocktail, Love, Zombie* too. It's fun.”

“I read Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, and I also read One Night When Little Things Became Something.”

“It was fun, so I think I finished the whole thing in just a day or two.”

“He wrote poems that brought me great comfort.”

“I was able to spend time with the makeup team and photography team as if we were family, and the shoot was fun in a warm atmosphere.”

“I decided to take part in this project because I thought this book could give many people an experience like the one they might have from a moving film or song.”

“It felt very fresh to learn that the sijo poems in *Cheonggu Yeongeon*, which I had encountered only in textbooks, are being newly reinterpreted as K-pop lyrics.”

“I did my reading with those.”

“Since it's about professional conversation techniques, it's difficult, so I can't read for long. I read a little at a time, a chapter at a time.”

“Please show lots of interest in my yoga book.”

“I recommend it to people who enjoy stories about women. It’s an easy, fun, and comfortable book to read.”

“It's called 'The Big Picture' by Douglas Kennedy.”

“I read this in middle school... or high school.”

“It's very fun and provoking.”

“I read almost every book he wrote. I like this one the most among all.”

“La Divina Commedia Written by Dante Alighieri 1308-1320 (The Divine Comedy written by La Divina)”

“Scary Stories Are the Best!”

“After discovering Keigo Higashino through The Devotion of Suspect X, I’ve read everything of his that has been translated into Korean, and this was one of the books I picked up relatively early on. “It really pulls you along.””

“Even now, it feels fresh. It’s as if each chapter contains a message hidden like a secret map.”

“So I really enjoyed reading this book, too!”

“I don’t know much about painting, but I found the story of solving the riddle very interesting.”

“So I brought it with me”

“When I was in middle school, I received The Age of Loss as a gift from my aunt and read it.”

“These days, I think I’ve come to prefer books and works with this kind of humanism.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down, pile up a ton of books, and read. I like bookstores because people there don’t pay attention to others. I brought home a whole stack recently, too: “Children of Gaeng-i-buri Village,” “The Little Prince,” “Confession,” “March Is a Red Ravine,” and “Norwegian Wood.” I also have a poetry collection by poet Lee Byeong-ryul. I get a lot of book recommendations, really often.”