The stories behind their books

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

“when I was younger reading like Lord of the Rings Harry Potter and the Narnia books”

““Finally😭 finished reading””

“Yes, Director Bang said that this book was his bible in his twenties, and that it would be very helpful for someone like me. I’m going to make time to read it.”

“The book I read recently is *I Almost Lived Diligently*. Because I almost did, too.”

“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.”

“I sincerely congratulate you, my beloved father, on the publication of your book.”

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

“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.”

“I cried a lot, especially at the parts about parents”

““The Temperature of Language” is a book I always keep close and read whenever I’m having a hard time. The title itself felt warm and drew me in. So I read it whenever I have a moment. It gives me a sense of stability whenever I feel worn out.”

“Thanks to this book, I learned a lot about what I hadn’t known about everything that goes into an artist coming into being. I felt grateful to everyone who was with me, and is still with me, on the journey to becoming the ‘Baek A-yeon’ I am today. If you’re curious about the idol industry, this book will be a great help.”

“Scary Stories Are the Best!”

“Ah, yes, yes, and then the one with three holes cut in a box, with something inside it, and things like that.”

“Reading this book helped spur me on in that mindset.”

““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.””

“This is a classic rumination on how to live your best life, as if each day could be your last. It feels important now more than ever to remember that happiness doesn’t come from your circumstances, but your spirit. It’s a reminder to shut out the noise and be in the moment, whenever you can.”

“It’s a work that allowed me to get absorbed in the story and completely focus. It’s also good for killing time. It was made into a movie, too, but I recommend reading it as a book.”

““While reading *Contradiction*, I was struck by the phrase ‘the volume of life.’””

“There are times when my self-esteem hits rock bottom and my sense of self wavers. People around me say you need to have a hobby to relieve stress, but I haven't found one yet. So whenever I'm having a hard time, I read books like “Look at This Poem” and “Still, I Love You.” I don't read long texts very well, so I mainly look at books with lots of pictures and the words I want to hear.”

““Even with my busy schedule, I try to make time to read. I love those moments when I can focus and organize my thoughts as I read.””

“I looked it up, and apparently one of them is water residue.”

“I did my reading with those.”

“#Coloring”

“Amid a busy schedule, I picked up a book that deeply moved me. The book I really want to recommend to others is The Five-Percent Miracle by my senior Lee Dong-woo, the comedian formerly of Tintin Five.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

“After reading this book, I learned that it was a blessing just to have witnessed something invisible.”

“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.”

“This book reminds me that life is worth living, so I confidently recommend it.”

“I couldn't finish reading The Three-Body Problem because it had more pages than I expected.”

“Because I never even imagined that I would publish a book, I feel more fulfilled than I did when releasing an album.”

“Eugene’s book is packed with content.”

“I found that fun too.”

“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 long ago. These days, my inner child helps me relax.”

“I wanted to watch the movie Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight, but I didn’t get to. Then I happened to find the original novel at a bookstore and started reading it. I thought the novel was interesting too, so I’ve been reading a few books.”

“I brought “20th Century Boys,” which I’ve really enjoyed reading recently. It’s so good. I have the complete series.”

“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.”

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

“My favorite comic when I was young was Dragon Ball; I must have read it ten times.”

“I bought a book, not a poetry collection. <Quiet Excitement>. It's a book about what happened during the author's three-month trip to Europe. Even the really trivial things are written down, and they're all so cute.”

“So we bought it together.”

“I read Gu Byeong-mo's book *Gills* three times.”

“I didn't start writing because of any particular occasion. I gathered the things I had jotted down—fleeting thoughts, like entries in a diary—and they came to be a book.”

“To recommend books I enjoyed reading, first, “Ordinary Words (Kim Eana).” Even though I’d only read it, I thought, “The author’s thoughts are so healthy and profound,” and the author felt like a “senior in life” to me. And then, “On My 29th Birthday, I Decided to Die a Year Later (Amari Hayama).””

“This book is fun~!”

“Meeting this book was a great stroke of luck. It helped me understand my fans a little better and made me want to become a better person. I want to hold on to the precious feeling of liking someone, too.”

“Recently, before watching the film Pavane, I read the original novel, “Pavane for a Dead Princess.””

“I brought it along to read on the plane or during waiting time while filming in Japan, and I finished it there.”

“When a film based on a book comes out, I tend to read the book first.”

“A film clearly shows you a particular image, whereas with a book, I can imagine things in my own mind as I read, and I like being able to immerse myself in it in my own way.”

“Books are difficult. I didn’t understand it, so I closed it around halfway through.”

“I shouldn’t laugh, but that last line is so powerful.”

“It had such a strong pull that I’d throw my entire last paycheck at it. Reading this, I got such an intense feeling, and this kind of reading as a 10-minute read...”

“They say the book is called A Thousand Blues. If many of you also felt a strong pull toward this passage, I recommend giving it a read.”

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

“I collected about 20 volumes of the Conan manga.”

“A book I'm reading these days. I'm still in the early part, so it's too soon to say what I think of it.”

“Recently, among the books I’ve read, there’s one called *Schopenhauer at Forty*… People read it at forty, but I wanted to read it at twenty, thinking it might be good to know about it at twenty… So Schopenhauer is quite, kind of… pessimistic…”

“I like the scene where the protagonist is standing in first place among the other aliens.”

“There is a poetry collection by Na Tae-joo called I See You as a Flower. It was a book that helped lift me up when I was feeling a little down.”

“Even when I read books, I imagine all the scenes as I go.”

“The moment you embrace hope, a miracle happens.”

“I highly recommend it.”

“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 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.”

“Next, this book. That book too, now, Mr. Na Tae-jun...”

“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.”

“After reading No Longer Human, I also sought out and read The Setting Sun.”

“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.”

“Watching that, I resolved to make an album the way I wanted.”

“He is such an ardent fan of Park Saeroyi that he read the entire Itaewon Class webtoon in just one full day.”

“I found it interesting while reading Small Things Like These, so I finished Foster and am having coffee now.”

“Even the small, uneventful days without any big events must be one of countless foreshadowings in the movie of life.”

“I had to appear on a broadcast and comment, and I referred to *The Temperature of Language* at the time.”

“If we're talking about books that have stayed with me, I think I've read these three books many times: The Lighthouse Keeper, You Too Are a Daylily, and Yeontan-gil.”

“It really deserves it. It’s entertaining, and I imagine a lot as I read.”

“I wrote the book thinking that I hoped it might give someone strength.”

“I read it too, and the elements were interesting.”

“I thought about it a lot. Our fans range across different age groups, but there are quite a lot of younger fans.”

“So I brought some must-read books that I hope you’ll read during your teenage years.”

“I think I used to follow it a bit like a fandom thing, reading comics too, reading Lee Mun-yeol’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, and watching Chimchakman’s Three Kingdoms.”

“Book: The Little Prince”

“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.”

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

“I really recommend 0 to people like that.”

“read the book twice.”

“I recommend giving it a read.”

“This is a mystery novel I read recently.”

“I first read Itaewon Class as a webtoon a long time ago.”

“A book I found because I was feeling a strong thirst for travel”

“Although many stories I didn’t want to make public became known, I had never properly told my own story. As I kept those things bottled up, they began to fester.”

“Even amid those circumstances, the very act of somehow turning poignant episodes with the people I love into poetry made me feel a certain kinship with it. Maybe that’s why I like it all the more.”

“Could this be what you call a fateful encounter?”

“It's a book I really like.”

“Through this book, I want to share the happiness of cooking for yourself.”

““When I first read Blindness, I had a primal feeling.””

“I read *Romantic Love and Its Aftermath*. It’s such an adult book that I couldn’t understand all of it, but there was this line: “You can’t be in a relationship on feelings alone.” It meant that feelings of love or liking someone aren’t enough to be with a person; their tastes, depth of thought, and values have to align for you to become truly close to them. Just because you like someone doesn’t mean you can have a deep relationship with them. It made me think that the adults who say that, as time passes, only one or two friends remain really have a point.”

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

“Writing a book had been one of my New Year’s plans since I was young. In 2014, I felt I had to do it.”

“Since I’m not a children’s book author, it was difficult to create new characters. I thought it might be a good idea to use Tori and Seoa, the dogs who actually live with us at home.”

“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.”

“I was interested in negotiation studies. I thought it would be good to apply them to everyday life.”

“I recommend it.”

“Poet Park Jun’s distinctive witty style was moving and touching.”

“when I was younger reading like Lord of the Rings Harry Potter and the Narnia books”

“I read a book called “Courage To Be Disliked” which something you read in life, it really helped when I was stressed, it also helped me to become more mature.”

“I think this is a book of aphorisms that I enjoyed reading about six or seven years ago.”

“Actually, while creating the music for this show, I think I drew a lot of inspiration from books and videos I liked when I was young. For example, I worked with books like Peter Pan and Snow White, and videos of myself playing outdoors as a child playing in the background.”

“Most recently, I read a book called Almond that a friend gave me.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down, pile up a whole lot of books, and read. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole pile just the other day, too: The Children of Gwaengiburi Village, The Little Prince, Confession, March Is a Red Ravine, Norwegian Wood, and a collection of poems by poet Lee Byeong-ryul. I usually get a lot of book recommendations.”

““TWICE’s Nayeon gave me I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki as a birthday present. We used to talk about books from time to time. That book gave me a lot of comfort.””

““Ah, Paris” is something the author wrote after going to Paris, like a diary. At first, I bought it because the style was pretty and because I wanted to go to Paris. I’d never been to Europe. It feels like I’m secretly peeking into someone’s diary written in Paris. It captures the little details and atmosphere of everyday life in Paris—the restaurants, the streets, and so on—so I felt as if I were there in Paris myself.”

“I’ve read it all once, but it made such an impression on me that I wanted to read it again, so I brought it: Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight.”

““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.””

“It was the last birthday present my late grandfather gave me. He also wrote me a letter. Because it was a story about a grandfather and his granddaughter, so much of it resonated with me. I’ve read it over and over—two or three times.”

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

“I don’t usually like fantasy romance books, but I read through the night without realizing how much time had passed. I read the entire series. The male lead, Edward, makes my heart flutter so much. And Bella’s lines are ‘so’ sweet, too. (laughs)”

“A book that spoon-feeds you.”

“I did my reading with those.”

“The most recent book I read was a novel called Whale, which comedian Park Ji-sun gave me.”

“After finding the answer in the Bible, I became able to answer without hesitation when asked, “Why do you live?” That answer became the anchor of my life and the source of my passion. (Omitted) I earnestly hope this book can give a clear reason to live to someone who feels empty, lonely, isolated, anxious, afraid, or depressed—and, above all, to someone who is thinking of giving up on life (p. 10).”

“I’ve been reading a lot of books lately. I read Kim Ji-young, Born 1982, and I also read One Night When Little Things Became Big Things.”

“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.”

“The Little Prince is, ah, really a song that's kind of like a fairy tale for adults. Um, it's inspired by the original novel, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, uh...”

“It’s Kim Byeol-ah’s novel Passionate Love. I haven’t actually read it recently, but it’s a book I recommend.”

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

“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.”

“As I was reading the book, my mom’s spicy whelk-and-noodle dish came straight to mind.”

“I remember being captivated by Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea when I read it as a kid.”

“It's another manga I like. I bought all the collected volumes. It really feels like actual people are in it.”

“A perfect novel in every respect—the readability of the prose, the characterization, the trick, and the structure! It was what got me hooked on Keigo Higashino’s works and on mysteries.”

“So, it was a fun book to read.”

“I brought it because Demian is my favorite.”

“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.”

“As I read it, I kind of feel like I don’t know that much after all.”

“I think they came up with a really good title. We often say, “I want to die.” But even while saying we want to die, it’s true that we also feel like having soju or eating tteokbokki. As someone who has also gone through dark times, I couldn’t help but relate deeply.”

“Through “Professional Lyric Writing,” I’m also learning a lot about writing lyrics that comfort people’s hearts.”

“I got it as a gift, and brought it from home to start reading today.”

““I read the Analects and so much of it really resonates with me. I love learning from it. One thing that comes to mind is, ‘The noble person is at ease, while the petty person is always anxious.’ That brings comfort to my heart.””

“Our mountain grandfather, who grades our pointy day as a long oval.”

“Nothing Big Happens to the Two of Us”

“After that, I also read a book called <Miracles of the Namiya General Store>.”

“Miracles of the Namiya General Store”

“My members. Books → Miracles of the Namiya General Store lol.”

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

“A book one must read”

“It's been quite a while since I bought Douglas Kennedy's The Big Picture, but I've been so busy that I still haven't started it.”

“This one is a novel. I told you all about it, right?”

“My favorite is the knit outfit I wore while roller-skating. It’s sexy, sporty, and cute. I think I was able to show different sides of myself.”

“When I come across a passage I like while reading, I take a photo of it on my phone.”

“I found myself feeling drawn in by a book I had picked up casually, so I’m writing this.”

“When I read those lines, I felt so comforted that I even had the ridiculous illusion that perhaps all the time I had lived through and experienced was for the sake of reading this poem.”

“I’m not sure yet what kind of thoughts and feelings the poet is speaking to me with.”

“And I, too, as I suddenly began writing down the poet’s poem, am not sure what on earth I’m trying to say to you all.”

“But one thing I can say for certain is that those lines brought me great comfort, and rather than offering you the usual, countless, dazzling pleasantries, I wanted to return that comfort to you by writing down my sincere thoughts, one character at a time.”

“I really empathized with it to the point of experiencing catharsis.”

“I tend to like books, so I try to read.”

“Things one might call one’s absolute favorites are few and far between. I sometimes think of life as an unfinished movie.”

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

“There’s a book I finished in two days. It’s called The Greenhouse at the End of the Earth. It’s really good.”

“I hope this book can offer even a little strength to people who are at a crossroads or feeling exhausted.”

“It's called 'You Shine in the Moonlight'”

“Since I like mystery novels, even just the cover and title made this feel so exciting. If you’re a mystery novel fanatic, this is exactly the kind of thing you’d love.”

“It's a book called < 1cm+ >, and a fan gave it to me.”

“I had read it once before, and it was really difficult.”

“I enjoyed reading Camus's The Stranger.”

“"I read 'The Vegetarian' (2007) while serving in the military. Congratulations,"”

“I enjoyed reading Han Kang’s Love of Yeosu and The Vegetarian, Yang Gui-ja’s Contradiction, and Jeong Dae-geon’s Torrent, among others.”

“I haven't shown it to PD Park Jin-young yet.”

“The command of language is so impressive, and it really draws you in. Right, it has that immersive quality.”

“There’s a book by bell hooks called All About Love. It’s still my favorite work. Picking a favorite is so hard, especially for someone like me. (laughs) It taught me about the importance of community and how to create a culture where love can exist. So it also made me reflect a lot on my work with LE SSERAFIM. I think I would have come to this realization much later if I hadn’t read this book. The timing of when I read it, too, makes it a meaningful book. I’ve talked about it a lot with the members, so the memories I have connected with All About Love are incredibly precious to me.”

“If I remember correctly, it’s The Jindo Dog Baekgu Returns.”

“I also like Sapiens, which I’ve been reading recently, in a similar vein.”

“Whereas my previous book told, almost in diary form, various stories about life that a woman in her twenties learns while living with a cat, with Sweet Remedy I wanted to use as few words as possible and, alongside the flow of the photographs, give readers the feeling that we are traveling “together.””

“I want to reread Norwegian Wood. I read it so long ago that I don't remember it.”

“My brother had received this book as a gift, so it was at home. I tried reading it and liked it so much that I take it out whenever things are hard. The saying is really true: when I'm in a good mood, I can laugh off a bad situation, and when I'm in a bad mood, even a small thing feels big. Managing your mood may not be easy, but it made me reflect on myself a little. Since I'm the one living my life, I think everything begins with me. If I have good qualities, they'll spread a pleasant scent like perfume and have a positive influence”

“In The Hedgehog’s Wish, when none of his friends come to visit, the hedgehog gathers his courage and decides to invite the animals, but in the end, he can’t bring himself to do it.”

“The book that moved me is The Time Traveler's Wife... The book is so much fun, but the movie is so good too, and I really like the female lead~”

“Personally, I like spending my time studying and reading books!”

“I’m reading Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving.”

“In conclusion… I recommend reading it at least once.”

“I think it’s nice because I can write down the things I like—something I can enjoy at least a little—as part of my routine.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit down, pile up a ton of books, and read. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole bunch just recently, too. There are The Children of Gwaengiburi Village, The Little Prince, Confession, March Is a Red Ravine, Norwegian Wood, and a poetry collection by poet Lee Byung-ryul. I get a lot of book recommendations all the time.”

“I cried a lot, especially at the parts about parents.”

“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.”

“It defines and interprets social issues I haven't experienced from the perspective of justice, and I think there are many questions you have to think through and judge for yourself.”

“Perhaps the process of experiencing contradictions firsthand and making choices ultimately enriches a person’s life. I, too, want to live while gradually expanding the breadth of my life.”