The stories behind their books

“I tend to have a lot on my mind, especially before album promotions. I recently picked up again a book I read when I need to find my center.”

“I first read Siddhartha in November 2025. My family is Buddhist, and that summer we all went to see a monk we had been close to for a long time. He gave it to me as a gift, saying, ‘It’s a book I truly cherish and have read over and over, and one that helped me a lot in not losing myself.’”

“Before, whenever things got too hard, I would turn away from the situation and hide behind a mask. That was how I got through life. But I recently realized that someday I would have no choice but to face the weaker side of myself. I also came to understand that when that time comes, I can meet my true self, and the path forward becomes clearer. While I was thinking about those things, I came across Siddhartha, and its sentences came to me as if by fate.”

“That’s right. I remember a childhood moment when I saw my younger sister playing guitar and asked her to teach me too. After that, I taught myself guitar by watching YouTube and started writing songs. It was a turning point that made me who I am today.”

“I think that’s the central message this book is trying to convey. I, too, am constantly changing like a river, but at the same time, I was able to firmly inscribe in my life the wisdom that I am the river, and that my existence as me does not change.”

“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.”

“Sometimes my self-esteem hits rock bottom and I feel my sense of self wavering. People around me say you need a hobby to relieve stress, but I still haven’t found one. So whenever I’m having a hard time, I read books like “Look at This Poem” and “Even So, I Love You.” I’m not very good at reading long texts, so I mainly read books with lots of pictures and the words I want to hear.”

“I’m honored to receive the Content of the Year award. Grapefruit Apricot Club is a work that sincerely captures the reality the children face and the pure solidarity through which they hold on to one another and try to make it through.”

“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.”

“The one I liked best among them was a writer named Cheongchun Yuri. It had this feeling of walking through the seasons. But it was really colorful.”

“Like the picture diary you kept as a child, try drawing your own memories each day, following wherever your heart takes you. Finding little moments of happiness in everyday life is quite a joyful thing.”

“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.”

“A friend from my hometown whom I met then gave me a book by writer Yeonjeong called *The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow, but What About Tonight?* Rather than explaining how to overcome hardship, it simply presents difficult and happy moments as short episodes. It also has lots of beautiful words and comforting phrases. I was happy because, as I read it on the rooftop, I realized for the first time that I was enjoying that moment.”

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

“An Ordinary Existence.”

“I've been reading Norwegian Wood lately. I've almost finished it.”

“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.”

“A life journey with Dor!!!~ It’s a book I received as a gift~ As I travel through life with Dor, I should study Korean hard too, right? ^^♥”

“Among the many books, one is Music Short Story Collection, a book that gathers short stories inspired by music by five novelists.”

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

“I recalled my solo trip, which moved between excitement and apprehension, anxiety and comfort.”

“I’m not very interested in novels, but this book made me so curious about what would happen next that I kept reading.”

“This book is fun~!”

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

“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.”

“I really recommend 0 to people like that.”

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

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

“I had never taken photos wearing lingerie before. Since this is my first time trying it, I hope everyone will pay close attention to the photos of me wearing lingerie.”

“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.”

“These days, I'm reading Three Kingdoms again.”

“I think this is a perfect novel.”

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

“After reading Anne of Avonlea thoroughly, I felt a strong pull…”

““I’m proud of my mentor.””

““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.”

“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.”

““The first book that made me cry while reading was Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si Do.””

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

“I'd like to recommend Osamu Dazai's *No Longer Human*.”

“저 절창이라는 책을 사봤는데 재밌는 거 같아요!!”

“I really like reading mystery novels, and there’s a book called *The Awakening of Magic* that I started but didn’t finish a while ago. It’s a quiet book, but the ending isn’t quiet; I think I might read it again.”

“I’m not really into scary movies, but I find it so much fun to feel tense while reading a book. I like thrillers and mystery novels.”

“The Miracle of the Namiya General Store.”

“This book is called "If I Could Life My Life Again" by Hyenam Kim.”

“She wrote "What would've been better if I had known at age 40."”

“So like this, it was like messages that are very professional but also messages from my mom.”

“So I cried while reading this book too.”

“Unlike the poetry books I recommended earlier, this book is not abstract.”

“I recommend this book to those who want to feel comforted in a direct manner.”

“This book and the “Gen Z Bookshelf” interview sparked my interest in reading.”

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

“It’s a book that brings so many emotions, from warmth to sadness. In particular, it made me reflect on my mother once again.”

“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.”

“I don’t have any Chinese books over here, so I can only borrow books. And if I borrow books, I can only borrow them from SEVENTEEN’s The8 because he has a lot.”

“I definitely recommend reading it as a book, too.”

“I didn't really like it before, but after reading The Analects, so much of it resonated with me, and I enjoyed learning from it.”

“🐶 It's a book called A Good Day Will Surely Come! I read it really quickly... I've read two books this year... That's a first 🐶 But!! It's kind of!! a positive book?!? 🐶 When I read it, I feel like my personality and way of thinking are similar to mine, so I relate to it so much that I stop reading 😄😄”

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

“These days, I’ve been copying passages by hand from a book called *The Buddha’s Words, Reinterpreted*. Regardless of religion, I chose this book because I personally found a lot to learn from the sentences in it.”

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

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

“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.”

“If your memories were slowly fading, who would you least want to forget?”

“Ah, is that it?”

““I enjoyed reading Animal Farm, so I’m looking for other works, too.””

“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*.”

“Reading this script while imagining the drama can be helpful and fun. Everyone, try reading it this way sometime.”

“Make notes.”

“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.”

“예전에 봤던 책인데 가슴에 계속 남는 책이어서 한 번 더 가져와 봤습니다.”

“I read a novel called Horrorstör.”

“Ah, the book is too difficult.”

“I love the story, too,”

“I sympathize with the fox, waiting for the Little Prince [to express his desire for friendship.] When it comes to relationships, I usually take time to observe and wait for the other person [to express their feelings] first.”

“Living in a different environment [is] like living on a different planet,”

“I have a larger heart in understanding the difference between others than I had before.”

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

“The Little Prince”

“To briefly explain the story, a pilot who crash-lands in the desert is one of the protagonists, and a little prince who suddenly appears before him asks him to draw a sheep. The two then build a friendship and get to know each other; it’s that kind of enjoyable novel.”

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

“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*.”

“When I was in my teens, I was deeply impressed by Bernard Werber’s book *Papillon*, and its story remained in my heart even into my twenties.”

“Last fall, an artist senior to me whom I’ve been close to for a long time recommended this book, and that’s how I learned about it. I’ve always trusted their recommendations, so I naturally became interested and opened the book to find inspiration while working on a project. I’ve read about half of it so far.”

“It opened my mind to the thought that anyone can live creatively in their own way. I was impressed by the idea that creativity isn’t something only special people have.”

“Creating something often comes with profound loneliness, and this passage helped me learn how to manage myself. After reading it, I felt more mature.”

“When I was stressed, I went to a bookstore and a book called *That Sort of Person, Still a Person* caught my eye. At first, I was drawn to the cover and title (laughs). The passage I remember most from the book is: “Today is the only time when I can choose and put into practice what I want. If today, too, passes by like this, it will become yesterday, and I’ll miss it.” I think I was hurt and having a hard time back then, and I made up my mind to try to live this one day well. After reading those lines, I mean.”

“When I’m stressed, I think just going to a bookstore and looking at books can be comforting. Even if I don’t read it right away, just buying a book and bringing it home somehow makes me feel cozy and healed.”

“It was a book called The Art of Success through Self-Control.”

“I’m going to read my first book (manga) today!”

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

“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!”

“Actually, I haven't even read the book The Sorrows of Young Werther yet, so I think I'll start with joy!”

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

“A book? Ah, but I haven’t finished reading everything yet... I’m still in the midst of reading it... Guns, Germs, and Steel... It’s sort of like a history book~”

“I read *Human Acts* while in the military. Congratulations.”

“내가 하는 위로가 살기 위해 한 위로였다면, 이 책을 읽으면서는 내 삶이 치유를 받는 기분이었죠.”

““A favorite book? The one I read this time was My Own Secret.””

“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.”

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

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

“In the end, both those inside the book and all of us outside it were alive, and living.”

“Wow ㅠㅠ Make sure you read it all!!”

“From a very young age until I became a singer, being able to learn vocal technique from Teacher Kim Myung-gi was a great blessing for me as someone who sings, and thanks to that, I was able to be where I am today. The methods I learned are presented in even greater detail in this book, and I hope that many friends who dream of becoming singers will also receive the same good fortune as I did.”

“It's interesting.”

“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.”

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

“Dad, you watched over my incredibly demanding training and supported me all along—what a thoughtful dad! I’ll keep the “empty jar theory” you told me so often engraved in my heart, and keep trying to fill it with clear water and fragrant oil. You can do it too, Dad!”

“Even deciding what to eat is a negotiation.”

“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 👍”

“I was really burdened by it. When I heard they were making a musical about Big Bang’s story, like *Shout to the World!*, I was scared at first. And since this was only my second musical, I also wondered whether it was too soon to perform our songs. There were a lot of things I felt cautious about.”

“I have read the manga since I was little, so its characters have influenced me.”

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

“I brought a book, an iPad, and headphones with me, you know? Once I finish eating, I’m going to read a book. I’m going to read while listening to music.”

“A book that comes to me when I make time to read, even for just five minutes, because I want to clear my mind and feel happy.”

“Recently, I read Stephen King's Billy Summers.”

“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 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.””

“The Courage to Be Disliked.”

“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.”

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

“It shocked me a lot, and it was a book that gave me many realizations and resonated deeply with me.”

“As a celebrity, there are times when people criticize you and times when people offer you comfort. Reading this book, rather than blaming others, I had various thoughts along the lines of, “That’s just how people are; I should at least try not to be that way.””

“It’s a book called Do It for Myself.”

““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.””

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

“I used to read a lot. If I become interested in a movie, I look for the original work. The one I remember most is Pride and Prejudice. To be honest, the story was a little difficult, but I found the process of understanding it interesting.”

“This book is so good ❤️❤️”

“Anne Napolitano’s novel Hello Beautiful”

“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.”

“Today's book”

“I first read it in middle school at a church student council book club, and when I picked it up again recently, I ended up sobbing all over again.”

“Finally 😭 I finished reading it”

“The process of a lonely cat and a person exchanging love and finding happiness felt so warm to me.”

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

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

“Facts are sacred. Facta sacra sunt”

“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 recently read Almond, but I don't know what it was about. I'm the type who only reads the beginning and can't make it to the end.”

“This is a mystery novel I read recently.”

“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.”

“I really hope you’ll read this work.”

“This time, I bought a book called The Practice of Not Reacting. I wanted to calm my mind. (Laughs)”

““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 love it so much that I’ve even memorized the page.”

“It felt new to imagine the personalities and ways of speaking of the characters in the book.”

“I did my reading with those.”

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

“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.”

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

“I read a poetry collection called *Forgiveness of the Sky* on a holiday. One line I wrote down was, “Would even angels know that their wings are symmetrical?” Isn’t that so cute?”

“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.”

“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...”

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

“At age 20, I suddenly remembered a book called *Reading the Analects Happily*. At the time, while reading it, I felt for the first time that my thinking was awakening, and”

“I like reading books.”

“It broadened my perspective and comforted me.”

“I’m studying Japanese on my own using Japanese books. I work hard at it whenever I have free time between schedules.”

“A writer who portrays a natural attitude toward life with purity and precision. The moment I read her writing, I already belong to happiness. It is a clear and sturdy world that only those who live as themselves can enter.”

“Sometimes in life, a single word from someone else can easily bring us down. This book talks about how to protect yourself and love others through “just the right amount of positivity and just the right amount of courage.” I sincerely hope that all of you readers will come away from this book with “just the right amount of positivity and courage.””

“You might think that a story about losing someone precious and getting the chance to see them one last time is a familiar premise, but the stories and heartfelt longing of each character will move you. I especially want to recommend this book to anyone who misses someone, or who wants to make up with someone after a fight but is hesitating. I hope you don’t lose someone precious in a moment of impulsive emotion and regret it later.”

“When I first heard about this book, I couldn't help laughing. ‘A whole book about Bibi Curry?’ But after reading it to the end, I completely changed my mind. I could feel how the owner, who likes me, had thoughtfully put each and every word on the page with sincerity and honesty. It's wonderful and impressive, and I feel both pleased and proud. Someday, I'll definitely take Bibi to have Bibi Curry. Bibi can't eat curry, but they'll give Bibi an apple, right? Lucky you, Bibi. They say they like you more than me. Let's go soon. Let's just drop by. Even if I can't go inside, I'll have the car waiting out front.”

“I brought a book”

“I define a singer as “someone who conveys.” Elements like pitch and performance are certainly important, but in the end, the most important thing is conveying a song and its meaning to someone.”

“I like the title ‘Knowledge and Love’ better than ‘Narcissus and Goldmund.’”

“#Coloring”

““My time is musical notes; I’m making notes day by day. I find myself thinking, ‘I hope that on the day the piece is complete, I’ll be able to sing it with a smile.’” Is that the kind of meaning that comes to mind?”

“I found some time to relax on this trip.”

“As I read the book, I found myself agreeing and thinking, “Oh, that’s right, I was born in the ’90s too.” I think it could help people born in the ’70s and ’80s understand those born in the ’90s. As time goes by, we could become “old fogeys” too. People born in the 2000s might find us really hard to understand. In that sense, I think it would be good for people born in the 2000s to read it as well.”

“My life will be divided into before and after this book is published. If my life up to now was given to me so that I could write this book, then I think my life from now on has been given to me so that I can make people want to read it.”

“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.”

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

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

“Everyone, love one another~”

“Something you absolutely must not miss”

“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.”

“Be sure to read it, everyone.”

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

“My mom told me to take another look at this.”

“I think every artist should read it at least once”

“Scary Stories Are the Best!”

“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.”

“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.”

“I’m really enjoying it.”

“I heard this book was a bestseller, so I bought it.”

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

“I’ve been very interested in composing lately, and the book contains a lot of things that people like me, who want to compose popular music, would want to know for themselves. People tend to think composing is difficult, but it explains very clearly and simply what composing is and how to do it. One of our songs is included in the book, too, so I thought, “That’s how this song was made,” and it brought back a lot of memories of recording and singing it at the time. It also helped me with composing.”

“After reading this book, I thought I wanted everyone to find their own happiness and live at their own pace. We can run, but we can also walk or crawl. Everyone has a different way of living, so this book made me realize that we should respect and be considerate of one another. It's a science fiction novel, but its warm, sensitive expressions touch your heart, so anyone should be able to read it without difficulty.”

“When I read this book, I feel as though I’m having a wonderful beer I’d never heard of before, bought with the change left over after spending all my travel money in an unfamiliar place, while listening to a bartender who’s further along in life than I am. I know it’s an excessive metaphor, but for me, unable to easily leave my room right now, it’s the closest feeling I’m allowed.”

“I went to a bookstore, bought the book, and read it. It was written by an 89-year-old, and says not to put too much emphasis on whether someone is old or young.”

“Wouldn’t it be good to do something like “So What”? With something like this, it doesn’t have to be about this subject; it could be about something else too.”

““I mainly like poetry collections. Poetry seems like the genre that best reveals a poet’s temperament and sensibility. Poets look at things we often see in everyday life from a different perspective and express them in a few words. I think those words often resonate deeply. In this collection, I like the poem ‘Knot.’ In particular, when I read the passage, ‘Do not call it a knot. The hardest part—once, this too was so tender and fragile. It was only that passion went too far, and after a single wound, it could never bloom again,’ I thought that a poet could see a tree’s ‘knot’ in this way, too, and something about it really struck me.””

“I usually read books, but I've been busy lately and haven't been able to read often. I'm reading The Fault in Our Stars, the book the movie The Fault in Our Stars was based on.”

“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.”

“Ah, but certainly, since the era is a little different from the tone we use these days, it feels distinct.”

“The Devotion of Suspect X.”

“Encyclopedia of Strange Diseases.”

““Hatrick” is actually inspired by The Great Gatsby, which I was reading while trying to improve my SD reading scores.”