The stories behind their books

“A book I’m so glad to find, for me, who dreams of becoming a showbiz singer at sixty.”

“I’m very interested in other people’s stories. How could one live without opening one’s ears to the world?”

“I watched Bait, and it wasn't childish at all. I really enjoyed it.”

“In a way, you could call Challanseutakso my first book made intentionally. I think the reason it’s a picture book is that picture books were probably the book genre closest to an album.”

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

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

“Achilles. I really love that book.”

““I was drawn to the line on the first page of this book, ‘You’re crazy because of the person you love,’ so I bought it right away and read it.””

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

“Ah, the book is too difficult.”

“In particular, an encyclopedia of food called *Jeongjoji* (鼎俎志) was a great help.”

“Perhaps it was a book that comforted and encouraged me at the time, as I acknowledged that period—which may have been full of mistakes and failures—and worked toward a better future.”

“"Thus Spoke Zarathustra" was also written by Nietzsche; those ideas began with this book.”

“Personally, I think a truly cool person is someone who has a poem memorized in their heart.”

“I also bought a book called *People Born in the ’90s Are Coming*. Try challenging yourself [to read] this book too 😄”

“I started reading books because of internet novels. There’s a book by Baekmyo called *Cinderella and the Four Knights*. It’s a romance novel, and it was made into a book. I think that’s what got me started on reading physical books properly.”

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

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

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

“These days, I'm reading Jonas Jonasson's novel *Killer Anders and His Friends*.”

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

“I remember being interested in this when I was really little, borrowing Lovecraft’s short story collection, and thinking, “What is this…?””

“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.”

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

“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.”

“I naturally found myself listening to the Analects. If the Analects seem difficult, maybe you could start with short phrases like this so they’re a little easier to read?”

“That's why it has become a truly unforgettable novel of my life, even to this day.”

“That’s why I got completely absorbed in the book.”

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

“So I brought along Amélie Nothomb’s *Hygiene and the Assassin*, which I enjoyed reading.”

“I realized that Gu Byeong-mo’s books really aren’t for me.”

“I would rather say that I listened to this book than read it. In this book, I listened to the author’s lecture, and I heard God’s heart. I feel God’s heart, which longs to bring young mothers and babies aboard the ark of salvation—the salvation we so earnestly desire. It is God’s heart speaking of wanting to save these children born to young mothers who have been coldly marginalized.”

“These days, I’m reading *Reading Schopenhauer at Forty*.”

“The book I’d like to introduce to you is this graphic novel called Asterix Polly Wi.”

“Until now, I’ve thought imagination was the greatest power music gives us. Songs leave their beginnings and endings open. When you sing about a breakup, no one tells you why the couple broke up or what happened afterward. I wondered whether a single story running through my music, whose beginnings and endings are ambiguous, might bring out more complex emotions and clearer images. That curiosity led me to write it.”

“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.”

“This is a book I’d recommend to anyone who wants to encounter and delve into a variety of poems within one book, and to anyone who wants to read carefully written prose.”

“I brought it because Demian is my favorite.”

“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.”

“A novelist with a style like his own face, reflecting reality as it is without making a fuss or being timid.”

“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.”

“A book one must read”

“A book that spoon-feeds you.”

““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.””

“I did my reading with those.”

“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.”

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

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

“I’m also reading Banana Yoshimoto’s *Kitchen* because I had it at home.”

“Nietzsche’s Words”

“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.”

“This book is called “Schopenhau to Read Before Bed.””

“You can see there are so many bookmark tabs.”

“There were so many passages I could relate to and wanted to learn from! [How YVES Reads #2]”

“So I can’t finish this book! lol I have to read it over and over again.”

“So that’s what he said. But on the very next page, he says, “In life, suffering and concerns are necessary.””

“Then I get all confused while reading!”

“I’m like, “But you just said they’re the two enemies!””

“And then again, it’s like, “Suffering and concerns are common in life.””

“Ah, I see.”

“Mmm... I see what you mean.”

“This book is also very realistic, and it’s a great book to read if you want to be comforted and clear your mind of your worries.”

“So I recommend this book too.”

“Milan Kundera’s *Slowness* was good too. It was exactly what the word says: “slowness.” It felt like a book telling people who have to live in this fast-paced modern age that they should live slowly. I’m really slow myself.”

“Shin Hae-wook’s *A Book for One*. I really liked it. I’m a huge fan of novelist Kim Ae-ran, and when I read her work, it feels as if I can hear the author’s voice. I like writing like that. I like writing that feels light and delicate, and I got that same feeling from Shin Hae-wook’s book. Someone recommended it to me, and I liked it so much that I’m reading it slowly, savoring it—two or three at a time each day.”

“These two passages describe my life.”

“Having experienced it firsthand and then reread it, I thought, “This was totally a Kurly promotional book.” I was moved by a different aspect, thinking, “So you really can grow this much in six months.””

“I'm also continuing to read it, curious to see whether I'll make it to the end. Since it's a book that's received so much praise, I want to make sure I read it all the way through, if only out of curiosity.”

“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.”

“Then I remembered that I had read Musso’s earlier book, Call from an Angel, some time ago…”