The stories behind their books

“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.”

“The works I keep rereading are Phoenix and Buddha.”

“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.”

“I think I’ve read these three books many times: You Too Are a Sky Mallow and Yeontan-gil.”

“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...”

“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.”

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

“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 wanted to express the thoughts I usually have not only through music but also in other ways.”

“The art book, in a way, began with a small dissatisfaction. I had many reservations about the exhibition catalogs, so I decided to do something about it.”

“I changed even more after reading the books The Power of Positive Thinking and The Secret.”

“It’s provocative and captivating. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to turn to the next chapter faster.”

“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.”

“If you want to read something a little better, I recommend what I’m reading right now.”

“Even just reading her writing, I thought, “The author’s perspective is so healthy and profound,” and she felt like a “senior in life” to me.”

“This is exactly where my heart is.”

“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.””

“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.”

“Reality Transurfing takes a more scientific approach, and The Secret could be called its popular version.”

“I was also very impressed by Anxiety.”

“Although it's really gross, I also like this kind of manga.”

“There are times when I feel that way too, but it made me think I should pull myself together again and work hard at living.”

“I really, truly, uh, loved it so much that I was like, “This is the book of my life.””

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

“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.”

“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.”

“A book I’ve enjoyed reading this year is *Goo’s Proof*.”

“It's really fun.”

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

“In books, you can see all the thoughts the protagonist has before taking action, and that’s so interesting.”

“When I go to a bookstore, I sit and read with a huge pile of books. I like that people at bookstores don’t pay attention to others. I bought a whole stack recently, too. There’s “Children of Gwaengiburi Village,” “The Little Prince,” “Confession,” “March Is a Red Abyss,” “Norwegian Wood,” and a poetry collection by poet Lee Byeong-ryul. I get so many book recommendations all the time.”

“And this is a line from the novel Dallergut Dream Department Store.”

“A little while ago, I read a book called *The Wizard’s Bakery*.”

“There’s a book I’ve been reading lately. It’s a novel called *Mail from Postbox No. 110*—it’s heart-fluttering and gentle in tone.”

“People who are at a crossroads, people who want to travel but don’t have time, people who are curious about Hawaii, and people who need healing.”

“After that, I started seeking out and reading Murakami's major works, such as Dance Dance Dance and Kafka on the Shore.”

“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.”