The stories behind their books

“After that, the first book by Annie Ernaux I bought was *Writing Like a Knife*. It’s an interview-style essay that leaves out Ernaux’s more unconventional side, and it’s the kind of book that gives you an idea of the mindset she brings to writing.”

“I remember being captivated by Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seawhen I read it as a kid. I think I took myself back to that place for new inspiration and brought back a part of it as the motive to start writing Hope World. It’s an introduction to people who are brand new to [me] with me as Captain Nemo showing you around just as the submarine in the book cruised around the world’s oceans. I know this might sound really corny, but I invite you to pretend to be Professor Aronnax as you listen to this song and take a journey through my world [laughs].”

“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.”

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

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

“I recently read the book *Philosophy Changes the Weather*.”

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

“#Coloring”

“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 👍”

“It was in the car, so I happened to read it, and it’s a poem that really lifts your spirits! Thanks to it, my day is off to an enjoyable start. I recommended it to the members too, and everyone’s chuckling.”

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

“There’s a book called Kind People Win that I read recently. I really found it very relatable.”

“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.”

“Everyone, love one another~”

“It’s okay not to read it all at once. Keep it on your bookshelf and take it out whenever you need it or feel curious.”

“I did my reading with those.”

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

“I like reading books.”

“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.”

“I read a novel called Horrorstör.”

““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.”

“Financial security creates creative freedom.”

“I recommend it to you all too❤”

“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.”

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

“After reading Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories, I wrote the lyrics for the song “Curse,””

“The book I wrote, ‘Girl Group Yoga,’ is a book that even beginners can easily follow.”

“I decided to publish a book to share the happiness of cooking for myself.”

“Wow ㅠㅠ Make sure you read it all!!”

“That is a definitive answer. If this is the Gertrude Stein who supported Picasso and Matisse, then isn’t this a kind of conclusion from someone who supported artists endlessly? It’s a book I enjoyed reading six or seven years ago.”

“Writer Yoo Hee-seon, your warm heart comes through. I’m cheering you on. #I’llReadItWell #Don’tCarelesslyTalkAboutMe book”

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

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

“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.”

“Even deciding what to eat is a negotiation.”

“I’m not saying this because I’m an emotional person, but give this book a read. It’s the kind that will annoy you… A person’s life is supposed to have a mix of happy and sad days, but they keep giving this person a hard time in life… Sigh… It made me think, “Wow, the author is cruel,” but it is fun to read.”

“When that exact verse appeared before my eyes among the tens of thousands of pages on the shelf, I had no choice but to collapse completely before the presence of the living Lord. It was supernatural confirmation that ‘God is dealing with me right now.’”

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

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

“After reading this book, my image of The Great Library changed a little.”

“Shall I recommend Pride and Prejudice?”

““I wasn’t someone who read novels often. But as I was transitioning into acting, I thought I should read a full-length novel. Then I remembered that I had read Musso’s earlier work *Call from an Angel* some time ago, so I picked up his new book, *A Paris Apartment*.””

“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.”

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

“Personally, when I read the book, I was moved by the line, “Even if I am tainted, I will give you only white things.””

“There are so many slim people in the broadcasting industry. It seems that being skinny has become a measure of popularity. Being surrounded by so many thin people, I find myself worrying about my weight every day.”

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I didn’t originally like it, but after reading The Analects, so much of it really resonated with me. And because I learn from it, I like it so much.”

“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.”

“The book I read recently is Kim Young-ha’s <Two People>. I love Kim Young-ha’s short stories, which let me experience rich emotions even amid the hectic pace of everyday life.”

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

“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.”

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

“This song was inspired by Anne of Green Gables, a classic masterpiece and the core of our Craze Angel universe.”

““The heart that finally wells up with tears” reads to me as “a heart that I could not bring myself to let pass by.””

“I’ve read a lot of books recently. I read “Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982.” There are other books I can’t remember. I read a lot of books while on vacation.”

““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.””

““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.”

“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.”

“The Little Prince”

“I bought There Are Days Like This, a book that seemed nice to read together with children by a café window on a rainy day.”

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

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

“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.”

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

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

“Well, first of all, the reason I started reading it is—there’s a producer. The producer who first got me to debut on a program called New Nonstop, Producer Ginisi, and I have a book club, just the two of us. I was going to introduce this book…”

“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’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 wondered how a lie could be elegant, and I was interested because it was by the author of Wandeuk.”

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

“It’s about how she became a star when she was young and what life as an actor was like; it’s a really sad story.”

“But these days, I’ve been reading a book called An Unexpected Season.”

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

“I think I found a lot of comfort.”

“Writer! I read *Human Acts* in the military.”

“This is a mystery novel I read recently.”

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

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

“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.”

“I was so immersed in the work that I read it in one sitting despite being busy with activities. I even recommended it directly to the members.”

“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.”

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

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

“I started receiving psychological counseling in 2018, and I was advised that it might be good to try writing a book. I thought sharing my writing as well might help people understand my music.”

“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!”

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

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

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“Scary Stories Are the Best!”

“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.”

““Watching people from all walks of life take on challenges with courage filled me with a sense of adventure!””

“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 highly recommend all of Matsumoto Taiyo’s works. For example, Ping Pong and Monster.”

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

“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’d like to recommend it.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“Because I want to make the contents of the book my own.”

“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.”

“And this book—I'm reading it now.”

“Since it was a book that prominently covered stories about Italy, the birthplace of poisoning, I brought it along on my business trip to Italy and read it twice during the journey.”

“Oh, I did like that. I did like that classic. That was was a good book,”

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

“Still, I’ve read three of this author’s books, and From the Shore is number one. I was reading it at a bookstore, then bought it right away and kept it.”

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

“I resolved that I would read it all the way through, but…”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

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

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

“When I read books, I imagine everything in the scenes. These days, I’m reading a book called Dallergut Dream Department Store, and when they talk about the dream department store, I can see it in my head. I imagine I’m shopping there as I read. It’s not just novels, but other books, too—for example, if there’s a sentence where Einstein is talking, I imagine him saying it. (Laughs) That’s probably why I was able to learn video production so quickly.”

“If I were to buy [a dream], it’d be one where I’m flying through the skies or swimming freely in the deep sea. But those kinds of dreams don’t sell well.”

“I read Dallergut Dream Department Store.”

“For me, I’d buy one where we become whales and swim together in the sea. What’s the relation? Because it’s a whale, I’m a whale shark.”

“I’ve told this to CARATs several times. After reading Dallergut Dream Department Store, I haven’t been able to read a book because I’ve been busy with work.”

“I read a lot while thinking, ‘It must be made-up stories.’”

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

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

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

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

“As I was publishing my book, I read Jeong Yu-jeong’s *The Origin of Species* and Shim Eun-hee’s *The Wind Blew in Ireland, and Waves Rose in My Heart*.”

““One familiar poetry collection, one I want to read anew. And this one is one I really love. I always carry three poetry collections in my bag.””

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

“In life, you do things with many different people, and this book helps you keep the focus on yourself amid all that. I especially want to share the words, 'You don't have to do it well.' I recently tried acting. Wanting to do well matters, but that desire can also make you feel pressured and nervous. 'So what if I don't do it well?' Sometimes it's good to take things lightly”