The stories behind their books

““There are a few rules I dislike. (…) First, rhymes are usually grouped in sets of an even number, and one criterion is that the two words shouldn’t both be nouns. I also tend to dislike rhymes like ‘did something, would do something, did something? would do something?’ On the other hand, the rhymes I consider best follow all these criteria, while still making the content clear in your mind just from reading the rhymes. For example, there might be 16 bars of lyrics, but even reading only the rhymes should bring the content to mind. (…) (In the hook of ‘Jakdu,’) ‘Jakdu’ and ‘ssakduk’ rhyme, but one is a noun and the other is an onomatopoeic word. The rhyme works, their parts of speech are different, and the meaning makes sense. That’s what I think makes a good rhyme. _p.354””

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

“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.”

“I really recommend 0 to people like that.”

“God, this is not an illusion but a true, faithful answer from You. From now on, I will live not as Kwon Gi-beom of the world, but as a holy child of God!”

“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.”

“While working on this essay, I had the chance to look back on my life from childhood through my twenties and return to my original intentions. It also helped me make plans for the future, not only for the rest of my playing career but also for after retirement.”

“and I recommend Summer Hill”

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

“I started writing and reading books again, as I did when I was young. I recently read Life Lessons by psychiatrist and writer Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and what I’m reading now is About Her by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto.”

“While filming this drama, I always carried two books with me on set and read them: Shin Young-bok's *Memories of the Cheongguhoe* and Park Wan-seo's *His Lonely and Lonesome Night*.”

“As I was writing this book...”

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

“Father, I thank you for letting me know, even if only vaguely, the joy of a life focused on you.”

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

““I think writing is a journey of refining, one by one, the countless thoughts in your mind. I hope this book motivates you on your own journey, too.””

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

““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.””

“I recommend it. Give it a read.”

“I was surprised by the content, which seemed to look into the joys and sorrows I experienced while promoting as a member of H.O.T.”

“I was happy because, while reading that book on the rooftop, I realized for the first time that I was enjoying this moment.”

“Perhaps it means that you shouldn’t worry so much about other people’s opinions and should live at ease. I think they want me to know that even if I live according to my own opinions, the world won’t change all that much.”

“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.”

“Reading a book in Queensland, where my parents live, made me even happier and more excited. The writers describe places that are good to stay in while visiting—not only Brisbane and the Gold Coast, but also other parts of Queensland—in their own distinctive language. It was interesting to read, almost like looking through a diary.”

““I want to look back on everything from our debut up to now before more time passes.””

“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 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.”

“I’ve been active for about 13 years. I’ve worked with SHINee, pursued solo activities as Taemin, and also worked on a new project with SuperM. I thought I’d like to slightly change the familiar world I’ve experienced and built up so far, and show you a new side of myself.”

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

“I’ll definitely finish reading Eragon!!”

“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.”

“This book is called “Anyway, Memo” by Hyeyoon Jung.”

“I was worried that I might write down too many notes, but I felt comforted as soon as I read the title.”

“And I felt like my actions were being validated.”

“The first chapter is called “I Should’ve Written It Down.””

“This is the thought that comes to mind most often.”

“So I thought that as I read this book, I’d feel like my thoughts were really understood.”

“So if you write down notes as much as I do,”

“or if you’re the opposite and want to build a habit of taking thorough notes,”

“I recommend reading “Anyway, Memo” by Hyeyoon Jung. (Recommend) (recommend)”

“Until now, making music was the only way I knew how to talk about myself. I’m not someone who likes to go on at length to people about myself, so I had only put my voice into music. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to talk about myself through a book, in writing and photographs, I decided that since I was doing it, I might as well be honest.”

“Ah, recently, for the first time in my life, I closed a book while reading and cried. I sobbed.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“When I feel powerless, I mutter a little spell .. 🪄💫”

“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.”

“Nevertheless, it was still such a beautiful novel.”

“This book is neither about what is right or wrong, nor is it writing that is overly boisterous or gloomy; it is simply the perspective of my twenties and thirties. It is the way I look at myself—nothing more.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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 brought a book”

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

“The first Korean poetry collection I read when I was first learning Korean was *You Sometimes Think of Me, While I Sometimes Think of Something Else*.”

“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.”

“What I would recommend to you is The Catcher in the Rye.”

““I’ve been living in Korea for four years and have read many Korean literary works in English. Each time, I felt, ‘Ah, this is a translation.’ But I was surprised by how excellent the English was in these two works published this time. I think it’s at a higher level than the English I use. (Laughs.)””

“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.”

“I read with lines drawn under passages, so I don’t lend her books to my friends. Among them, 『Run, Pop, Run!』 was the first of her books I read.”

“Publishing a photo book wasn’t something I had planned. Since these were photos I’d taken on my phone in my spare moments, I was hesitant to release them, but thinking of it as leaving a record of everyday life, I’ve made it this far.”

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

“The Courage to Be Disliked.”

“Lyrics are different from poetry, so it’s difficult to use words that are too unfamiliar, and one shouldn’t use expressions that are excessively obscure either. Since they need to come easily to the ear when heard, everyday words that anyone might use are the main ingredient. Lyrics that flamboyantly reveal the lyricist’s individuality and philosophy are, rather, awkward and quickly grow tiresome, making it a rather peculiar genre. Even so, some lyrics have a power that’s hard to explain: one day, you happen to hear them and burst into tears, or they only truly find their way into your heart after many years. Where does that power come from? Reading this book, I finally realize the power of ordinary words. This perspective, which pinpoints the “time lag” in discordant relationships, the aggression contained in the phrase “I don’t understand,” the subtle syllables of “radiant,” and the similar direction and differences of “anger” and “courage,” is intellectual yet kind. I think I now understand a little why the lyrics Kim Eana creates so precisely soothe the hearts of so many people. The way we use and handle words is ultimately connected to the way we live, too, and as I close the book, I find that I have come to genuinely like this sensitive and honest person.”

““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 don’t like rereading books because I want to hold on to my initial impression of them. I happened to find this book while tidying my room and read it again, and it was fun because it felt different from when I first read it.”

“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...”

“This is a silent human drama. It’s such a joy to see a friend you care about succeed. It brings back all those ambitions we had back then: we especially loved the weird and wanted to be even weirder, in some way. Thanks to this book, I feel as though a passion that will never rot, like Kim’s fruit, and the spirited Moonchi I was back then have come back to me. Thank you so much! And there’s nothing about me in it, huh?”

“I stopped watching The Ravages of Time partway through.”

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

“I heard it was fun.”

“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!”

“Show proof of Homo Deus first, you long-tailed tit.”

“I’d like to recommend it.”

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

“I hope that those who long to take some time for themselves and find themselves will be sure to read this book.”

“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.”

“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.””

“This is really interesting. You absolutely have to read it. People who create things absolutely have to read this. It’s a book called Sparks of Genius.”

“Yoon Ji-un’s <Pahanjip>. I started reading it a few years ago, and I pick it up once in a while when I’m bored.”

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

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

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

“Wow ㅠㅠ Make sure you read it all!!”

“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.”

“Since it’s time, I bought this book collecting stories about dreams from Franz Kafka’s writings, along with merchandise made based on the book—including a bag.”

“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.”

““I enjoyed reading the novel Coffee Prince, 1st Shop.””

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

“Jeolchang is really fun.”

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

“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.”

“Ah, is that it?”

“I read it straight through for eight hours on the 15th, which was a weekend, and my mother, whom I had buried deep in my heart and forgotten about in my everyday life, came to mind, and I sobbed uncontrollably.”

“I should read books diligently and live diligently!!”

“I liked Raymond Carver’s distinctive dry style more than the content. His writing was understated yet conveyed emotion, and never felt excessive—that approach really stood out to me. Maybe it caught my eye even more because it resembled the style I wanted to write in when I was young.”

““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?”

““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.”

“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.”

“A Thousand Years of Love, Father.”

“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.”

“Please see it as an honest account of my experiences, not an autobiography.”

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

“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!”

““When I first read *You Said It Was Goodbye*, I found the content a little difficult.””

“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.”

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“Prince is actually my favorite of the whole series”

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

“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 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.”

“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.”

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

“Ah, the book is too difficult.”

“This book carefully explains how both cats and their guardians can be happy, accompanied by cute and fun illustrations. When you run into a problem that affection alone cannot solve, I’m sure you’ll be able to find an answer in this book, just as you might ask Teacher Nyaongshin for advice.”

“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.”

“I did my reading with those.”

“I like reading books.”

“I bought the book! I'll enjoy reading it.”

“I really enjoyed reading Anchor Kim Jin’s book.”

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

“I don’t know much about painting, but I found the story of solving the riddle very interesting.”

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

“#Coloring”

“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.”

“Just as I comforted myself by saying, “Not everything is like that,” I hope that through this book, you too will find words of comfort or a perspective of your own.”

“Another one is a book called *All the Time in the World*. These days, everything moves so fast, and it’s hard to imagine life without videos like Shorts, right? This book is about a life of slow accumulation, in connection with quantum mechanics, and offers various perspectives on letting time rest, bending it, and stretching it. It’s a good read for people who want to create some breathing room in their lives.”

“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.”

“It has helped me a lot, so I often recommend it to people around me.”

“This is also a book read by Heath Ledger, an actor I like. It's Gustave Flaubert's novel Sentimental Education. After seeing the book appear in the documentary film I Am Heath Ledger, I became curious about what he was thinking when he read it.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“It really feels like a book tailored just for Lily.”

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

“I was impressed by reading *Illionaire Life*, written by my senior, Dok2.”

“A considerate gene.”

“It’s difficult 🤤”

“I read books whenever I have a moment to gain indirect experiences.”

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

“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.”

“SODA’s first Photobook: Candid🍬”

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

“The immersion is insane,,, I have nothing to say,, my heart feels so unbearably heavy. What on earth do people who call this painful history the Gwangju Incident usually think about as they go through life,,, Would I have been brave enough to join them? I don’t usually think much for long after reading a book, but this one has given me so much to think about. Why am I only reading it now?”

“A book that gave me a lot of courage.”

““I read The Buddha’s Words: A Modern Translation and was deeply impressed by it.””

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

“Those points weren’t written to be funny, but I find them so funny. As I read, I keep thinking, “Ah, this person is a T.” I’m really enjoying it.”

““Please keep all the stories we shared in ‘1719’ as our own secret.””

“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 think every artist should read it at least once”

““I know how avid readers actually read books and how intellectual people think, so I hope people will just read it casually.””

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

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

“Eugene’s book is packed with content.”

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

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

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

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

“I enjoyed reading Woo Ji-hyun’s *My Private Painting*.”

“This is a book I'm reading. It's about how the story keeps going back through the generations—my mother's mother, my mother's mother's mother, and so on. So it's really interesting and has a great atmosphere. It's a healing book to read.”

“Alain de Botton’s *Status Anxiety* and Lee Seok-won’s *The Ordinary Existence*. They left a deep impression on me when I read them, and have stayed in my memory for a long time.”

“When I was in middle school, I received The Age of Loss as a gift from my aunt and read it.”

“It broadened my perspective and comforted me.”

“I’m Karon’s mom, Kim Jae-kyung, pleased to greet you as an author.”

“I recently bought this book. It’s called *8 Rules of Love* by Jay Shetty. Um, it’s a cute title, right? It feels a little cheesy. So normally, I don’t think I would have picked it up at a bookstore.”

“I was immediately drawn into that book.”

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

“So I really, really recommend reading it.”

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

“I think it’s this very moment. I’m looking at “You Have to Look at It for a Long Time to Find It Lovely” right now. It’s a book I’ve been reading lately, and at some point while reading it, I just felt something romantic. I tend to find romance even in the smallest things.”

““I’ve always liked author Kim Yeon-su. Many people may sometimes feel as though they’re losing, even when they try to find strength in their own circumstances. I feel that way, too. At times like that, a warm book that says nothing can become a very good friend. The author says he came to a realization while considering the various meanings of ‘the words that we don’t lose’ and discovering concrete examples of them: ‘To reach hope, one must inevitably accept despair.’ We’ve come to live through a difficult time, with many unavoidable realities, when everyone is having a really hard time. Even so, I recommend this book, hoping that each of us will find a way to make things better in our own way.””

“It felt very fresh to learn that the sijo poems in *Cheonggu Yeongeon*, which I had encountered only in textbooks, are being newly reinterpreted as K-pop lyrics.”

“So, it was a fun book to read.”

““It’s a book called At Ease Without Trying Too Hard.””

“How wonderful it must have been”

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

“What do pigs live on? A delicious read recommended for thinking pigs.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

“My all-time favorite comic book from my school days was Comic MapleStory. I don’t know if you know it, but it was really fun. I think people from the first generation will relate.”

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

“Whenever I’m exhausted from practicing all day or performing overseas, Professor Shim, my spiritual mentor, has always awakened my self-esteem—the sense that I am the protagonist of this world—and given me courage. At last, he has published a book for young people. From now on, I should always carry this book in my travel bag. I sincerely want to recommend it to everyone I know.”

“When I first started writing, I felt more fear than excitement, but now I’m glad I can share my stories in writing.”

“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”

“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.”