The stories behind their books

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

“I thought about it a lot. Our fans range across different age groups, but there are quite a lot of younger fans.”

“So I brought some must-read books that I hope you’ll read during your teenage years.”

“I recently finished reading My Brilliant Friend.”

“Author, I read *Human Acts* while I was in the military. Sob. Congratulations!”

“I regretted not having read this book sooner.”

“Guillaume Musso's *Will You Be There?* is a book I read in middle school. I liked it so much that I read it several times.”

“What is the most important book you have read?”

“I asked a friend: “Hey, I want to read! Do you have any books to recommend?” And he got really excited and recommended books by Han Kang and Keigo Higashino. So, that was literally everything I read. There was also a book called “Eleven Steps.” It was kind of a book about philo…”

“Personally, my goal this year is to read more than twenty books. I really enjoyed reading Human Acts again last year, so this year I’ll read lots of interesting books too.”

“<The Sound of Your Heart> is really entertaining. I don't think I've ever seen a comic this entertaining in my life.”

“Author! I read Human Acts while I was in the military. Sniff, congratulations!”

“I think I first saw this in the bestseller section [Actor Park Jeong-min’s PICK, “The Real Thing”]. I also understood that actor Park Jeong-min had recommended it, and hearing that made me even more curious about the novel.”

“[I like long novels] I tend to like long novels, but since The Real Thing is a short-story collection, it reads really easily and quickly × 2, you know? So [Gaeul’s Book Club reading journal / Recommended for people who find reading difficult] I think it would be a really good book for people who find books difficult and want to challenge themselves.”

“[Munsu: left behind by Granny Jangsu, a shaman with no god] And since the subject itself is shamanism, [Granny Jangsu / Sin-aegi: Granny Jangsu, who left Munsu and became the tutelary deity of a spirit-afflicted person] it feels very fresh, but also has that eeriness. And I didn’t know this, but when I looked it up, [honmono: real / nisemono: fake] I found that “honmono” means “real.” So, between me (Munsu), who goes mad and devotes myself to it like that, and Sin-aegi, who received the spirit initiation, which one is the real one? At the end, the two of them perform a gut ritual like mad [Spoiler warning]. That scene was, as expected, the most memorable. [A book that made me think a lot about “what does ‘real’ actually mean?”] It was a book that made me think a lot about what it means to be real.”

“[Author Sung Hae-na, born in 1994] So I understand that this author is young, and our generation really is one that grew up watching videos rather than reading books, right? I heard that when the author writes, she writes in a way that makes it play out like a video, and I felt that too. I was impressed, thinking, “So a picture can form in my mind just from imagining it.” But I think it would be fun if this came out as a drama or a movie. I think that would be even more fun, because a gut ritual has such strong imagery.”

““I find myself chuckling, yet somehow there isn’t a single scene that doesn’t leave some corner of my heart sad. Conversely, even in a single leaf, even in one cheerful line of dialogue from the radio by my late senior Shin Hae-chul, an inevitable sadness lingers. But perhaps I’m intoxicated by the velvetleaf forest; strangely, I keep chuckling.””

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

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

“I’m reading the Neapolitan Novels!!”

““I should look here for what I need to say.” Honestly, I fell asleep. I fell asleep, so I’m going to tell you the title on the cover of that book: “Love as if you’ve never been loved.” I’ll try to love you as if I’ve never been loved. Ah! I love you. Yes.”

“I regretted thinking, “Why did I only read the author’s book now?””

“As for books, I enjoyed Ito Ogawa’s The Snail Restaurant.”

“Cool, cool. #LifeBalancer”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“The books I'm currently reading—I’m reading two at the same time: one called *Consolation for Sorrow* and *Strange Comfort*.”

“Because *Memoir of a Murderer* was the book that introduced me to the world of books, and”

“Not long ago, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which tells the story of four men and women who are very different from one another. It seems to me that people are born as light as feathers and gradually take on weight as they go through life. Personally, I thought Sabina’s life was wonderful.”

“I had a strong feeling that this book by Park Jun, Nothing Will Change Just Because You Cry, seemed to contain his own life.”

“There are so many parts I relate to that I sometimes take photos of them and share them with fans.”

“I got it as a gift, and brought it from home to start reading today.”

“Rather than self-help books that offer comfort, just something intuitive…”

“I found a lot of good sentences.”

““It’s really, really interesting””

“If I were to recommend a book I've read recently... it would be Alain de Botton's Why Do I Love You?”

“Alain de Botton’s books are difficult even for adults, so there are many parts I don’t understand. But if you read them five or six times, you come to understand, “Oh, that’s what it means.” There’s a shock that comes from that.”

“It’s difficult 🤤”

“As soon as you turn the first page of this book, the voices you’ve missed may come tumbling out in a lively chorus.”

““Strangely enough, with just one cookbook, I feel as though I’ve taken a step closer to senior Park Jun-myeon. Perhaps it’s because this book resembles the senior I know.””

“I started reading it for the first time on the plane, and it was so interesting that I read about half of it.”

“Although you may think it’s difficult because it’s a classic, once you open the book, you can enjoy reading it.”

“He has written many books, such as *Save Me*, *Will You Be There?*, and *Returning in Search of Love*.”