The stories behind their books

“It felt like a drama that portrayed a very mature love.”

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

“He is such an ardent fan of Park Saeroyi that he read the entire Itaewon Class webtoon in just one full day.”

“I managed to get to Chapter 3.”

“I read a memoir recently called Everything I Know About Love where the author pursues romantic love her whole life, only to realize something profound in the end: She had always been surrounded by amazing friends, and always been loved, and always gave love—that she’d been experiencing it all along, and that love had always been there by her side. When I read that, I kept thinking about the other members of the group. When I think about the future together with them, I feel like I could end up thinking something similar to the author. Being with them has made me learn to appreciate friendship even more.”

“And maybe that’s essentially what love is—learning to be kind through friendship, then practicing and showing it, like the book says.”

“This is a very warm and easy-to-read book.”

“I was so absorbed in the work that I read it in one sitting even while carrying out activities. I even personally recommended it to the members.”

“My attitude seems to have changed, so I recommend reading the short story called *Ahopsu Gawi*.”

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

““Strangely, I feel as though I’ve taken a step closer to my senior, Park Jun-myun, through a single cookbook. As I read through the recipes one page at a time, I feel as though I’m cooking alongside her; those delicious words make my mouth water and leave my heart feeling full and reassured.””

“I recently started reading the book “I Want to Go Home Even Though I’m at Home.””

“Saying, “Am I a fan or a disciple?”—the book I’ve been working hard to read lately. I wonder if I’m going to stop being a fan and become a disciple now, or if I’ve become more resolute at heart. Because I’ve lived like a fan, I find stories about life in the world really interesting; I’ve thought I was lucky, liked having lots of money, and felt proud when I achieved my goals. But I don’t want to miss it.”

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

“Through Demian, the embodiment of the perfect, ideal human being, I discovered the essence of jealousy within myself.”

“You don’t have to start from the beginning; you can open the book wherever you like and read. It was a book that had been at home because my older brother had received it as a gift, and when I read it, I thought it was so good. I take it out whenever I’m having a hard time.”

“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.”

“And this book—I'm reading it now.”

“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.”

“Slam Dunk is a manga I revisit regularly; it’s one of my all-time favorites. I’m not much of a crier, but works like Slam Dunk, which make my heart burn with passion, bring me to tears.”

“I’m really enjoying it.”

“Almost everything I know about love, I learned from my relationships with my longtime female friends. Love is laughing together so hard you can hardly breathe. It’s walking down the street together on a Saturday night and feeling that the whole city belongs to us.”

“I recently read the memoir Everything I Know About Love. The author talks about what she realized after spending her life pursuing romantic love.”

“Personally, I found the book more interesting.”

“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.”

“I didn't really like it before, but after reading The Analects, so much of it resonated with me, and I enjoyed learning from it.”

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

“I heard it was interesting.”

“I think at least The Attributes of Money / Rich Dad Poor Dad are books really worth reading two or three times.”

“read the book twice.”

“Yes, Director Bang said that this book was his bible in his twenties, and that it would be very helpful for someone like me. I’m going to make time to read it.”

“This is a book I started reading because it was at the TWICE dorm, and I think this book is exactly what its title says: “doing something for myself.””

“So I started reading Guillaume Musso's books. As I read love stories such as Save Me and The Paper Girl, I wanted to read other kinds of stories too.”

“The premise of the novel is very unique.”

“I sought out and read Pachinko because I suddenly wanted to get a feel for Korea’s modern history.”

“The books I’m reading these days are The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Contradiction…”

“I remember crying so much when I read The Giving Tree as a child.”

“I regretted not having read this book sooner.”

“A book I found because I was feeling a strong thirst for travel”

“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.”

“Congratulations, I read 'Human Acts' while in the military,”

“I think at least The Attributes of Money / Rich Dad Poor Dad are books really worth reading two or three times.”

“One of my all-time favorite classic books is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I love the descriptions of nature.”

“If I had read The Stranger earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen my original name, Rap Monster.”

“I bought volumes 1 and 2. I’ve finished volume 1, and I have about half of volume 2 left.”

“I always carry around about two books like this.”

“It’s Hwang Sok-yong’s The Evening Star. I first read this book in my second year of high school. By chance, I picked just one book from the many in the library, and it was The Evening Star. I was thinking a lot about my future at the time, so the main character, Yu Jun, felt just like me.”

“I tend to read several books at once, so there are quite a few books I start but don’t manage to finish. Unfortunately, Crime and Punishment became one of those books….”

“But I haven’t given up! It just means the perfect time to read that book hasn’t come yet. When I feel the time is right, I’ll definitely pick it up again, finish it, and tell W what I thought first!”

“Last year, my manager gave me *We Do Not Part* as a gift. I received a lot of comfort from reading this book.”

“I still remember a sentence that went, “It must have been something like a snail advancing on the edge of a blade.” When I read that, I cried so much. I think that’s the charm of fiction.”

“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.”

““It’s really, really interesting””

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

“I think they came up with a really good title. We often say, “I want to die.” But even while saying we want to die, it’s true that we also feel like having soju or eating tteokbokki. As someone who has also gone through dark times, I couldn’t help but relate deeply.”

“I had read it once before, and it was really difficult.”

“I had always wanted to try to do that seemingly impossible thing: to be loved precisely and to love precisely.”

“It’s a book called Do It for Myself.”

““This author’s book, Cocktail, Love, Zombie, too…””

“The protagonist, Jun, resembles me in his habit of not judging anything hastily and thinking things over again and again.”

“[Next is 'Hunger'] And 'Hunger' is”

“a love story”

“But it's an extremely tragic and sad love story”

“What struck me the most was…”

“After Gu dies, Dam becomes determined to eat him”

“But as I was reading…”

“I knew what the plot was about before I started reading”

“By the time I finished reading, I was kind of convinced It felt like that”

“There were so many lines that resonated with me”

“But that book is really polarizing”

“There are a lot of graphic descriptions too”

“But the people who like it will really like it”

“I personally loved it!”

“I did well in January The book for January was 'Hunger'”

“I recommend it because it’s such a realistic, relatable read about how suffering can be unavoidable.”

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

“Author! I read Human Acts in the army. Congratulations.”

“LOL, my mom might say something if she sees that I read these, but these are the books I picked up from January to March at the beginning of this year while talking about things like “the energy of the universe.” The Nature of Money and Rich Dad Poor Dad, at least, seem like books worth genuinely reading two or three times, and the other books left me with a lesson along the lines of “use your heart for good.” You shouldn’t live a narrow-minded life, you know.”

“Through that book, I discovered for the first time the nature of the jealousy within me.”

“I was able to look back on my jealousy toward the boys in my class who were tall, handsome, good at school and sports, and popular with girls.”

“I read this book four or five times.”

“Thanks to it, I had the opportunity to naturally encounter the wonderful wisdom left by the preceding generation.”

“A book I read while at the TWICE dorm. A book that made me focus on myself. A book that helped me not be consumed by pressure.”

““I’ve started another new book.””

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

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

“'Contradiction'”

“I really enjoyed reading a book called *One Very Light Feather*.”

“I read *Human Acts* while in the military. Congratulations.”

“As I read the book, I found myself agreeing and thinking, “Oh, that’s right, I was born in the ’90s too.” I think it could help people born in the ’70s and ’80s understand those born in the ’90s. As time goes by, we could become “old fogeys” too. People born in the 2000s might find us really hard to understand. In that sense, I think it would be good for people born in the 2000s to read it as well.”

““It’s kind of like a debate among philosophers about love, and, how should I put it, you can seriously think again about how love is being consumed in modern society, our attitudes toward dating, and things like that.””

“A book that gave me strength.”

“A book that says exactly what you want to hear.”

“A book that feels different every time I read it.”

“A book I keep reaching for.”

“I like Bright Night, too,”

“I recommend it to you.”

“And I ended up choosing these two.”

“I regretted not having read the writer’s 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.”

“Author! Human Acts. I read it in the military. Sob, congratulations!”

“I immediately bought this author’s Brunch Award-winning book, “An Uncloying Essay Collection.””

“I read two books: Han Kang’s Human Acts and the huge bestseller Kim Ji-young, Born 1982. Both had a lot to say, and I think they made me feel many things. I read Human Acts on the plane to Europe and then at a hotel there. Even though I was in such a pleasant setting, reading the book felt really emotionally difficult. Her writing is so vivid and skillful. I think those books left a strong impression on me.”

“I remember reading this book while crying. I hardly ever cry when I’m reading. The protagonist has a terminal illness.”

“Oh, I started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, but then I stopped, remember? It was so hard.”

“Narin had recommended me a book called No Longer Human...”

“I regretted thinking, “Why did I only read your books now?””

“It’s difficult 🤤”

““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 think I was tempted by that blurb and read it. But it was such a predictable story... I read it in the bookstore and left it there.”

““‘Sea’ is a song I began working on after being moved by the line in 1Q84, ‘Where there is hope, there is hardship.’””

“‘Sea’ is a song I began working on after being moved by the line in 1Q84, ‘Where there is hope, there is hardship.’”

““Oppa, what book is that?” I tried reading it, and it was so good. [A book I turn to when things are hard] I think it’s a book I take out whenever I’m having a hard time.”

“It's really fun.”

“So, it was a fun book to read.”

“Watching this, I thought, “The mystery novels I’ve read up to now were only fragments. The real roots were here.””

“I also liked his newly released *Me Without You*.”

“A book I’ve recently been trying to read is Philip Chesterfield’s *Son, Life Is Too Short to Waste Time*.”

“I ended up reading it on a whim because Chanyeol recommended it. When I read essays like this, I feel like I come to understand a wider range of lives a little better, and somehow feel more personally connected. I thought it was the kind of book that draws you into the situations and makes you laugh and cry along with them because they’re so absurd.”

““It’s something like a debate among philosophers about love. It makes you think seriously once again about how love is being consumed in modern society and about our attitudes toward dating.””

“I didn’t just read this book once; I read it several times, but…”

“There was a book I enjoyed so much that I finished the whole thing on the plane.”

“[Unread Book with a Pretty Cover #1] 'Don't Let Your Mood Become Your Attitude' by Lemon Psychology”

“I enjoyed author Park So-young’s Snowball. It’s a mystery with sci-fi elements, and it has so many twists. There’s also the pleasure of imagining.”

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

“Cool, cool. #LifeBalancer”

“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.”

“This book helped me a lot. It says exactly what I want to hear. I didn’t read it just once; I read it several times. There are sentences that speak to me the second time, and sentences that speak to me the third time. It’s a book I keep reaching for, so I recommend it to ONCE.”

“As I was reading the book, my mom’s spicy whelk-and-noodle dish came straight to mind.”

“But I apparently read it.”

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

“A book I'm reading these days. I'm still in the early part, so it's too soon to say what I think of it.”

“I think I can take one step closer to becoming that kind of person only if I’m happy first and receive energy.”

“It’s a very warm novel about things that happen in a convenience store. They’re stories that could happen in our everyday lives, and they move and comfort you. I read it all in one sitting.”

“I found that fun too.”

“I really, really recommend this poetry book”

“I chose Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha as my first book. Appearing on Minumsa TV’s YouTube channel got me interested in classical literature, and since it was a story about Buddhism, I thought it might calm my mind. I usually like mystery and thriller genres, but for the first book of this year, I wanted to start with one that could help me find peace of mind.”

“As I turned the last page of the book, I thought how lucky I was to have met you, teacher, as a child who could hear those precious stories for free.”

“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…”

““The person who knows how to love themselves is the greatest person.” (From *315 Proverbs Worth Reading Even a Hundred Years from Now*)”

“Reading this book made me think that I should cherish and love myself more.”

“I really like it, and <A Certain Secret>.”

“I like writing handwritten letters, and I’m very grateful to receive them, too. A letter is something you put your heart into, and you write it because you really like that person. In fact, (fans) can’t always see me. There are so many times when we’re far apart, but when I think that they must have pressed their feelings into each and every character as they wrote while thinking of me, I really can’t take the letters lightly. I feel like I get a lot of strength from reading them.”

“These days, I'm reading a book called *Such Clumsy People* for about the fifth time...”

“I heard it was fun.”

“I recommend it.”

“"thrilling"”

“"like a movie."”

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

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

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

“A book that had been at home after my older brother received it as a gift.”

“A book I find myself turning to whenever things are hard.”

“Through this book, I was able to reflect on myself, even if only a little.”

“I’ve really liked The White Book for a long time. It’s an easy, relaxing read.”

“I regretted not having read your books sooner.”

“I still like this song, just as I did before the album came out.”

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

“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”

“I can now carry the collection of poems by Han Kang, which I received as a gift, in my bag.”

“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.”

“It's really fun. I read it in no time.”

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

“The first book I read while crying.”

“I held it in and held it in until the tears finally came.”

“A book that made me look back on my life.”

“I became grateful for everything.”

“Elizabeth, the protagonist of the novel Pride and Prejudice. I admire her bold approach to life, even in a time when women were socially oppressed.”

“I read when I’m bored. The book I’d recommend is <Castella>. It’s a short story collection by author Park Min-gyu. I really enjoyed reading it. It’s psychedelic, really!? So at first it can be a little disconcerting, but as you keep reading, you can get completely absorbed in it.”

“I read Human Acts while in the military. Congratulations.”

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

“Orbital”

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

“So, if I were to recommend one, there’s a book called Snowball. It’s really dynamic and fun, so I think it would be nice to read it together.”

“Even as it makes you chuckle, there isn’t a single scene that doesn’t somehow leave a corner of your heart sad.”

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

“I enjoyed reading Animal Farm, so I’ve been trying other books too. Recently, member Yujin and I have been having lots of book talks.”

“It was so much fun that I read it quickly.”

“I read your book Human Acts while I was in the military. Congratulations.”

“Since it was recommended in many places as a classic masterpiece, I trusted those recommendations and read it. There’s a reason a book is a proven classic.”

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

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

““A Thousand Blues,” something like that.”

“I recently finished reading My Brilliant Friend.”

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

“This book was written by my uncle—my aunt’s husband, you know?”

“I recommend the Japanese novel *Please Eat Something Warm*.”

“This is documenting us, so I want to talk about everything.”

“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.”

“It’s good. Especially then, it’s good too. My mind gets very calm, and I can think a lot, so I’ve been writing quite a lot of lyrics as well. It’s good.”

“"I read 'The Vegetarian' (2007) while serving in the military. Congratulations,"”

“I actually don't like science fiction that much. I hardly ever watch sci-fi movies, either. Did I get this book recommended to me on social media? Not directly, but I saw someone recommending it, got interested, and decided to read it.”

“This book—[there's so much to say about this one]—as you can see, is incredibly long and hefty... [in a nutshell,] not an easy book to take on. But! [Here comes the sales queen] The appeal of a long novel is that... once you get past the beginning, where you memorize the characters' names and get some explanation of the situation, [the twists never end &] there really are endless twists and [one shocking scene after another] so many scenes that leave you stunned.”

“Honestly, I find these doorstopper books challenging, too. I tend to read them over the course of several months. Me, too? But this book is really difficult in terms of its ideas. It makes you think a lot, but the sentences themselves aren't difficult! [Thoughts that keep spiraling / Easy to read, but full of ideas you can't simply brush aside] It's a book that's easy to read, but makes you go back and think about it afterward.”

“When I try to sell people on this book, I tell them that even in a world this advanced, after so much change, the feeling of love is still so precious and powerful. [If you don't understand how wonderful love is, I feel sorry for you] There are so many things the characters do because they love each other. Rowan thinks he could die in Citra's place because he loves her, and Citra risks danger and takes action because she loves Rowan. Watching things like that made me feel that, in every generation, [an emotion that transcends time: love] emotions have such a powerful effect on people. That's what lies at the heart of who we are.”

“That's right. I felt the same way while reading it, too—the translator, Lee Soo-hyun, seems to have done a great job. [A style that draws you in without difficult sentences] There aren't any difficult sentences, so every line really catches your eye, and each and every one is a gem. I really want more people to know about the red-covered book Scythe. [I want to finish it and talk about it with everyone] While reading Scythe, [a book that makes you reflect on respect for life and ethics], I found myself thinking a lot about how we regard life and about ethics.”

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

““I read your book Human Acts while I was in the military, Ms. Han. Congratulations.””

“This book was written by my uncle, you know?”

“I found a lot of good sentences.”

“I think young adult literature would probably be best for our baby DIVEs. I thought a book called The Wizard’s Bakery would leave more of an impression on your heart if you read it when you’re really young. So, our baby DIVEs, let’s read a fun book together sometime.”

“I made “Zeze” from the perspective of Minginho, the lime-orange tree in the novel, and Zeze is innocent while also cruel in some ways. Looking at the character alone, he has many contradictions. That’s why I found him appealing and sexy.”

“I’m reading the Neapolitan Novels!!”

“Little Women also goes really well with spring. When I was young, you know how there’s always that thing that suddenly comes to mind… So this was a book I used to read when I was in elementary school, because we were told to read it during school vacation.”

“I wrote the song “Zeze” from the perspective of Minginho, the lime orange tree in the novel. Zeze is innocent, but cruel in some ways. As a character, Zeze has many contradictions. That’s why I found Zeze attractive and sexy.”

“People seem to be born as light as feathers, then gradually shoulder more weight as they live.”

“That author had a lot of books listed as bestsellers in Korea, including one called *Save Me*, and”

““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.””

“When I get stuck writing lyrics on my own, I find myself wondering, “How would Aunt Ina work it out?” As someone who does that, I’m genuinely glad this book exists.”

“I'd like to recommend Osamu Dazai's *No Longer Human*.”

“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 like it. I especially like it then, too. It makes me feel very calm and lets me think a lot, so I’ve been writing quite a lot of lyrics. I like it.”

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

“It’s difficult.”

“Recently, I enjoyed reading a book called Little Nicolas. It's like a fairy tale for adults.”