★ A new work by bestselling author Jung Yeo-ul, who moves freely across multiple fields: The author works across the humanities, psychology, philosophy, travel, and literary criticism. This book is her literary healing work dedicated to “those who want to start over,” with a reader rating of 9.5.

★ A literary guide spanning Eastern and Western classics: The book gathers numerous stories that have illuminated the author's life: The Catcher in the Rye and Demian, which accompanied her through the confusion of adolescence; The English Patient and Night Train to Lisbon, which taught her the wisdom of love and parting; Momo and The Neverending Story, which guided her through life's crises. The author moves freely among Eastern and Western classics, contemporary Korean literature by writers such as Kwon Yeo-sun and Yoon I-hyeong, overseas works by Ian McEwan and Nicole Krauss, as well as films and popular culture, constructing a “beautiful literary playground.”

★ Answering “why we still need literature” in an age of literary decline: When the rhetoric of literature's decline keeps recurring, why do we still need literature? The author writes: “Literature has the power to vividly recall things long lost. This is also the reason we must keep looking back through the mirror of literature at the Jeju 4.3 Incident, the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, and the pain of the Sewol Ferry disaster.” Literature does not provide practical answers, but it can catch those on the verge of falling.

“Eighty percent—no, ninety percent—of the strength that supports my life comes from literature.” This is something Jung Yeo-ul often says.

Jung Yeo-ul moves freely across the humanities, psychology, philosophy, travel, and literary criticism. She is the author of works including My Top 10 Loved Places in Europe and To the Me I Have Neglected, and literature has always been the treasure source of all her writing.

This book gathers numerous stories that have illuminated the author's life: The Catcher in the Rye and Demian, which accompanied her through the confusion of adolescence; The English Patient and Night Train to Lisbon, which taught her the wisdom of love and parting; Momo and The Neverending Story, which guided her through life's crises.

When the rhetoric of literature's decline keeps recurring, why do we still need literature? In desperate moments when the road ahead cannot be foreseen, the meaning of literature grows all the more weighty. The author moves freely among Eastern and Western classics, contemporary Korean literature by writers such as Kwon Yeo-sun and Yoon I-hyeong, overseas works by Ian McEwan and Nicole Krauss, as well as films and popular culture.

This book is written for readers exhausted by the masks society demands, trapped in their own inner turmoil. Literature helps us recover the lost possibilities within ourselves and hold onto our sense of self in a sorrowful world. In an era of polarisation and sharp conflict, literature teaches us to become a bridge between opposites, to empathise with the pain of others, and to nurture the power of connection and mutual care.

Literature does not provide practical answers, but it can catch those on the verge of falling. Through these stories, readers can find clues to resolve to continue living in a completely new way.

Jung Yeo-ul | Author

Once covered in wounds, she now writes, teaches, and researches, aspiring to become a healer who brings courage to others. She believes wounds are the best teachers. She graduated from the Department of German Language and Literature at Seoul National University and holds a doctorate in Korean Language and Literature from the same university. She hosts the KBS First Radio programme Lee Eun-sun's Cinema, Jung Yeo-ul's Library and the NAVER paid content Muse Salon.

Winner of the 2013 Jeon Suk-hee Literary Award. Representative works: Meeting Walden Again, The Courage to Keep Writing, One Page a Day, the World's Shortest Psychology Lesson 365, The Last Waltz, Bloom, The Introverted Traveler, and others.

Lee Seung-won | Photography

Writer and photographer. He has long collaborated with Jung Yeo-ul on book photography, with works including Giving You the Best, Finally Finding the Right Temperature Within, Vincent, My Vincent, and Hesse. He is also the author of humanities books such as In Praise of the Workshop and Voices of the Marketplace.

Preface: The Power Held in All the Stories That Have Illuminated Me
Opening: When This Runaway Train Called Life Suddenly Becomes Unfamiliar

Part One: The Heart That Wants to Restart Life
Taking a Step Toward What Has Been Lost but Cannot Be Let Go | Night Train to Lisbon
Prometheus: The Hope That Overcomes Day-After-Day Pain | Prometheus Bound
The Truth Visible at the Moment When Everything Seems to End | The Descendants
Oedipus the King Had No Oedipus Complex | Oedipus Rex
On Love That Can Heal | The English Patient

Part Two: The Stories That Will Always Stand by My Side
If You Are Standing at the Edge of a Cliff Right Now | The Catcher in the Rye
For Those Who Still Feel Cold in Their Hearts at the Height of Summer | Call Me by Your Name
To Recover the Heart That Perceives Beauty: The Words of Marx
The Endless Craving for What Comes Next in a Story | Story of Your Life
Sometimes the Supporting Character Is More Moving Than the Lead | Hillbilly Elegy

Part Three: Where Did the Adults I Once Looked Up To Go?
This Is Not Just a Fairy Tale | The Happy Prince
The Only One Who Can See the Light Within Me | To My Little Poet