Recent Books
Have a Little Faith
Mitch Albom; Translated from English to Korean by Lee Su-gyung; Sallim: 352 pp., 12,000 won
After ``Tuesday With Morrie'' was first published in Korea in 2002, it became a must-read book. The book sold more than two million copies over eight years here.
Now its sequel ``Have a Little Faith'' has been released 13 years after ``Morrie'' came out. His new book shot to the top spot in the bestselling list of the major bookstores in the United States.
Like ``Morrie,'' this book is a true story containing conversations with his mentors Albert Lewis, a rabbi to deliver his eulogy and Rev. Henry Covington who takes care of the homeless and the poor.
For Mitch, who didn't resort to religion before he met the two different men, the two big worlds ― Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do ― opened the different new world of the truth and meanings from their holy faiths.
The stories of the two men are inspiring for those who want to change their lives and the world with hopeful messages.
-Chung Ah-young
Chocolate English
Song Eun-jung; Gldanji; 224 pp., 11,000 won
Kim Jong-won, 68, who couldn't even finish elementary school because of poverty, can speak English freely with foreigners and understand foreign movies and pop songs without Korean captions.
He studied English by himself for 40 years after he first encountered English when an American soldier gave him some chocolate during the Korean War (1950-53).
His stories are compiled by a professional writer. Kim tries to tell the message to readers not to give up studying English. The best way to have a good command of English doesn't lie on good education nor textbooks but strenuous effort and confidence.
Kim worked as a car washer and a street vendor to make a living but didn't give up studying English. After spending hard times, he managed to get a job as an interpreter in a small firm. His story has also been aired on several television programs.
The book is about a human story along with learning English skills.
Always as if Voyaging
Lee Ji-sang. JoongAng Ilbo: 264 pp., 12,000 won
Travel for many is an adventure, a thrilling escape from the humdrum of reality, a parenthesis.
The author of this book writes about living everyday life like an escapade. In his early 30s, he quit his lucrative yet tedious job at a major corporation to realize his dream of traveling around the world. For 20 years he roamed the deserts of Africa, open air markets of India and the beaches of New Zealand ― in search of anonymity and endless possibility.
But traveling on end, too, brought a sense of monotony, and he enrolled in graduate school to study sociology. Lee has penned many popular books about wanderlust, but this volume is different in that he examines it from a sociological point of view.
The book reads like a poetic, philosophical essay, but is in no way esoteric.
``Where you are, what you do, what you think or have in plan or strive for are not important ― rather it is the `shakeup' that speaks to you and pushes you forward in the very act of leaving, returning, settling down and rising back up to take off again,'' he writes.
-Lee Hyo-won
Jeju Trip Bible
Bar & Dining; Sangsang Publications: 320 pp., 15,000 won
Jeju Island has become a popular destination for those looking for either a refreshing weekend or a casual business meeting.
Thus, books about Jeju Island already take up a large proportion in the travel section of various bookstores in Korea, but monthly travel magazine Bar & Dining aims to offer something different with its new travel book ``Jeju Trip Bible.''
Like any other travel book, it includes photos and descriptions, but the quality wins over others thanks to its more in-depth content. The photos and articles written by professional traveling writers pay off.
One of the most distinctive chapters is the ``Olle'' chapter, which gives a detailed tour along the complete 16- walking trails that have attracted many visitors over the past couple of years. The chapter helps the reader to choose the perfect route depending on their preference, as each trail has different features and backdrops.
The illustrations and photos also manage to bring out the essence of the island without clustering the pages with too much information.
From museums, tourist spots, golf clubs to restaurants, the book will definitely come in handy for a trip to remember.
-Han Sang-hee