Recent Books

The Mere Mortal’s Guide to Fine Dining

Colleen Rush; Translated from English to Korean by Kim Eun-jo and Lee In-sun; Kleinix: 284 pp., 15,000 won.

Fine wining and dining and other epicurean fancies are all the rage these days in Korea.

But celebrating a special occasion at a posh restaurant can often be an intimidating experience, from reading the hard-to-pronounce items on the right menu to how to speak to the sommelier about the wine to accompany your duck confit.

This guidebook to dining etiquette and more comes in handy, covering everything, beginning with which fork to use to basic information about wine, seasonal fruit and veggies and cheese varieties. The book also takes you behind-the-scenes into the kitchen to explain the difference between dry-aged and wet-aged beef. Also included are related vocabulary lessons and tips for appreciating the contents of your meal.

As much as the book was written by and for Americans, it focuses on French cuisine and customs. But it also covers information on how to enjoy Japanese food.

-Lee Hyo-won

To You Who Remember Me

Written by Yoon Sang, Photographed by Kim Ki-hong; L Company: 288 pp., 15,000 won

Yoon Sang, a singer-songwriter, has released a photo essay which records his seven-year stay in Boston and New York.

A popular singer in the 1990s with his haunting voice, Yoon is widely known for other hit songs he composed including ``Purple Scent’’ sung by female singer Kang Soo-ji.

But right after he married in 2002, he went to the United States to study music at Berklee College and later moved to New York University.

He said that his family suffered difficulty not only from the language barrier but also from cultural differences, and introduces various episodes and mistakes illustrating these. Yoon also reveals his philosophy for music, showing his evolution from a ballad composer to an electronica musician.

The book portrays his tough but challenging life with vivid photos taken by Kim Ki-hong, president of a music company. The photos showed the scenes from his studio, instruments, memorable tourist spots and other details.

-Chung Ah-young

Lee Mi-do’s `English’ Theater

Lee Mi-do; Jinmyong Publishing: 272 pp., 13,500 won

Theater-goers might well know the name of Lee Mi-do, a translator, often shown on the list on the end credits of major movies.

Renowned not only as an unrivaled movie translator but also a creative writer, Lee pens a guide to studying English through movies such as ``Love Actually,’’ ``As Good As It Gets,’’ ``Titanic,’’ ``Forrest Gump,’’ ``The Shawshank Redemption’’ and ``The Usual Suspects’’ in this book.

The work not only deals with English learning but also the stories of the movies he has translated. Lee has translated about 460 movies and published three English and movie-related books.

This book consists of 10 chapters by genre ― from romantic comedy to horror ― and the stories about the ``movies you’d want to see again.’’

The author mixes the movie introductions with English colloquial idioms and famous expressions that can be spontaneously obtained from the films, along with impressive illustrations.

He cites memorable phrases such as, ``Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot’’ from ``Cinema Pradiso’’ and ``Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get’’ from ``Forrest Gump.’’

A Disciplinant Is a Garbage Man

Ven. Jung Ho; Bulgwang: 208 pp., 12,000 won

Ven. Jung Ho, the writer of new book ``A Disciplinant is a Garbage Man,’’ believes that a temple is like a garbage dump.

The monk explains that temples are places where you throw away sadness and stress, and the monks and disciplinants take the depressing feelings and get rid of them.

The book carries inspiring stories about people who visited Ven. Jung Ho and his ways of trying to help release them from their misery. By seeking peace and solutions together, the monk says he has found inner peace himself, and that he hopes readers can learn to discover the true meaning of both life and death through others’ stories. The problems people have are easy to relate to, from eating disorders, depression and family matters to school studies and relationship problems.

``I hope people can throw away their sorrow and stress here in temples and leave with a clean and comfortable mind. When you need a place to discard your stress, don’t hesitate to call me, the garbage man. It’s my duty and responsibility,’’ he writes in the book.

-Han Sang-hee