Recent Books

Onward

Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon; Translated by Ahn Jin-hwan and Jang Se-hyun: Segyesa Publishing: 512 pp., 17,000 won

Renowned for creating a new culture and lifestyle over coffee, Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. However, the company began waning from 2007. Howard Schultz, CEO of the company, who stepped down in 2000, returned to his post in 2008 to revive the company and began an innovation project which totally changed Starbucks.

On Feb. 26 2008, Starbucks stores around the United States were temporarily closed and its barristers were educated on how to improve the service and the taste of coffee. The incident was remembered as the symbol of the company’s renovation.

From this event, Schultz pushed ahead with a two-year innovation project to restore the early management spirit and reinvigorate his business. As a result, the company succeeded in achieving the second peak with the highest sales in 2010 and expanding overseas branches.

The book portrays the dramatic challenges facing Schultz and the process of how he made a breakthrough with various innovative and creative ideas.

― Chung Ah-young

Viva! Fashion Designers

Kang Min-ji; Ruby Box: 416 pp., 18,900 won

From Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, Vivienne Westwood, Thomas Burberry to Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada, 26 prominent designers and their eponymous brands in the modern fashion scene are revived through the illustrations and intriguing stories.

The book traces the history of the international luxury brands through personal stories of the designers. It shows how such designers rose as the world top artists and put their brands as the most sought-after items among many fashion-savvy youngsters after overcoming the difficulties and challenges ahead of them.

The stories explore how the designs and patterns of the brands evolve in accordance with the needs of customers in each period. Every chapter of each designer features a unique history of the brand, strategy for success, changes of the designs and the trends of the time.

For example, Louis Vuitton, who was born in Jura, France, decided to go to Paris and traveled the distance by foot. He picked up several odd jobs during his journey and among them, he showed his talent in packing travel luggage of the noble class and picked up the idea of manufacturing travel cases using his experience.

Spicy Happy Table

Seol Dong-soon; Iroomnamu: 200 pp., 14,500

What differentiates kimchi from other pickled vegetables is the spicy pepper _ the red stuff is a key ingredient in the Korean cuisine that can give anyone a biting tang.

The Jeolla Provinces, with its relatively warm climate of the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, is particularly known for its high quality of red pepper. Sunchang is especially known for the produce and boasts a “gochujang” (red pepper paste) recipe named after the city that has been handed down from one generation to the next. Joenju is famous for its “bibimbap” (mixed vegetable rice), which features a scoop of sweet-and-spicy gochujang sauce.

Renowned culinary specialist Seol Dong-soon is none other than a native of Sunchang who is best known for inheriting the art of making gochujang the traditional way.

Gochujang is delectable by itself. The versatile base is created by marinating meats and spicing up stews. Seol has penned a recipe book that presents 100 delicious ways of using gochujang, for barbeque sauces and pickling vegetables. Seol also shares secrets to bettering different types of kimchi, from the generic cabbage kind to water-based ones.

― Lee Hyo-won

My Old Montblanc Fountain Pen

Min Byung-il; Aura: 240pp., 13,500 won

Min Byung-il, a photographer and art professor, unravels the story of his collections such as old books, lamps, letter openers, typewriters and radio tubes.

He collected the items when he was studying in Germany. He visited numerous flea markets and antique shops and found these old artifacts.

In the book, he tells the story of art and memories related to his collection. For instance, Min shows the transfer from French Art

Nouveau style to German Jugendstil in the early 20th century through a Jugendstil lamp and font.

The artifacts Min found in the flea markets might look like rubbish to some, but the author has captured the artistic beauty of them all.

― Kwon Mee-yoo