recent books

Thought and Culture of New Korean Religions

Written by Park Kwang-soo; Jipmoon Publications: 646 pp., 33,000 won

From the late Joseon Kingdom until the peak of Japanese imperialism, numerous new religious movements and spiritual cultural movements emerged in devastated Korea. Unlike established religions in the past that focused on propagating to the ruling classes, these new movements catered to the wider Korean populace and were known as “Korean New Religions.”

Park Kwang-soo, professor of Won-Buddhism at Wonkwang University and the director of the Research Center of Religions recently published the book, “Thought and Culture of New Korean Religions.” The author carefully covers the historical and religious culture of the four major Korean new religions: Cheondogyo (Donghak), Jungsangyo, Daejonggyo, and Won-Buddhism.

Professor Park elucidates the thoughts and religious culture of new Korean religions, highlighting the religious pioneers that emerged in Korea during this specific time period and explains how these new movements successfully diagnosed and treated the spiritual illnesses that pervaded Korean society. These new Korean religious movements attempted to reform the unequal and unjust social system through their religious ideas in order to establish a new paradise on earth. Social equality did not remain at the level of doctrinal or theological teaching of religions, but was pursued to actualize human equality in society. Each chapter also provides pictures that Professor Park accumulated over his 10 years of research.

This book will be insightful to those interested in modern Korean history or religion in general. A glimpse into this specific period of Korean history shows the religious response to modernity and the impact that these groups made to its people.

― Shim Jae-yun

What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite

David DiSalvo; translated into Korean by Lee Eun-jin; Momentum Publishing; 356 pp,, 15,000 won

Why do we routinely choose options that don't meet our short-term needs and undermine our long-term goals? Why do we insist we're right even when evidence contradicts us?

In this book, science writer David DiSalvo reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult.

DiSalvo's search includes forays into evolutionary and social psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and marketing and economics ― as well as interviews with many of the top thinkers in psychology and neuroscience today.

― Do Je-hae

The Beginner’s Goodbye

Anne Tyler; Translated from English to Korean by Kong Kyung-hee; Mellon Publishing: 280 pp., 11,200 won

Anne Tyler, one of America’s most beloved authors, has released her 19th novel, after producing a series of best-sellers such as “The Accidental Tourist” and “Breathing Lessons.”

Titled “The Beginner’s Goodbye,” this book is a gentle portrait of grief and longing. It is a story about a heart-broken middle-aged man who lost his wife and is restored by her frequent appearances everywhere ― their house, in the market. How he loved his wife and his descriptions of her in great detail make his grieving so real.

Eventually Aaron meets Dorothy, a socially clueless doctor, his senior. He falls in love with her immediately and begins the healing process.

Aaron's life is full of whimsical, endearing people. He really is beloved, even though he prefers to push people away rather than admit his pain. But he works through it in the end.

The charm of this book lies in its ability to mine the richness of everyday life for moments of pain, humor and illumination.

― Rachel Lee

Broadway Broadway

Dana Chie; Storyteller Camel: 256 pp., 16,000 won

Dana Chie, who worked in theater management in both Seoul and New York, shares her five-year experience of being a professional in the world's most glamorous theater district in her new book "Broadway Broadway."

Many books have been published on musical theater but most of them focus on show reviews whereas this one is more focused on the industry. It begins with an "overture," briefly introducing the trends on Broadway since 2000. Then Chie goes into how a show is produced, managed and promoted and the process of organizing a touring or licensed production. She also writes about not-for-profit theater and theater education programs, which are often overlooked.

Chie observes the changes on Broadway over the years, having realized that not only big box office hits maintain the theater industry in the U.S., but nonprofit theaters and theatergoers who love live entertainment also support it.

This book will give a glimpse of what is happening behind the extravagance of Broadway to theater fans and those who want to work in the industry.

― Kwon Mee-yoo