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5 Korean Books that Expanded BTS RM's World
2024-08-09
English(English)
Korean(한국어)
RM, a K-pop star active on the global stage, has been writing autobiographical and expressive lyrics that have struck a chord with his fans worldwide. Often seen reading books in waiting rooms, RM loves reading and even dreamed of majoring in creative writing in college.
Themes of identity, personal growth, and reflections on social contradictions are recurring motifs in RM’s music. In the song Reflection from BTS’s second album, Wings, he delves into existential concerns: “Ttukseom, which has swallowed the night, hands me an entirely different world, I want to be free.” In Silver Spoon (Baepsae) ,” he questions social justice by comparing the generation oppressed by the privileged class to a small bird.
RM’s musical world transcends generations, genders, and borders, and it is closely linked with his reading habits. If literature was “the axe for the frozen seas within” for Franz Kafka, it may be a magnifying glass for RM to explore his inner self.
The five Korean Books that have expanded RM’s world are: Almond by Sohn Won-pyung, which tells the story of a boy named Yunjae who cannot feel emotions; Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, a heart-wrenching epic of a Korean-Japanese family; Human Acts by Han Kang, which meticulously documents the stories of the survivors of the Gwangju Uprising; I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee, a book that provides a candid account of the author’s battle with depression; and Familiar Thingsby Hwang Sok-yong, which narrates the coming-of-age story of a fourteen-your-old boy living in a vast landfill site called Flower Island.
Through reading, RM continues to expand his musical universe.
Author Sohn Won-pyung Translator Sunme Yoon Korean Publisher Changbi (2017) Overseas Publisher Ediciones Temas de Hoy (2024)
Winner of the 10th Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction, Almond portrays the journey of a boy who cannot feel emotions as he forms relationships, learns to understand others, and ultimately undergoes a profound transformation. Through the friendship of two boys who have lost their families and are alone in the world, the story conveys a powerful message about the courage and determination necessary to support each other, grow, and move toward a better world.
Author Min Jin Lee Korean Publisher Literature & Thought (Munhak Sasang) (2018) Overseas Publisher Grand Central Publishing (2017)
Pachinko spans about 100 years, beginning in Yeongdo, Busan, during the Japanese colonial period and reaching Japan in 1989 at the peak of the bubble economy. As we follow the tumultuous history of a family, we encounter major events in modern Korean history, such as liberation, the Korean War, and the division of the Korean Peninsula. The novel poignantly captures the struggles of the zainichi (Koreans residing in Japan), whose lives we previously knew little about.
Author Han Kang Translator Deborah Smith Korean Publisher Changbi (2014) Overseas Publisher Hogarth (2016)
This book narrates the events of the ten days during the Gwangju Uprising from May 18, 1980, and the stories of those left behind. The author vividly depicts the ruthlessness of the state, raising questions about the “inherent cruelty that seems etched into our genes” that has caused similar events in the past and continues to affect the world today, not only in Korea but across the globe.
Author Baek Sehee Translator Anton Hur Korean Publisher Heun (2019) Overseas Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing (2024)
This book is an honest account of the author’s struggle with depression, driven by a groundless sense of thirst and emptiness. Depression is based on hope; without hope, you cannot even feel sadness. This book provides hope that your day, though not perfect, can still be a good one, and that even if you feel depressed all day, life’s small moments of joy can still make you smile.
Author Hwang Sok-yong Translator Sora Kim-Russell Korean Publisher Munhakdongne (2011) Overseas Publisher Scribe Publications (2017)
Familiar Things is set on Flower Island, not a metaphor for a world overflowing with trash but the actual story of people living in a real landfill. The author leaves us questioning the long-standing source of resistance against the final destination of objects and humans discarded by civilization.
세계를 무대로 활동하는 K팝 스타, RM. 그는 자전적이고 서정적인 가사로 전 세계 팬에게 공감을 얻고 있습니다. 대기실에서 책 읽는 모습이 자주 목격되는 RM은 한때 문예창작학과 진학을 꿈꿨을 정도로 독서를 좋아한다고 해요.
정체성, 개인의 성장, 사회적 모순에 대한 고민은 RM의 음악에서 반복적으로 다뤄지는 모티브입니다. 정규 2집 앨범 'WINGS'에 수록된 'Reflection'에는 '밤을 삼킨 뚝섬은 나에게 전혀 다른 세상을 건네, 나는 자유롭다 싶다'는 실존적인 고민을, '뱁새'라는 곡에는 기득권층에게 짓눌린 세대를 뱁새에 비유하며 사회적 정의에 대해 의문을 제기합니다.
세대와 성별, 국경을 초월한 그의 음악 세계는 독서와 밀접한 관계를 맺고 있습니다. 작가 프란츠 카프카에게 문학이 ‘내면의 얼어붙은 바다를 깨는 도끼’라면, RM에겐 내면을 탐구하는 확대경이 아닐까요?
감정을 느끼지 못하는 소년 윤재의 이야기가 담긴 손원평 작가의 아몬드, 재일조선인 가족의 가슴 아픈 대서사극인 이민진 작가의 파친코, 광주민주화운동 이후 남겨진 사람들의 이야기를 철저히 고증한 한강 작가의 소년이 온다, 우울증에 대한 백세희 작가의 솔직한 이야기가 담긴 죽고 싶지만 떡볶이는 먹고 싶어, 1970년대 후반 거대한 쓰레기 매립지 꽃섬에서 살게 된 열 네 살 소년의 성장 이야기를 그린 낯익은 세상.
저자 손원평 번역가 윤선미 국내출판 창비 (2017) 해외출판 Ediciones Temas de Hoy (2024)
제10회 창비청소년문학상 수상작. '감정을 느끼지 못하는 소년'이 타인과 관계를 맺고 이해하며 변화하는 과정을 그린 소설이다. 소설은 가족을 잃고 고립된 두 소년이 우정을 나누고 서로를 지지하며 성장하고 더 나은 세계로 나아가는 데 필요한 용기와 의지에 대한 메시지를 전달한다.
저자 이민진 국내출판 문학사상 (2018) 원작출판 Grand Central Publishing (2017)
소설은 일제강점기 부산 영도에서 시작해 버블경제 절정에 이르렀던 1989년 일본까지, 한국과 일본을 무대로 약 100년에 걸쳐 펼쳐진다. 파란만장한 가족사를 따라가다 보면 자연스럽게 해방, 한국전쟁, 분단 등 한국 근현대사와 겹쳐지며, 우리가 미처 알지 못했던 ‘자이니치(재일동포를 일컫는 말)’의 삶에 아픔을 느끼게 된다.
저자 한강 번역가 드보라 스미스 국내출판 창비 (2017) 해외출판 Hogarth (2016)
1980년 5월 18일부터 열흘간 있었던 광주민주화운동 당시의 상황과 그 이후 남겨진 사람들의 이야기가 담겼다. 작가는 국가의 무자비함을 핍진하게 그려내며 ‘유전자에 새겨진 듯 동일한 잔인성’으로 과거에서 지금까지, 전세계에서 끊임없이 자행되고 있는 현상에 대해 질문을 던진다.
알 수 없는 갈증과 허전함에 시달리던 저자가 자신의 우울함을 솔직하게 적은 책이다. 우울은 희망을 기반한다. 희망이 없으면 슬퍼할 수조차 없다. 이 책은 오늘 하루가 완벽하지 않아도 괜찮다는 믿음, 종일 우울해도 아주 사소한 일로 한 번 웃을 수 있는 게 삶이라는 희망을 준다.
‘낯익은 세상’의 주무대인 꽃섬은 쓰레기장이다. 온갖 더러운 쓰레기가 넘쳐나는 이 세상을 비유적으로 일컫는 것이 아니라, 진짜 쓰레기장에서 사는 이들의 이야기다. 작가는 문명으로부터 폐기된 사물과 인간의 종착지에 대한 저항의 오래된 원천이 어디서부터 비롯되는지에 대한 질문을 남긴다.
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