The secret to becoming 100% yourself with 90% talent: immersion.
100th printing commemorative edition published!

A meticulous seeker, a businessman managing trillions of won, a perfect scorer on the college entrance exam.
They are people who have a single goal and are more deeply devoted than others to achieving it.
They all say that the secret to their success was going beyond themselves.
Even if the answer is not in sight, if we don't give up and continue to try to solve the problem right in front of us, an idea that suddenly flashes through our mind can save us from the swamp of error or lay the foundation for new success.


Professor Hwang Nong-moon of Seoul National University introduces this special moment, which could be dismissed as a coincidence, using a unique way of thinking called “immersive thinking.”
He has been immersed in this topic for 20 years, proving its basis and teaching its practical application.
Meanwhile, Professor Hwang also personally experienced immersive thinking in 1990 and completed the theory that had remained an unresolved problem in the academic world. He is also the protagonist who researched the principles of immersive thinking and conducted experiments on his own to maximize immersion time and efficiency.
Since its first publication, the book has gone through 100 printings. Beyond his own case studies, Professor Hwang has been able to gather the real-world insights of thousands of people seeking to gain insights into their lives, from study and work efficiency to unsolvable problems, by mastering the secrets of immersive thinking.
This gave him even more confidence and assurance in his ability to think immersively, and he published a combined edition to commemorate the 100th printing.
The text has been refined with clearer sentences, examples and related keywords have been organized to suit the current situation, and the luxurious hardcover design befitting a combined edition has been added to increase its collection value.

Even if you play, it's not fun if you don't get into it, and no matter how much money you have, it's difficult to experience happiness if you don't get into it.
Immersion is the way to pursue happiness while also doing what you need to do better than others.
In this book, I have tried to systematize the 'immersive thinking method' that I have repeatedly experienced for a long time.
At first glance, a marathon may seem like a superhuman sport that not just anyone can challenge, but just as anyone can do it with proper training, I realized that immersive thinking is also an ability that anyone can freely utilize if they understand the principles and go through step-by-step training.
Immersive thinking is the best way to sharpen the potential of our brains and is a shortcut to becoming a creative person.
--- p.9, 「Prologue.
From “Immersion, an opportunity to meet the best version of myself”

Csikszentmihalyi said that in order to facilitate immersion, first, the goal must be clear, second, the difficulty of the task must be appropriate, and third, feedback on the results must be fast.
But what happens when the goal is clear, but the difficulty is so high that no amount of thinking will solve the problem, leaving you unable to receive feedback? This is precisely the most disadvantageous situation for immersion.
As the time spent thinking grows longer and the solution becomes elusive, other thoughts will keep creeping in, making it difficult to immerse yourself and concentrate.
But what if we persist in trying to solve that problem? What if we struggle for days, not even days? Our bodies will likely perceive the very act of trying to solve the problem as a major crisis.
"How important is this issue that I spend days and days thinking about it? I'll probably die if I don't solve it."
So our brain declares a state of emergency and focuses all its energy on solving this problem, which is what I experienced as immersion.

--- p.35, from “Natural and Free Flow of Thought”

I gave myself a strong hint that low-pressure diamond research was the most important in the world.
It took some time, but surprisingly, at some point I was believing it and acting accordingly.
Then I started to focus on just one given problem.
First, the problem was set.
What was the most important question in this research topic? Why, at low pressures, does the stable phase, graphite, not form, but the metastable phase, diamond, forms?
This issue was the most important topic in the field at the time.
However, it seemed impossible to solve this problem within the project period.
Perhaps it was something I could never solve even if I tried my whole life with my own abilities.
But I decided to take on the challenge.
I was strongly reminded that if I didn't push myself to do things that seemed almost impossible, I would never be able to unleash the potential hidden within me.
I started to immerse myself in the given problem without letting my guard down, thinking that if I made a mistake, I might end up with neither food nor death.
This attitude led me into a state of complete immersion.
And by maintaining immersion for a long time, I was able to experience both maximum brain activity and ultimate enjoyment at the same time.
The path that I expected to be a thorny path turned out to be the path to heaven.

--- p.59, from "The Discovery of THINK HARD"

In some ways, falling asleep while thinking is a desirable phenomenon.
This is because, during a state of light sleep, thoughts about a problem enter deep into the consciousness, and deep ideas related to the problem often emerge.
The state of light sleep is similar to a state of hypnosis.
Just as hypnosis can help us recall long-forgotten facts, light sleep activates long-term memory.
When I wake up from a light sleep, I feel like my concentration on the problem is increasing discontinuously.
In fact, while the level of immersion in a given problem increases during a light sleep state, the ability to analyze and critique the problem in detail decreases significantly compared to the waking state.
It can be analyzed that in a state of light sleep, the emotional brain and the brain of long-term memory are activated, and the thoughts focused on in the waking state continue in the light sleep state, generating ideas.
If you keep thinking about a given problem while in a state of light sleep, you will develop a strong attachment to that problem, and if this state is repeated for a long time, you will feel that even your values ​​change.

--- p.100, from “The Importance of Thinking Slowly”

Our life races towards death.
After all, we begin to die as soon as we are born.
How should I accept this fate? What can I do about this inevitable death? What can I do to resist death? Then I realized something important.
I discovered a way to resist death.
The time I have left to live is my only chance, and it is up to me whether I make the most of this life opportunity or not.

--- p.206, from “Active Immersion Seen Again Through Death”

There is no need to aim for immersion, which is the final stage, from the beginning.
First, let's practice consistently from the level that we can do now.
And let's take a look at ourselves as we develop.
At some point, you'll want to take it to a higher level: immersion.
It's unlikely that everyone living a busy life will experience the extreme immersion I experienced.
But the one thing that remains unchanged is that these immersive experiences have been the most productive and happiest of my life.
If you go to school or work, your level of immersion is bound to be low, but if you live your life consciously in the direction in which you are most immersed, you can systematically increase your level of immersion. As your level of immersion increases, you can demonstrate your intellectual abilities and even find enjoyment in your work.
--- p.286, from “You Can Immerse Yourself Too”

Once you overcome the barrier of immersion, the content you're studying will sink into your head, and studying will feel more fun than difficult. Without even realizing it, any worries or concerns will vanish from your consciousness.
These changes are typical of increased immersion, as increased immersion stimulates the release of positive chemicals like dopamine in our brain.
When immersion is low, it is natural that even if you put in effort, your skills will not be displayed and your goals will not be achieved properly.

--- p.340, from “How to Easily Increase Immersion”