"We need a single sentence that captures my heart."
The longest-running humanities bestseller that changed the lives of 300,000 readers.

The revised and expanded edition of Jeon Seung-hwan's humanities essay, "When I Don't Know What I Want," which is the #1 humanities bestseller in bookstores nationwide, selected as the "Book of the Year" by Kyobo Bookstore and Yes24, and beloved by 2.5 million readers, has been republished to commemorate the 5th anniversary of its publication and sales of 300,000 copies.

This book, which provides heartwarming comfort and courage to those who have become helpless and do not know what they truly want because they are just living day to day without thinking, became a hot topic on social media immediately after its publication, receiving praise such as “a book that opened the way when the future seemed dark,” “a book that helped me escape the gaze of others,” and “a book that kept me from crying with deep comfort.” It also received rave reviews from numerous bookworms in online and offline book clubs, and a series of recommendations followed.
Not only was it widely loved by readers around the world as it was simultaneously exported to six countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, but it also held the top spot on the humanities bestseller list at major domestic bookstores for the longest period of time and was selected as the most loved 'Book of the Year' throughout the year.

The book not only conveys honest insights and wisdom about life, spanning various fields such as humanities, Eastern and Western classics, philosophy, history, poetry, novels, and essays, but also introduces and shares with readers over 150 "life sentences" that gave the author the courage to get back up and the strength to move forward when he lost his way in life.
I look inside myself calmly and constantly ask myself questions about what I truly want and how I should live my life going forward, and I find the answers.

The revised and expanded edition for 2025 includes an additional chapter with the keywords "hope" and "desire," taking you beyond simply introspecting yourself to a new journey of striving to become the person you desire.
The author's wondrous experiences of trying to fill life with truth and richness through the true voice of his heart, of how the big and small changes that resulted from this accumulating and the colors of life becoming brighter, and of sentences that encouraged and inspired him along the way, have been added.
In addition, it brightens the eyes of weary readers by adding new illustrations that bring comfort and peace to the mind.
As readers listen to the author's new story of transforming life into positivity, they will clearly discover how to find the light in life at their own pace.

We each have our own world.
Even when you have someone you truly care about and love by your side, sometimes you need to take care of your own world on your own.
Just as trees and flowers need appropriate spacing to grow straight, we too need spacing to long for.
By respecting that appropriate distance, we can cherish and love our loved ones more, and we can also grow into better people.
--- From "The Appropriate Distance to Heal Wounds"

Even when you are lonely, don't be lonely alone.
When you read a passage that touches your heart, or when you see a movie, a piece of music, or any other art form, know that your heart is connected to someone else.
When you're lonely, there's always someone out there who's lonely with you.
So, after enduring that loneliness, someday, small warmth will come to you again.
As the extremely cold winter passes, spring comes as if by magic.
--- From "Looking back, I was always alone"

Living my life is not like cruising on a peaceful, calm lake.
Rather, it is like sailing the great ocean yourself.
Sometimes you will face typhoons and rough waves, and there will be many times when you will go through difficult times.
But after going through all that, you will surely find a sublime meaning and value in life that you can never obtain by staying only in a small lake.
With a strong attitude towards life that is unshaken by any difficulties.
--- From "Confidently and Freely"

When two people in love meet, the first thing they do is hold each other's hands.
Brinkmann says that our lives are also a journey of reaching out to others and then holding their hands.
The sentence, "Life is about reaching out to each other and holding each other's hands," accurately and beautifully describes the fact that we are relational beings.
--- "You and I, we are together in this world"

Even amidst countless hardships, can we maintain a positive mindset that allows us to endure life willingly? Depending on our attitude toward life, we either approach happiness or sink into sadness.
Because life doesn't force us to make choices, the direction of our lives is determined by our individual choices.
Just as the land comes to life and becomes rich only after the rain, a life of enduring suffering can become the soil that sprouts new opportunities.
I think what we need is the belief that we can become stronger by enduring life now, and the courage to embrace the process and grow.
Life may sometimes leave us with scars, but those scars will become beautiful and honorable marks that prove the path we have walked.
--- From "The Joy of Enduring Life Willingly"

“Humans are imperfect, and this imperfection is our true nature.” Montaigne’s words seem to whisper these words, giving us great strength as we struggle to become objects of envy, to gain recognition, and to pursue perfection.
It's okay to not be perfect, what matters is loving your life, learning and growing in it.

--- From "To You Who Still Silently Grows"