Preface to the Korean edition commemorating the 400,000th copy release
prolog

Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Rule 2: Treat yourself like someone you need to help.
Rule 3: Only date people who expect the best from you.
Rule 4: Don't compare yourself to others, only to who you were yesterday.
Rule 5: If you want to raise your child properly, don't hesitate or avoid punishment.
Rule 6: Before you blame the world, tidy up your room.
Rule 7: Choose the Meaningful Path, Not the Easy One
Rule 8: Always tell the truth, or at least don't lie.
Rule 9: When someone speaks, think of them as someone who is telling you something you absolutely need to know.
Rule 10: Speak Clearly and Precisely
Rule 11: Don't interfere with your children while they are skateboarding. Just let them be.
Rule 12: If you encounter a cat on the street, pet it.

Epilogue
Acknowledgements
commentary
References

Jordan Peterson's masterpiece that shook the world
A special edition commemorating the sale of 400,000 copies, featuring a new Korean-language preface.

Since its publication in 2018, Jordan Peterson's masterpiece, "12 Rules for Life," has sold 6 million copies in 50 countries worldwide, making him a world-renowned scholar. To celebrate the sale of 400,000 copies of the Korean edition, it is being presented in a new form.
Since its publication, "12 Rules for Life" has remained on the Amazon TOP 20 chart for over 250 weeks, demonstrating its long-lasting influence. His YouTube channel has grown to 6.3 million subscribers and 500 million cumulative views.
The special edition of 400,000 copies includes a new preface written especially for Korean readers.
In the preface, he stated that he was greatly surprised by the fact that the book was loved by many readers in Korea, a country with a different culture from his own, and that he had thought seriously about the reason for this for a long time.
Based on Korean history and messages exchanged with Korean readers, he shares his thoughts on the reasons behind this and delivers a message of love and support to Korean readers.

Why are young people around the world crazy about Jordan Peterson?

“There is no scholar more influential in Western society today than Jordan Peterson.” (Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics, George Mason University)

Jordan Peterson, a former professor of psychology at Harvard University and currently a professor at the University of Toronto, is one of the hottest topics in Western intellectual society.
It is no wonder that he has formed an unusually large fandom for someone who has walked the path of an orthodox scholar.
Although he is an orthodox scholar, wherever he goes, a crowd gathers, reminiscent of a pop star's performance.
Over 100 lectures were given in 55 countries around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, and Reykjavik, attracting over 500,000 audiences.
The interview video from the British Channel 4 news program recorded high viewership ratings when it was aired, and the YouTube video uploaded thereafter also received unprecedented attention, surpassing 43 million views.
This interview also became a hot topic in Korea, garnering 3 million views.

"12 Rules for Life" has been ranked #1 on the bestseller lists in over 10 countries, including Korea, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden. Since its publication, it has remained in the top 20 charts for over 250 weeks without ever falling off the charts, and continues to receive much love, recording 60,000 reviews and a 4.8 rating.


“Jordan Peterson belongs to a completely different group of intellectuals than the authors of these types of books.
“He has the ability to convey the most difficult subjects in the most engaging way.”
The Guardian

Young people all over the world are wearing Jordan B.
Why are we so enthusiastic about Peterson?

The best lecture that shook the world

He was very popular with students since his days as a professor at Harvard University.
His erudition, which allows him to freely navigate various academic fields, and his gentle yet bold charisma make it impossible for the audience to become engrossed.
At Harvard, he was nominated for the Levinson Professor Award, given to the best professor, and at the University of Toronto, he was selected as a professor who changed students' lives.
But that's not the only reason young people are excited.
Above all, it is probably because he speaks honestly about the truth of life that cannot be heard anywhere else.
New York Times columnist David Brooks said, "Society's adults have failed to teach young people the practical and useful wisdom they need to survive in this day and age.
Peterson is bridging that gap,' he analyzes.

“He is not someone who became famous because he was lucky.
The reason millions of people are crazy about him is because he says things you can't hear anywhere else.
“What intellectual today has greater influence than he?” (Vox)
This book began as a hobby of Professor Jordan Peterson's, who wrote answers to questions posted on Quora, the best question-and-answer site in the English-speaking world.
The answer to the question, "What is the most important thing everyone should know in life?" is a list of 40 rules.
This list was so well received that I chose 12 of them and wrote this book over the course of three years.

If I had to pick one of his most striking sayings, it would be, "Don't pursue happiness."
“Usually, people think that the meaning of life is happiness.
But what if you're not happy? Does unhappiness mean life loses its meaning? Happiness is unpredictable and easily lost.
It's not something you can get just by working hard.
So it can't be a goal.
If happiness is the purpose of life, then when you become unhappy, your life becomes a failure.”

He said that one of the absolute truths of life is that 'life is suffering'.
Humans eventually get sick and die someday.
No matter how happy I am going through these times, sooner or later, the people I love will leave me one by one, and I too will become sick, weak, and face death.
No one can avoid this.
That is why it is said that life is inherently tragic.
When we turn a blind eye to this, we are prone to crumbling in the face of life's tragedies.
Therefore, rather than being happy, we should aim to find meaning in life and live accordingly.

According to Peterson, life is made up of chaos and order, and the process of mediating between chaos and order.
Life, and our very existence, is built on the interplay between order and chaos, the familiar and the unknown, and we must always strive to strike a balance between the two.
Order is familiar.
If you keep doing things that are too familiar, life becomes boring.
But if I try something too new, I get anxious.
The meaning of life lies on the borderline between chaos and order.
We need to find a harmonious boundary between the two.
That way, even when you're going through the worst times, you can endure without breaking or collapsing.

How to Navigate Life's Tough Seas Wisely

The biggest reason Jordan Peterson's laws resonate so deeply is because he himself has endured a tragic event that was difficult to bear.
This story is described in detail in Rule 12 of this book, 'If you meet a cat on the street, pet it.'
My beloved daughter was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis of unknown cause when she was seven years old.
There were problems in as many as thirty-seven joints.
My daughter lived for over ten years in excruciating pain, her bones breaking every moment.

"Why does reality have to be so unbearable? Why does it have to be this way? How can such a cruel ordeal befall an innocent little girl?" Parents will sympathize, but nothing is more painful than watching their child suffer.
Life falls apart in the face of such trials.
But Peterson learned a valuable life lesson there.
If you become pessimistic, resentful, and give up, an already bad situation will become worse.
Tragedy turns into hell.

“One secret I’ve learned while barely getting through life’s tough times is to think in very short bursts of time.
If you're at a loss about how to spend the next week, think only about tomorrow first, and if you're still worried about tomorrow, think only for an hour.
If you can't think for even an hour, think for 10 minutes, 5 minutes, or even just 1 minute.
People are stronger than you can imagine.
If you can muster the courage to face the challenges right now, you can endure more than you think.
The more difficult and challenging the times, the more we must be able to see the small beauties.
“That way, if you don’t get what you want, your life won’t be completely ruined.”

12 Rules for Life: The Antidote to Chaos

Fundamentally, how can we avoid collapsing in the face of life's tragedies? Peterson has spent the past several decades searching for an answer to this question.
He believes that things that have been passed down over time contain truth.
We delve deep into the world's oldest stories, myths, religions, history, literature, psychology, science, and almost every discipline that can help us unravel the mysteries of life.
So it makes a story that seems ordinary into something special.

“Many of those who are critical of Jordan Peterson are probably surprised to find no arguments against his advice.”
The New Yorker

The laws of life introduced in this book have one thing in common: to not crumble in the face of life's tragedies.
Let's not turn tragedy into hell.
One of the things that makes our lives miserable is comparing ourselves to others.
Rule 4, 'Don't compare yourself to others, only to who you were yesterday,' addresses this issue.
There are so many people in this world who are better than me.
These days, with hundreds of millions of people connected online, even in areas where I feel I have talent and accomplishments, there are countless people who are better than me.
However, among historically famous people, an overwhelming majority came from rural areas.
Growing up in an environment where there weren't many things to compare them to, they were able to grow up properly without losing confidence through experiences of small victories.


How can we solve this problem? Jordan Peterson suggests remembering that life has countless games to play.
Success and failure in life are not determined by a single game.
“If you don’t succeed in one game, you can try another one.
I can choose a better game by considering my strengths, weaknesses, and the situation I am in.
If changing the game doesn't work, then just create a new game." To resent and envy someone means you are still mentally immature.
Anyone can grow if they set their highest goals and focus on today.
And growth, rather than success, enriches life.

There is only one thing you will lose by reading this book,
Now, there is only that meaningless life.

To do that, we must become stronger and braver.
No matter how much you deny it, life is suffering.
It is an undeniable truth.
It's not an easy road.
But this is the only way to overcome life's adversities and avoid being crushed or broken by tragedy.
Rule 1, 'Stand up straight with your shoulders back', introduces the simplest yet most important way to change your life.
In fact, Rule 1 is the most important part of this book.
Because it is a chapter that explains how life takes shape.
Jordan Peterson finds an important lesson in lobsters.
Lobsters are the oldest animals on Earth.
And above all, it has many similarities to humans.
This is especially true of the hierarchical structure.
The lower ranked lobsters avoid fights, cower, and have all the good stuff taken away.


If you give these lobsters antidepressants, they will act proudly as if they were victorious lobsters.
This means that the neural structure is similar to that of humans.
Even humans, when the hierarchy is low, have fewer opportunities to live a better life.
I have no confidence, I am depressed, and I have no will to live.
To live a better life, the first thing to do is to regain your will to live.
The most effective way to do this is to correct your posture.
Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Because the body and mind are connected, simply correcting your posture can change your mindset and the way people look at you.
Numerous studies show that this alone can significantly increase life satisfaction and your chances of success.
In fact, there is a deeper meaning hidden here.
It means acknowledging the unfairness of life and accepting the heavy responsibility without avoiding it.
Because even if you become a victim of life, you have to overcome it, give up immediate gratification, and control your impulses and instinctive desires.
What do you think?
Don't you want to end that meaningless life?
“Peterson’s method is harsh.
But it is ideal.
“For the tens of millions of young people who are being accused of being irresponsible, this book will be the perfect antidote.” (David Brooks, author of “The Character of Man” and columnist for the New York Times)

The global praise for "12 Rules for Life" from intellectuals and the media.

＊There is no intellectual in the world today more famous, influential, and popular than Jordan Peterson.
And there is no scholar more courageous and honest than he.
-Tyler Cowen (Foreign Policy's 100 World Thinkers, Professor of Economics at George Mason University)
＊ A great psychologist.
I learned a lot about humanity from him.
-Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers
Who's Afraid of Jordan Peterson? - The Wall Street Journal
＊ No recommendation is enough to describe the charm of this book.
First, read the first 20 pages.
This is a breathtakingly beautiful piece of writing.
—Howard Bloom, author of The Lucifer Law
＊This is by far the most impressive book I've read in recent years.
His YouTube lectures are great, but his books are more important.
The depth is on a different level.
Be sure to read it.
Read it and share it with your friends.
And if possible, give gifts to your enemies too.
-Daily Mail
＊ Peterson tells me a story he wishes his father had told him.
I'm glad he showed up now.
This book will be a ray of light in our time.
-Chicago Tribune
＊ He scolds his readers to come to their senses and leads them to a beautiful and good world that he believes to be the truth.
This is not a book to be taken lightly.
-The Sunday Times
＊ Jordan Peterson, who turned the world upside down, has spread out his vast knowledge of psychology, philosophy, literature, anthropology, biology, sociology, economics, mythology, and theology.
He plays with ideas like a wizard.
-The Times
＊ Many people who are critical of Jordan Peterson are probably surprised that they cannot find any arguments against his advice.
-The New Yorker
＊ The 12 rules of life presented by Jordan Peterson are truths that will not change with the passage of time.
-Financial Times
＊ It explores profound ideas in an interesting way across various academic fields.
A new star has emerged in the academic world like never before.
-〈Observer〉
＊ Jordan Peterson's lectures have emotional depth, and his books have genuine insight.
-<New York>
＊ Jordan Peterson's book, which boasts a vast amount of knowledge that makes it seem like there is nothing he doesn't know, is not only entertaining but also feels like it contains a passionate sincerity.
There are certainly touching parts and advice worth heeding.
-〈Spectator〉
＊ Peterson delves really deep into the most fundamental ideas of humanity to explain the 12 rules of life.
It has the potential to expand your thinking and change your life.
You will discover things you won't hear anywhere else.
-The Epoch Times