MIT-educated lawyer, broadcaster, painter, and best-selling author
Not a life of innate talent, but after a period of intense effort
A message of encouragement from Seo Dong-ju, who has made up for his shortcomings with results.
True perfection grows with imperfections.

★ Highly recommended by Orbit, Nam Do-hyung, Park Kyung-rim, and Lee Hye-seong! ★

Perfection doesn't always come from a flawless surface.
Rather, it is only through the traces of enduring and surviving life that we finally encounter a stronger and more shining version of ourselves.
"The Perfect Flaw" is an essay by Seo Dong-ju, a lawyer, broadcaster, and writer, that records the cracks and flaws he encountered in his life, as well as the strength he discovered within them.

Behind the impressive resume of MIT, Wharton School, and California law school, there were countless frustrations, anxieties, and turmoil.
The author does not hide it, but rather reveals it, conveying the message, 'It's okay to be shaken, it's my flaws that keep me alive.'
From the fear of beginnings to memories of failure, love and loss, and even a sustainable approach to life, this book calmly shows how imperfect humans can accept themselves and move forward again.

Life is not perfect.
But Seo Dong-ju's story proves how, in that very imperfection, we can create our own light.

Worry is like a cancer cell.
Clearly, there was nothing there, but when I looked back again, it had spread so far that it had completely consumed my entire brain.
It wasn't there for sure, but it was there before I knew it.
And this gaseous worry spreads like a thread through my fingers, affecting my family and those around me.
(…) Worrying is something that should be done by those who have the authority and position to solve the problem.
If I'm not in that position, then it's not my place to worry.
--- From "It Wasn't There, But It Was There"

I thought back to the moments in my life when I was broken.
I was often broken.
My heart often broke, my mind often sank.
But even in that, I was alive and well.
I always somehow found a reason to smile and a reason to live.
I believed myself to be a fragile flower, but in reality I was a branch that sprouted leaves without roots.
It was a living being that lived on, strong and strong, even when broken like that.
--- From "The Spring Already Within Me"

More important than asking for advice is who you listen to.
People are not omnipotent.
So when we ask someone for advice, that person is basing his/her judgment on his/her limited experience and narrow perspective.
Even if you ask the same question, the answers of someone who succeeded by digging only one well and someone who succeeded by changing their career path are bound to be very different.
The advice of someone who believes the opposite of success is failure and the advice of someone who believes the opposite of success is giving up will also be fundamentally different.
--- From "Failure is Mine"

Life is never perfect.
But if you can find small happiness, it is beautiful in itself.
Rather, it is more beautiful and more precious because it is not perfect.
Happiness is not something grand, it is always there with us.
The important thing is to notice it and enjoy it to the fullest.
Living each day to the fullest is the greatest choice we can make.
--- From "Happiness is small, and that's why it's real"

There will be no perfect blueprint for life in the future.
Over budget, timing issues, and unexpected cracks could lead to a major roof collapse.
But now I know for sure.
Even a broken wall can be rebuilt.
That even plans that go awry can be redone.
Even a small house can be filled with life without any lack if you put your mind to it.
So, today too, I am gradually refining myself in this house that I created.

--- From "Epilogue"