0.
Prologue

I decided to shake up my life once every ten years.
_What is the lifestyle I want?
_Do I really need to quit what I'm doing and plan for a year?
_The ultimate goal is not greater success

The first year-off started without a plan
_After finishing the year-off full of coincidences

Once every ten years, as a periodic life project
The Power of Intentional Pause
_Questions & Tips

1.
Preparing for Take-off

To focus entirely on present life
_It's time to leave again

Training to understand myself
_Signs of Distress: Healing the Root Causes of Stress
The Truth About Life Revealed by 'The Child Within'
_If I could live a different life, what would I be doing?
_My Pursuit of Beauty: Creative Entrepreneurs
_Questions & Tips

Planning for the second year-off
_Finding the lifestyle we want together
_Choose 'how to live' before 'where to live'
Finding a job that fits your desired lifestyle
_Choosing Korea as a base camp
_Questions & Tips

Why was it so hard to leave?
_Questions & Tips

2.
Take off

Training a new mindset
_Questions & Tips

What-If experiment begins!
_What if you opened a cafe?
_What if I try writing?
_What would it be like to live in Hongdae, a city full of inspiration?
_Questions & Tips

3.
Full flight

Tea time with strangers
Can spiritual satisfaction and financial stability coexist?
_A podium for people living their own lives
_What this conversation taught me
_Let's make conversations with strangers a daily routine.
_Questions & Tips

Tea time with people in the same industry
A virtuous cycle of learning while sharing information
_Rekindling a forgotten passion
Meeting with Korean AI startups dreaming of global expansion.
_Discover new career possibilities
_What this conversation taught me
_Questions & Tips

What if you tried writing a book?
_Publishing Class at an Independent Bookstore
_What topic can I write a book on?
_A chance encounter with the editor

4.
Cruising Altitude

Checking altitude in the middle of a planned journey
_My know-how when making important decisions
_Mid-term check!
_Questions & Tips

Betting on a book publishing project
_80% of time spent on core projects
_Questions & Tips
_20% of your time for precious pleasure
_Living simply and finding the 'just right' feeling
_Questions & Tips

You don't need to be understood by everyone.

5.
Turbulence

What if you settled in Zurich?

What am I doing now?
_The year I had planned was coming to an end
_An unexpected seed
_Finding the inner piece
_Questions & Tips
_The satisfaction that this is enough
_The habit of building challenge muscles
_Questions & Tips

An unprecedented layoff
_Questions & Tips

6.
Preparing for Landing

Leave myself to nature
_The beauty of repetitive daily life
_Things that can only be seen from a distance
_Everyone has their own mountain
_And Mom's Mountain
_Reversal of life priorities
_Questions & Tips

Moments that came after the book was published
_Unexpected help and kindness
_Questions & Tips
A vision that becomes clearer through the process of asking and answering questions

7.
Landing

What if you settled in Munich?

Exploring a new career at a turning point in the era
_What if we joined the journey of an AI startup?
_Are there any jobs that have offices in Munich?
_Questions & Tips

Last night

8.
Arriving, New Home

What looks better and where my heart is headed
There is no right choice, only my choice.
_It feels like wearing clothes that fit perfectly

Living life as a complete me
_Questions & Tips

9.
Epilogue

Year-off: A year later, have you found the life you wanted?

Two years later, the changes are still ongoing!

About that unfulfilled longing that lingers in my heart

Final Questions & Tips

10.
Bonus: Another Sabbatical Story

Attila Armstrong: "Anyone who steps outside their comfort zone will inevitably experience growth."

Han Ki-yong: "At 43, I started to think about what I wanted for the first time."

Mor Schlesinger: "A sabbatical is certainly exciting, but it requires thorough preparation."

Cha Hyun-na: "A time to focus solely on getting to know myself."

Why do young people today dream of a 'reset'?

At one time, 'quiet quitting', which refers to the phenomenon of working passively and performing only the minimum amount of work within an organization, was a hot topic.
However, these days, there are increasing cases of people choosing to study abroad or go to graduate school after quitting their jobs, or leaving their current industry to move to a new field or even start their own business.
It's not just a simple deviation, it's a movement to completely redesign one's career and lifestyle.


The New York Times called this “mini-retirements,” introducing a way to intentionally quit work for a year or several months and experience other aspects of life, such as travel, creation, learning, and self-reflection.
Forbes called it “an antidote to burnout,” while The Wall Street Journal saw it as “a strategic career gap.”
Domestic trend expert agency Carrit selected “career reset” as the current megatrend among Korean MZ generation.


Terminology doesn't matter.
What they have in common is that taking a break is not a career break, but rather a reorganization.
Of course, in this case, the meaning of ‘rest’ is quite different from before.
It's not just a simple rest or a trip, it's a strategic retreat that explores sustainable ways to make yourself healthier and happier.
The new book, "The Dangerous Life Book," contains the author's vivid story of quitting a job that others envied and taking a year off to redesign the life she truly desired, not based on what others thought.


Designing a 10-Year Life Project

The author says that a sabbatical year that began with a sudden layoff in his late 20s brought about surprising results that changed his life for the next ten years.
For a year, I left home and tried to check off items on my bucket list that had been on my mind: living in Europe, spending more time with my family in Korea, starting my own business, and working on creative projects (running a cafe, writing, etc.).
And after the sabbatical year, which was full of twists and turns, came to an end, the author, who, contrary to his initial worries, felt that his new job and environment had brought him 'one step closer to the life he had hoped for,' decided to make this his life project.
A project where you take a year off from your daily routine once every ten years to actively explore the career and lifestyle that best suits you.
The book unfolds around the second sabbatical year that began as part of this.


My first sabbatical began by accident in my twenties, but the legacy of that experience was so profound that I planned and implemented a second one intentionally.
But the sabbatical year I took in my late 30s required even greater courage, as I had more to let go of.
I quit my high-paying, good job, packed up most of my worldly possessions, and decided to live like a nomad, with no clear next step.
This vividly records the story of the sabbatical year that began lightly(?) as a 45-day cross-country trip across the United States, which unfolded through Korea and Europe.
It realistically and without exaggeration captures not only the unexpected opportunities that came during that period, but also the unexpected difficulties and anxieties.


If both staying still and changing are dangerous,
Why not experiment to see what life suits me better?!

As I become more comfortable with my current job and duties, the thought of ‘what if…’ keeps popping up in my mind.
"What if I started my own business?" "What if I lived abroad for a year?" "What if I studied OOO right now?" "Is it okay to switch careers now?" "Is there a job with more flexibility in working hours and space?" ... ...

But most of them just end up as imagination.
I'm afraid of a gap in my career, anxious about a decrease in income, and most of all, worried about how my family and society will view me, and whether I can handle the anxiety and risk.
The author was the same.
But still, I felt sad and frustrated when I thought that the same life would continue to repeat itself.
So it took a lot of courage to stop, explore, and experiment.


What's scarier than a career break is an unsustainable life.

This book is not a relaxing healing essay or travel story.
It is an honest account of the changes and possibilities that those who allow themselves to 'pause' encounter.
It also proves that the more you explore and experiment with yourself, the more solid your career becomes.
Of course, it's understandable that many people fear career breaks or the uncertainty of the future.
However, the author, who has experienced two sabbatical years, confidently says that the time spent resting was an investment that made his future brighter.
He emphasizes that if you spend that time intentionally, sincerely, and boldly, anyone will learn new skills, gain confidence and direction, and acquire powerful tangible and intangible assets.

So this book encourages readers to 'start your own journey.'
I'm not simply saying that everyone should take a sabbatical.
You don't necessarily have to take a year off, quit your job, or move out of your house.
You can design it according to your own rhythm, your own values, and your own life.
Throughout the book, you'll find questions and worksheets to help you with such design.
In addition to the author, the book also includes stories from various people from Korea and abroad who experienced sabbatical years and created amazing stories.
I hope more people will design their own sabbaticals and write their own wonderful stories.