“It’s better to like something too little than to like it too much.
“Wouldn’t life be more fun if it had too much?”

Main occupation: columnist, side occupation: maximalist
For those who cannot live without buying
Film critic Kim Do-hoon's essay praising taste

Home is mine.
As time goes by, the house becomes more and more like me.
As the things I choose and use accumulate, a side of me that I didn't even know about begins to permeate my home.
There is a place here called 'Aeogae Parksumudangjip'.
This is the house of film critic Kim Do-hoon.
In his house, there are ‘Mao Zedong statues bought in Hong Kong’, ‘native wooden masks bought in Morocco’, and ‘baby bust statues bought in France’ hanging here and there haphazardly.
These objects, each with their own unique birthplace and appearance, are all gathered together, each holding their own memories.
While everyone was jumping on the minimalism bandwagon that was sweeping social media, the author placed unique and colorful objects and lights throughout her home.
And then he says this:
“I’m a bit tired of sleek minimalism!”

In fact, everything is becoming similar.
In the name of fashion and trends, cell phones, cars, clothes, and even the composition and posture of taking pictures have become the same.
"My Impulse Buying Chronicles" is an essay that cutely criticizes all such trends.
We each have our own individuality, our own memories.
And that individuality takes root deep in our lives as tastes over time.
The author examines his own belongings and tells the story of his own unchanging (or changing) tastes and life.
In the process, the time spent learning about and accepting 'the person called the country' is unfolded in a twisted and humorous way.

I am just a hoarder of tastes who wants to browse and collect all the countless tastes that exist in the world.
Wouldn't life be more fun if you liked too much of something rather than too little?
A more fun life doesn't mean a happier life, but being fun and unhappy isn't necessarily a bad thing.
We are all a little unhappy anyway.

--- p.12 From the "Prologue"

The night is beautiful because it is dark.
It is beautiful because it hides too many details of the world we live in.
We have been slowly eliminating the night.
(…) The bluish light of the fluorescent lights consumed our night.
I often think about this when I walk down the street in Itaewon at dawn and see the Jeil Planning building lit up in layers with fluorescent lights.
'If there is such a thing as capitalist hell, this is what it looks like.'
--- p.37 From “Floor Lamp: Your night should be more beautiful than Time’s day”

Even maximalists have moments when they have to stop.
Buying only statement pieces doesn't make you a maximalist.
Even maximalism needs harmony.
I only buy statement pieces. It's a matter of taste.
I'm just the type of person who needs to have a yama.

--- p.75 From "Vintage Blanket: Stories of Things with Yamas Told by an Irresponsible Yamagoer"

The thing I've failed at the most over the years is hiding my wires.
Many interior design magazines and sites talk about how to hide wires.
Take another look at the interior design magazines lying around the house.
There's something that's abundant in your home but rarely seen in the homes in magazines: electrical wiring.
Of course, the photos of houses in interior design magazines are far from how the homeowners usually live.

--- p.99 From “Wires and Power Strips: If You Can’t Hide Them, Show Them”

You have your own individuality, your own memories.
You have a weapon called your own taste.
You have your own Kobe and Misha.
(…) Finding objects that reflect your history and individuality is the most fundamental condition of a maximalist.
A maximalist's home isn't built overnight with items purchased from an interior design shop.
Maximalism is the word furthest from trend.

--- pp.117-118 From "Object: Your Own Kobe and Misha"

For our mothers' generation, bed was a flower garden.
Why on earth? I don't know.
It's hard for me to judge the tastes of other generations arbitrarily because they come from many factors they experienced while growing up.
But if you think about it, for my mother's generation, giving a bouquet of flowers to their lover was the most romantic thing to do.
Flowers were a symbol of love.
Family love is also love.

--- pp.141-143 From "Mom's Blanket: The Romance of Endurable Floral Patterns"

Everyone has embarrassing moments.
But the moment of chasing trends in the midst of 2000s fashion is beyond the level of shame that one human being can bear.
So if you really hate me, I strongly recommend you use that picture as my obituary photo.
I will not be able to die in peace and will appear before you as a ghost.
And I'll tie you up in a knit bolero, poke your eyes in a shaggy cut, and strangle your neck in bootcut jeans.

--- p.171 From "Shaggy Cut: Those Days, Between Coolness and Mistakes"

After living in Seoul for 20 years, I have become almost a perfect Seoul native.
I became a fan of Pyongyang cold noodles.
I have become a Seoul resident who can distinguish the taste of Pildongmyeonok, Euljimyeonok, Eulmildae, and Uraeok.
But I'm not ready to give in to the Seoulites who turn up their noses at wheat noodles.

--- p.221 From "Soul Food: The Red Flavor of the South That Can't Be Satisfied with Sophisticated Pyongyang Naengmyeon"