Volume 2: A Day That Requires Courage

A word to the reader: Take it slow, one sip at a time.
If I had my life to live over again, I would choose 12

Having a dream
Why the Earth Moved 19
Father's Secret Box 22
Scarlet Letter 29
Funeral 31 of 'I Can't Do It'
The Magic of Faith 38
Life Skills School 40
Another sign 48
The Life Your Heart Wants 58
Wish Picture Book 64
Are You Strong Enough to Overcome Criticism 69
I am your lover 71
Ready to pay the price 78
The Slum Boy's Dream 83
Ticket 85 to San Diego
What is your dream? 92

The courage to look elsewhere
Dangerous Job 99
Thanksgiving Guests 101
Wonderful Journey 109
Courage to Challenge 120
How to Make It Possible 125
Tommy's Car Sticker 130
You can do it, Mom 138
Sometimes we try something different 142
Any reply 145

The belief that someone is by my side
Letter from a Man Who Can't Read 149
Don't be afraid of failure 156
Lessons Learned from My Son 158
164 Facts We're Forgetting
Could you help me? 170
Life Without Giving Up 174
It just stopped for a moment 177
To live a creative life
Things I've Been Waiting For 185
Someone can do something 191
Two Crises 197
Poem for the Suffering 201
Run, Patty, Run 206
211 a little bit every day
The Power of Positive Thinking 217
Saving 219 lives 227
Just one more time 232
Great Man 235
Last Freedom 238

Things we forgot
Paused Time 243
Patience to Learn 249
Great Deal 252
Two Monks 256
The God We Forgot 258
Dolphin's Gift 262
Emergency 266

After Moving the Book: Stories of Living, Loving, and Learning 276

New York Times bestseller for 190 consecutive weeks
USA Today's Most Influential Book of the Past 25 Years
A book read by 500 million readers in 100 countries
20th Anniversary Edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul Released

“I read this book and finally realized.
“The fact that in order to love myself, I must first be grateful to myself.”
_Oprah Winfrey

A classic for ordinary people, offering gentle comfort in life.
The masterpiece of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' series, read by 500 million readers worldwide, has been given a new look to celebrate its 20th anniversary of publication in Korea.
An instant bestseller upon its publication in the United States in 1993, the book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 190 consecutive weeks and has been published in 43 languages ​​worldwide.
It was first introduced in Korea in 1994 (revised edition published in 1997) and has been read by over one million Korean readers to date.
This book, which has established itself as a true 'classic essay', has been loved for 20 years without change, receiving reader reviews such as, 'There was always a copy on the bookshelf at my friend's house, my aunt's house, and my house', 'I read it countless times while studying English', 'I passed it around to the library', and 'I took it out and read it after ten years and it was still good'.

If I had to live my life over again
Next time I will make more mistakes/I will relax and be gentle/I will be a little more stupid than I was in this life/I will take things less seriously if possible/I will seize more opportunities.


I will travel more and see more sunsets/I will go to the mountains more often and swim in the river more often/I will eat more ice cream and less bean dishes/I will suffer a lot of real pain/But I will avoid imaginary pain as much as possible.
Behold, I will be one of those who live every hour, every day/with meaning and discernment.
Oh, I've had many moments, but if I were to start my life over again, I'd have more of those moments.
In fact, I will try not to have any other meaningless/times other than those moments.
Instead of living each day with many years ahead of us, I will live only for this moment.

I've always been one of those people who can't go anywhere without a thermometer, a thermos, a raincoat, and an umbrella.
If I could live my life over again, I would travel with lighter equipment than this.
If I were to start my life over again, I would take off my shoes from early spring and stay barefoot until late fall.
I will go to the dancing place often/I will ride the carousel often/I will pick a lot of daisies.
- Nadine Starr (85 years old)
In particular, the book 'If I Had My Life to Live Over' (Volume 1, Page 12) by 85-year-old Nadine Starr, who lives in Kentucky, USA, which has become so famous that anyone can exclaim 'Ah' just by hearing the title, was first introduced through this book.
Other works that have been widely circulated among domestic readers include 'Poems for the Suffering' by an unknown soldier (vol. 2, page 201), 'All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten' by Robert Fulghum (vol. 1, page 218), and 'The Two Monks' by Irmgard Schlögl (vol. 2, page 256).


This time, Blue Forest celebrated the 20th anniversary of the domestic publication of 『Chicken Soup for the Soul』 by reimagining the book to fit the current era while preserving the original sentiments of the book.
The somewhat old and outdated cover was redesigned to suit a modern sensibility, and the book was bound in hardcover for long-term preservation.
Additionally, with reference to the reader reviews received before the publication of the commemorative edition, volumes 1 and 2 were edited with two concepts: ‘warmth’ and ‘courage.’
The first volume, which covers the themes of love, life, learning, and family, has a new subtitle, "A Day That Needs Warmth," and the second volume, which covers the themes of dreams, courage, faith, and wisdom, has a new subtitle, "A Day That Needs Courage," allowing readers to choose books based on the concept.
Foreign language notation and spelling have been updated to the latest standards.
The warm illustrations by illustrator Kwak Myeong-ju, who also illustrated Jeong Hyeon-ju's essays, "There, We Were," "You and Haruki's Music," and "Hello, Little Musician," add to the enjoyment of reading.


The chicken soup we chose as the title is one of the traditional folk remedies handed down in the United States, a traditional dish that grandmothers or mothers would make for us when we had a cold.
As the title suggests, we believe this book will be a sufficient remedy for those of you who are tired of life and in need of energy and courage.

_From 'A Word to the Reader' (page 6)

The Power of 109 Stories That Leave a Long Aftertaste in Short Breaths
The 109 stories, each two or three pages long, are short but leave a deep impression.
It doesn't matter whether you read from the beginning, open the book to the middle, or start reading from any part.
You can read it however you like.

Jack Canfield, who compiled the book, appeared on Oprah Winfrey's "Super Soul Sunday" and said, "I went around to publishers with the manuscript of 'Chicken Soup', but 144 of them rejected it.
They didn't even read the manuscript, saying, "Who would like such short stories?"
However, the manuscript that everyone had rejected, and that most publishers had even ignored, eventually came out into the world after many twists and turns and set an astonishing record of selling 20 million copies that year alone.
In the United States, it brought a breath of fresh air to the reading market, to the point where it was called a 'change in the publishing world.'
In some ways, it can be said to be the origin of the recent craze for 'short writing' and 'one-line poetry' that has become very popular in Korea.


Publisher's Weekly said, "The secret to this book's success is its touching story of life that resonates with people of all ages, races, and genders."
The experiences of ordinary people are more genuine and moving than the success stories of celebrities.
The story of a boy with a crippled leg who adopts a puppy in the same situation as him ('The Boy and the Puppy', Vol. 1, p. 47), the story of a father who wanted to write but couldn't tell his family so he secretly contributed to the local newspaper ('Father's Secret Box', Vol. 2, p. 22), the story of a teacher who turned Harlem students who everyone else had given up on into members of the U.S. chess team ('The Royal Knights of Harlem', Vol. 2, p. 184), these are good stories of ordinary people who have fallen and gotten back up many times. Instead of giving us false hope, they help us regain our vitality and courage in life.
The story of an old man who melted the frozen heart of a drunkard whom everyone avoided with a single word ('Another Way', Vol. 1, p. 32), and the story of a Mexican native who, when asked what the point of throwing starfish washed up on the beach one by one into the sea, replied, 'That one makes a big difference' ('One at a Time', Vol. 1, p. 39) show the wisdom of a human being without filtering it.

We've divided this soup into real-life stories of famous and ordinary people, divided into ingredients such as love, learning, dreaming, teaching, and parenting.
Our two chefs use beautiful stories from life, touching tales that bring tears to our eyes, and anecdotes filled with wisdom as the main ingredients for their dishes.

_ Page 6, from ‘A Word to the Reader’

Ryu Si-hwa shares her story of living, loving, and learning with a strong yet calm demeanor.
『Chicken Soup for the Soul』 was translated into comfortable and resonant Korean by poet Ryu Si-hwa.
The flat prose format of the writing has become a poem that allows the reader to take a deep breath and read each line ('The Magic of Faith' (Volume 2, page 38), 'Are You Strong Enough to Overcome Criticism?' (Volume 2, page 69)), and the descriptions of the experiences of ordinary people are like scenes from a movie ('A Sheet of Paper' (Volume 1, page 170), 'The World's Most Perfect Family' (Volume 1, page 260), 'Run, Patty, Run' (Volume 2, page 206)).
The translator conveys the power of the story like this.
“When we leave this world, what we leave behind is our story,” and “the story of how we lived, loved, and learned.”
“Every great life begins with a great story,” he said.

Meeting a person means learning the story of that person's life,
It is an encounter with both happy and sad things.

Our lives create stories,
That story again shapes our lives.

When we leave this world, what we leave behind is our story.

That's the story of living, loving, and learning.

All great lives
It starts with a great story.

So the story is not only touching,
It is a great teaching tool.

(…)
What is happiness, what should we live for?
And what else should we not live for?
This book whispers a gentle, yet powerful message into our ears.

_From 'After Moving the Book' (page 268)


A book like a letter to my current self
Last May, Blue Forest Publishing conducted a survey titled, “Looking for the Readers of That Time.”
The intention was to meaningfully incorporate the experiences of readers of 'Chicken Soup' into the 20th anniversary edition.

One reader wrote that the book became a pillar of support during the difficult times of the IMF crisis in 1998, the year after Chicken Soup for the Soul was published in Korea.
How about now, 20 years later? People actually remember those days as "warm and affectionate."
The questionnaire was filled with hopes for a warm book that would 'melt the harsh world and frozen hearts of today', 'awaken dormant emotions when we are tired', and 'be readable for a long time'.
And I emphasized that Chicken Soup for the Soul is a book I want to read with my children, my students, and my parents.
Reader surveys have once again proven that this book is a classic that will be widely read for a long time, regardless of era or age.
Unlike the days when we communicated with readers through small print postcards and radio ads, we now take surveys through Google and promote on Facebook and Instagram. However, the desire to keep a favorite book by your side for a long time and to share it with someone you love remains unchanged.
I hope that Chicken Soup for the Soul will be a book of warmth and courage to today's teenagers and twenty-somethings, and a letter to their current selves from their teens or twenty-somethings in the 1990s when they first read this book.
The last question in the reader survey conducted last May was, 'Chicken Soup is a book like 00 to me.'
I conclude my book introduction with a precious voice that served as a compass until the 20th anniversary edition was published.


Chicken Soup is like a book to me.
Comfort? Blanket? Healing? Hand warmer? Grandma's food? A book that showed me my dreams? Mom? Warm cocoa? Life? Pat pat? Spring day? Sunshine? Mineral water? Rest? Memories? Blanket? Friends? Departure? Best friend? Soybean paste stew? Compass? Dad? Attic? Rest? Scented candle? Pumpkin porridge? Hope? Nourishing food? Grandma's steamed eggs? Jelly? Food for the soul? Jeju Island barley bread...