Because stories about living cannot be left out of stories about eating

Pain is a signal from the body rejecting food that does not suit it.
People who say you have to eat well to live well live a healthy life without eating well
The story of a sick body that chose the honest 'fool' to make a living
A minority's "eating differently" and "living differently"

"I imagined the taste of pajeon I couldn't eat" ─ The life of a "foodie" who became an "accidental gourmet": reading and eating.

There are people who must not eat well in order to live well.
As can be seen from the popularity of 'mukbang' and 'gourmet tours' amid the 'slow aging' craze, our lives are full of conflicts surrounding 'eating' and 'living'.
Among people who are desperately trying to survive by eating, there are those who have changed their eating habits not for health but for survival.
Shin A-young is the author of “Studying Daecheon Village,” which records stories surrounding the village where she was born and raised, and “My Small and Soft World,” which explores everyday life in the village.
One day, after going on a 'hospital tour' to treat the pain that suddenly came and ruined her daily life, Shin A-young ends up living the life of a 'food minority', having to give up rice, her staple food, and eat only a few grains and vegetables.
Healing body and mind by working at the village library and living among neighbors.
As I read about food after becoming an 'accidental gourmet', I step into a new world of gastronomy, and as I eat books instead of hot places, I open my eyes to my identity as a 'foodie minority'.


《The Garden, the Wheat Bugs, and the Sacred Hand》 is a collection of stories whispered by a storyteller who reads, writes, and tends a small garden with the people of Daecheon Village at the foot of Geumjeongsan Mountain in Busan, drawing from the lives of minority groups.
The paradox of limited food choices but a diverse culinary world, a narrowing of the radius of life but a broadening of the world of the mind, leads us on a journey of a suffering person seeking salvation in everyday life and becoming an "honest fool" to continue his arduous practice.
As you wander through the field of writing filled with vivid descriptions and affectionate hearts, you will find yourself transforming from a listener to a storyteller.
No matter what kind of life you live, the story of eating cannot be left out of the story of living.

Now, I hope to live more deeply encountering and communicating with everything in the world ‘here’ where I am, rather than in my ‘original’ life before I got sick.
It is a life of listening carefully to the voices of countless things connected to me and responding sincerely.
I hope that by taking good care of myself like that, I can soon move on to a life where I can also take good care of those around me.
--- p.14

After becoming a fool, many things I had taken for granted began to look different.
It occurred to me that a fast and efficient medical system and treatments that focus on relieving immediate symptoms might not be the 'normal' or 'natural' way to go.
Looking back, it seems like I was too dependent on hospitals and medications to escape the pain.
I was just trying to find an easy way out.
Pain was a signal from the body, but I didn't properly notice or look at that signal.
… … So, recovering your health is not a salvation that comes as a miracle one day, but rather a process of correcting yourself in your daily life.
Only by living a solid and well-organized daily life can I achieve a healthy life.
To do that, I try to become a more honest fool every day.

--- p.58

'I thought I was okay because I was used to this life, but I guess that's not the case.' After a few years of controlling my diet, there are times when I feel like I've gotten the hang of this lifestyle.
Dieting has become a habit, something that requires minimal energy, rather than something that requires effort.
That doesn't mean I've become detached from all food-related desires.
Some days, I feel depressed because I crave a specific food, and other days, I feel depressed because I want to enjoy the simple pleasure of sharing delicious food with those close to me.
Seeing someone enjoying something makes my mouth water, and I feel a little lonely when I'm among people who share time and feelings over food.
--- p.76

While I was worried about how I would survive without sweets, each day passed by somehow.
As time went by, I realized even more clearly that humans are adaptable animals.
After a while, I discovered another sweetness I had never known before.
It wasn't a thrilling taste that stimulated the five senses, nor was it a strong taste that instantly changed my mood, but it had its own charm.
Now I find a subtle sweetness in cooked vegetables, in soybean paste soup, and in freshly cooked rice with oats, white beans, and whole wheat.
--- p.175

I met a rice weevil.
It was written, 'A pest that infests rice, barley, wheat, sorghum, and corn that have been set aside.'
Adult bugs live for three to four months and lay over a hundred eggs, so it's understandable why so many bugs can multiply so quickly in a house.
If you look closely, the reason the bugs got tangled up was my laziness, so it wasn't something to blame the diligent weevil for.
I'm just trying to survive by eating weevils too.
--- p.218

My dad said something else while telling me to eat a lot of tofu.
“When I die, you live with your mom.” I thought it was so out of the blue, so I didn’t say anything in response.
I took those words to mean that I should try my best to help my mother live a little less painfully.
I didn't know it then, but looking back now, I realize that my father was always so deeply concerned about my mother's and my health.
Remembering my father's last words, I leave the house with my mother today and go to the Oriental medicine clinic.
We are mourning so bravely.

--- pp.247-248