It contains carefully selected must-read literary works from middle school Korean language textbooks.
Includes 27 essays filled with life wisdom, including Jang Young-hee's "Mother's Tears."

Through “Must-read Middle School Literature: First Steps - Essays,” you can discover works that express a variety of themes in a free format and unique writing style.
Your thoughts and heart will grow further as you experience the profound life wisdom and gentle emotions conveyed through these essays.

I started the bike by rocking my body back and forth.
The bicycle started moving forward.
Acceleration occurred without even pressing the pedal.
Like a hawk experiencing spring for the first time in its life, I became one with my bike and ran down the mountain, making strange noises that I couldn't even recognize.
My heart was pounding as if it was going to burst, and I was caught up in a dizzying sense of speed.
Before I knew it, my feet were pedaling and the bike was passing ditches and garbage cans.
I felt like an adult in an instant and ran down the street to town.

That day, I learned a simple, yet world-changing secret, etched into my muscles and brain.
Once you're on the saddle, if you don't keep going, you'll fall over.
If you still don't know what to do after trying and gaining experience, leave it to nature's judgment - your instincts.

--- From the text "One Day a Bicycle Came into My Life (Seong Seok-je)"

The voyage of life, like wandering on a vast ocean, is filled with fear and is difficult, incomparable to overcoming the brief loneliness of a new semester.
Life is full of hardships and demands endless patience, but the waves that we face alone are high and rough.
It is at this very moment that we desperately need a friend to share our soul with.
When I spend time with a friend who confirms the camaraderie of going through the rough seas of life together, or who gives me the feeling of being a warm companion in my life, I feel the courage to believe that this world is worth living.
If you are a person who exchanges such a strong friendship with another person, a friendship where you can sense your friend's situation just by hearing their voice, a friendship where you can tell what your friend wants just by looking at them, then you can at least say that your life is not a failure.

--- From the text “A Friend Who Walks the Desert Together (Yang Gui-ja)”