The heart to start


Tolerating my ugliness
Kim Gyul-wool

#1 Multiple Self: The Power That Disarms Verbs
#2 Reading and Writing Life: What if I Hate This?
#3 The Man Beyond the Book: No matter how great the book may be,
#4 The Maker: On Creation Beyond Words

What I like to talk about when I talk about running
Lee Seung-hee

#1 Breathing and Pausing: Not How Fast, But How Long
#2 Influence: On the ability of 'me' to reach somewhere
#3 Record: Loving with Trouble

The love that moves me
Jeong Ji-hye

#1 Private Bookstore: The First Story: Beginnings, Anxiety, and the End
#2 BTS LITERALLY SAVED ME: On Love That Copes With Anxiety
#3 Private Bookstore: The Second Story: The Beginning of Together Yet Apart

Courage that I don't even know about
Isul-ah

#1 Gwasul: To the distant past
#2 Hyunseul: To the one who is too close now
#3 Misul: I don't know, but to a colorful future

Kim Gyul-wool, Lee Seung-hee, Jeong Ji-hye, Lee Seul-ah
The unique and clear courage of those who set out first

While keeping most of the original form of the conversation intact, the readability as 'readable content' was improved by supplementing the parts that were somewhat rough in the process of transcribing the spoken words into text.
The conversation was divided into topics, as if the scenes in a movie were changing.
Here, I tried to convey the expressions and atmosphere of the scene at the time of the conversation, which cannot be fully conveyed through text alone, in the form of a geographical text, in parentheses, in an attempt to preserve the sense of being there as much as possible.
In an actual script, the script is as important as the lines themselves and enhances the actors' detailed expressiveness, so the recording of these conversations is also vivid, as if looking at a script book for a two-person play, thanks to this device.
Here, expressions that are commonly used in real conversations, such as ‘bread burst’ and ‘mouth gaping’, are included without any addition or subtraction.
This captures Park Sparrow's characteristically lively and considerate way of speaking, leading to a deep conversation.
As we begin and end the four conversations, and as we write about each god, Park Sparrow's writings fully capture the excitement of being the host of the conversations, and can also be read as short but powerful biographies of the person or author.
As a representative of 'those who stand behind the starting line' and the person who led the four interviews, Park Cham-sae organized the message he wanted to convey in each interview in his own sensuous language.
His writing, which has been consistently published in a newsletter called 'Yeonseo', already has a solid readership and is establishing its own unique domain.
This small book, crafted from insights gleaned from four interlocutors and his delicate language, contains a world vaster than that.
The conversation that took place at that time can also be viewed as a video via QR code.
Online content mentioned during the conversation was also made available for immediate review, expanding the reading experience beyond the limitations of the printed page.
During the process of compiling the book, additional photos of the conversation scenes, captured with meticulous attention by two talented photographers of the time, Yeo Na-young and Ryu Han-kyung, were taken, thereby enhancing the completeness of the book and completing its collection value.


As I look at your footsteps, I also gain strength and courage in my fingertips.

The messages that each author conveys through this conversation are unique and clear.
Kim Gyul-wool, who runs the YouTube channel “Gyulwoo Bookstore,” is a radio DJ, writer, music maker, and dancer, and carries out various selves, saying, “I have to endure my own shortcomings.”
This is the best we can do now, but I believe there is plenty of opportunity and time for things to get better in the future.
If you have the desire to do better and the acknowledgement that you are not that great, you can become a little more generous.
It also fits in with his motto of ‘doing what you want to do.’
If he had not overcome his shortcomings and started out, we would not have seen the Winter Bookstore, the many books he wrote, or the sight of him making music and dancing.
If that were the case, wouldn't our lives have been a little more dry?
So what a blessing his imperfect beginning was to us.
Seunghee Lee, who majored in dental technology and worked in a dental clinic, suddenly changed her career path and became a marketer. During the process of changing careers, she wrote down every story without fail, and realized the importance of 'recording' and began writing 'her own writing.'
He was a man who threw himself into unfamiliar environments in the race called life, took on unstable situations, and enjoyed them to some extent.
Just doing it without making any special plans.
Since there is no final destination, let's just have fun going there for now.
That's what he says, "What I like to talk about when I talk about running."
It's truly Lee Seung-hee-like that she chose to regret doing something rather than regret not doing it, and that when times get tiring, instead of just resting, she overcomes them by blocking out unnecessary stimulation and broadening herself through new endeavors.
Jihye Jeong, who plans and runs a 'private bookstore' that provides book prescriptions for just one person, talks about 'the heart of love, affection, and the courage it gives.'
While it's important to plan perfectly, I also felt pressured to keep doing something, thinking, "Let's just do something."
Nevertheless, there was an honesty that built up results step by step with sincerity and truthfulness.
It also emphasizes the importance of expanding the realm of what you like and love, and maintaining a balanced self as a professional and as a person.
“You can only gauge your speed if you run at full speed,” he said, and we stood at the starting line, ready to run.
My heart starts beating a little faster.
Author Lee Seul-ah, who publishes the daily magazine “Isla Daily,” which delivers writing directly to readers without going through a platform, teaches writing to teenagers, runs “Swimming Publishing,” and writes across genres, emphasizes “persistence and courage” as the virtues of a creator.
The courage that comes from the experience of being loved and loving again, and the courage that comes from the small accomplishments we experience in our work.
Living with 'anxiety' as the default, but not doubting myself, the process of discovering the 'courage I didn't know I had' within me is dazzling.
The journey towards the best and the greatest, sensing ourselves connected by such courage, is very reassuring.

Ultimately, the common message we can find in the stories of these four people is 'the power to protect oneself.'
From burnout of mind and body, from negative external evaluations, from comparing ourselves to others who are better.
Acknowledging my shortcomings and looking forward to a future where I can do better, living as I can at the pace of my environment, not stopping to love even when failure is expected, not losing courage in any situation, and moving forward step by step like that.
Realizing that not a single step is wasted.

“I’m just grateful.
Please continue.
Just by existing, I feel hopeful and fortunate.
“I always feel a little bit of relief when I see such wonderful female seniors.”

These are the words of Park Sparrow.
And I believe this will also be the message for everyone who picks up this book and reads it.
Everyone has people around them, whether near or far, directly or indirectly, who are already crossing the starting line and running towards it.
Just as Hansel and Gretel found their way home by following the fallen pieces of candy, we too will find our own path by following their footprints and traces.
No more fear of the starting signal that could sound at any time.
Because I came to know that the moment I took my first step was the beginning.
Because I learned that I can stop for a moment whenever I start and get tired, and that I can willingly turn back if I feel like I've taken the wrong path.
And in our long, long lives, the moment we stand at the starting line is not a single, unique moment, but comes often.
A late start doesn't mean you'll be late to the finish line, and a late arrival doesn't mean you'll be a failure.
I am finally ready to boldly step forward to the starting line and have no regrets.