2024-04-13 17:49:04
A bestseller loved by many people. Creators dream of their content becoming bestsellers, but the chances of that actually coming true are extremely low. We look into the process by which content that became a bestseller was created by overcoming these rare odds. You can check out the creator’s know-how, the desires of people of this era, and social trends.
“Living is painful.”
“You have to know what you want to do and what you can do.”
This is ‘Reading Schopenhauer at 40’ (Uno Books), a book that throws ‘bone-hitting’ sharp balls about life. It was published in September last year and sold over 30 copies in just 7 months. A rare sight unfolded where a philosophy book ranked #1 on the overall bestseller list at a major bookstore. It is also the book that led to the ‘Schopenhauer Syndrome’. Happiness lies in reducing, avoiding, and enduring pain, and we have summarized Schopenhauer’s 30 pieces of advice to help relieve pain and manage mental crises. Readers were enthusiastic, saying, “I was tired of books that comforted me by saying it was just okay, but this book brought me back to my senses.”
The author, Yongsoo Kang (55), a researcher at Korea University’s Philosophy Research Institute, majored in Western philosophy at Korea University’s undergraduate and graduate school and received a doctorate from the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
Researcher Kang began writing the book in early 2022 after receiving a proposal from Lee Hyeon-jeong, head of the planning and editing team at Unobooks. Researcher Kang and Team Leader Lee had never met each other. Team leader Lee said, “Let’s create a book that explains Schopenhauer’s philosophy in an easy-to-understand way for the public.” Researcher Kang refused, saying, “I think it would be too difficult,” but upon repeated requests from Team Leader Lee, he accepted publication. However, the writing was so difficult that I had to stop writing twice.
I met Team Leader Lee at Yuno Books in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 2nd, and interviewed Researcher Kang over the phone on the 3rd to hear about the process of creating the book. Before meeting this team leader, the reporter expected him to be in his 40s or at least his late 30s. Unexpectedly, he was born in 1990 with a youthful face. He is 34 years old this year. He was curious about the reason why he planned the book.
“Uno Books has published books such as ‘The Analects of Confucius to be read in your 50s’ (2021) and ‘Zhuangzi to be read in your 50s’ (2022). The response to the series for people in their 50s was so good that over 250,000 copies of ‘The Analects of Confucius to be read in your 50s’ were sold. So naturally, I thought of my 40s.”
We also took into account that the median age of Koreans is in their 40s (46.1 years old as of this year).
“But I didn’t know what content to include. After thinking about it, I didn’t think I needed just warm words. At that time, I noticed that Schopenhauer’s sentences were being shared a lot on social media. It was very direct. Schopenhauer is known as a pessimist, and I was curious about a person who had such a keen insight into life. “He thought he should write a book on the subject of Schopenhauer’s philosophy.”
I started looking for the author. We identified domestic authors who wrote philosophy books. Researcher Kang, who wrote ‘Schopenhauer’s Theory of Happiness’ (2014), caught my eye. After reading ‘The Story of Superman Told by Nietzsche’ (2007, Consonant and Moeum) written by Researcher Kang for children, I decided that he was the most accurate author.
“When I contacted Professor Kang, he declined, saying, ‘I am someone who has written papers before, so it would be difficult for me to write one.’ He made a list of several writers, but couldn’t think of any others. I only suggested it to Teacher Kang. What stuck in my mind was the teacher’s words, ‘I think it would be meaningful if philosophy goes beyond being a specialized book and becomes a discipline that is easily accessible to the public.’ “Even though I declined the publication offer, I felt like I had left some space.”
Team leader Lee persuaded Researcher Kang for nearly six months, saying that philosophy needed to be popularized, and finally got him to accept. We also delved into the fact that Researcher Kang was inspired by Schopenhauer to major in philosophy. Researcher Kang laughed, saying, “This team leader didn’t know that it was giving up.”
But once I created the table of contents and started writing, the pain began in earnest.
“When I first sent the manuscript, Team Leader Lee sighed. (Laughs)” (Researcher Kang)
“I couldn’t understand it because the content was stiff and difficult. “Because the teacher had read all of Schopenhauer’s books in their original form, it must have been more difficult to condense the vast content and write easily.” (Team Leader Lee)
The most difficult thing in writing is writing easily. For example, Schopenhauer suggests four ways to find peace of mind: △get rid of unnecessary human relationships, △watch out for jealousy, △do not place high hopes, and △know that there are many lies in the world. This book, which contains such a message and is easy to read, came out after intense labor.
When Researcher Kang sent the manuscript, Team Leader Lee asked, “What part of this sentence can people in their 40s relate to?” and “I don’t understand this. Can you explain it further?”, pointing out each item. The manuscript went back and forth countless times, with revision after revision. Researcher Kang said, “It was difficult to move from thesis writing to easy writing.” He said that when he thought about leaving out the entire content he had worked so hard to write, he sometimes thought, “Is this really my book?”
Researcher Kang, who was exhausted, was devastated when his respected senior passed away in February of last year.
“He was the only person who acknowledged my writing. He assured me, ‘It will be okay.’ “With his older brother gone, he couldn’t do anything.”
Researcher Kang said that he went underwater twice while writing the book, including this time. Team leader Lee’s explanation is a little different.
“Usually, when you say ‘going underwater,’ you mean completely losing contact. I can’t even figure out where it is. The teacher just stopped her writing and stopped contacting her. When I contacted him a month or two later, he answered the phone. “I asked carefully if he had changed his mind.”
Watching Team Leader Lee continue to wait, Researcher Kang began writing again. Researcher Kang laughed, saying, “Team leader Lee is extremely persistent.” Why did I wait so long for the author I met for the first time?
“When I saw the first manuscript, I felt something touched my heart. I would say that something difficult and painful in my heart was moved. There are quite a few authors who do not tolerate editing their writing, but the teacher’s comment, ‘Publishing is Team Manager Lee’s field, so you can make as many changes as you want,’ was a great help to me. The article is written by the author, and I am a ‘demanding person’, so making demands is easy. “I was really grateful that everyone accepted this.”
Whenever Researcher Kang exchanged emails or text messages, he never failed to say “Thank you” or “Thanks to Team Leader Lee.” Team leader Lee said, “I was able to learn a lot and gain strength by watching the teacher always give praise and encouragement and humble himself.”
We tried to meet the publication date of September 2023 no matter what. This is because August is too hot, and it was thought that the book would be relatively difficult to attract attention at the end of the year. The response after publication was explosive. It also helped that actor Ha Seok-jin was seen reading this book on an entertainment program and it became a hot topic. Ha Seok-jin said, “Life is alone. He quoted Schopenhauer’s words, “You must know how to become strong even on your own,” and Jeon Hyun-moo also received a lot of attention by saying, “I am also reading this book.” However, if the book itself does not have power, it is difficult to continue to be loved by readers. In today’s publishing industry where a book is said to be a bestseller even if it sells just 10,000 copies, it is surprising that it sold over 300,000 copies in just 7 months. It is said that the pace of book sales has not slowed down and is still maintained at a similar level.
The book contains many of Researcher Kang’s thoughts. This was Team Leader Lee’s idea.
“Only when the author’s thoughts are incorporated can we connect Schopenhauer’s philosophy with our lives and empathize with it.” (Team Leader Lee)
Researcher Kang said that writing a book after turning 50 was also helpful.
“I don’t think I would have been able to write like this 10 years ago. I think it was written arrogantly or shallowly. As I passed my 40s and entered my 50s, I realized desperately that life does not go as planned and that not all efforts lead to success. Around the age of 40, Schopenhauer was so pressured by Hegel that he lost his job and lived with a dog. Things started going well after that. I think that experience was also reflected in his philosophy.”
Reporter Son Hyo-rim [email protected]
2024-04-13 17:49:04