The Man Who Reads 100 Minutes Daily, Samsung SDI's 'Reading King'... Completed 1,000 Books in 7 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Um Ju-sik, a pro (45) in charge of battery equipment development at Samsung SDI, is a well-known bookworm within the company.

Um started seriously reading books back in October 2012. At that time, he was struggling with the question, "How should I live my life as I approach 40?" Searching for his own life milestones, he decided to find answers in books and visited a nearby bookstore close to his home.

The book Um picked up then was Kazuhiko Tanaka's "38 Years Old, Between Rise and Fall."

He read a passage that said before turning 40, one should build at least one core career in a desired field, and he decided that reading would be one of those core pursuits.

Around the same time, he came across a reading-related book titled "Hong Dae-ri, the Reading Genius" and set himself the mission of reading 33 books in 3 months.

Believing that he needed to put in about three times more effort than others, he raised his goal threefold to reading 100 books in 100 days. In fact, he completed reading 100 books in 107 days, gaining confidence in reading and feeling a personal transformation.

Samsung SDI's Pro Um Ju-sik

From then on, Um made "100 minutes of reading per day" a habit. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m., reads from 6:00 to 6:40 a.m., again from 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. after arriving at work, and finally from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. after work.

Through this "100 minutes of reading," Um has devoured over 1,000 books in the past seven years.

Um prefers paper books over e-books because he believes in the "power of note-taking." While reading, he takes notes on passages that move him emotionally. At the same time, flipping through the pages allows him to reflect on himself. Reflection and note-taking are charms unique to paper books.

"Every beginning requires courage, and courage acts," "It is action, not thought, that defines me," "Knowing the path and walking the path are different" ? these are passages he has organized while reading, which have become his life's compass.

Um spends 10% of his salary on buying books. He purchases dozens of books monthly, not only new releases but also from used bookstores around Cheonan and Daejeon. He even takes time out of his busy schedule to attend offline events like author talks.

Among the many books he has read, the one that impressed him the most is Gary Bishop's "The Art of Starting." Through this book, he realized the importance of action. He shared that "People who complain about the present but do not change are actually somewhat satisfied with discomfort. One must look back on oneself and have the will to change discomfort," a passage that helped him reflect and gain the strength to continuously move toward his goals.

In fact, he used to hesitate about exercising, but after reading this book, he has been actively working out, walking 10,000 steps a day, and transforming himself. He also gained confidence by addressing workplace issues immediately rather than postponing them.

Um’s recommended book, "The Art of Starting," was also introduced as a book talk content on the company communication channel SDI Talk. The content received over 60 comments from employees who resonated with it. Employees responded with remarks such as "I will emulate not only the work skills but also the reading habits," "Thank you for the great book recommendation," "The message to not fear starting and to act immediately really touched my heart," "Just from the content, it feels like I read the whole book," and "It seems that many books lie behind the pro’s extraordinary nature."

Samsung SDI’s bookworm Um is an equipment expert. In 2018, he was the first to complete the FE-Pro (Facility & Equipment Professional) course, one of the top commissioned training programs for equipment experts. Although it was an in-person training, Um passionately participated by even booking accommodation near the training center. With the spirit of 不恥下問 (not ashamed to ask those below), he visited advisory professors and companies in provinces to successfully complete projects. He now also serves as a leading in-house instructor on equipment-related topics. He said, "As the top engineer in the equipment field, I want to write books based on what I have learned, offer talent donation lectures, and prepare motivational books for youth." For this humble dream, he continues to read books and transfer notes to his notebook every day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.