[One Sip of a Book] The Noisier It Is, The More Abundant It Becomes

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

Under the motto "Wherever commotion arises, new abundance sprouts," four ways to create a vibrant society where everyone from the elderly to children takes the lead are introduced.

Grandmothers full of energy welcomed us as if we had come to a festive gathering. “Bonjour Mademoiselle Agassi~!” One grandmother greeted me with a lively voice, and when I whispered, “I’ll be fifty the day after tomorrow,” she immediately changed her words. “Bonjour, old lady~.” We looked at each other and burst into laughter. It was a space filled with the endorphins of jokes, a signal that everyone working there was excited. They came here voluntarily, breathed new life into this place, and it was clear that they themselves were gaining vitality and joy here. (Omitted) While exploring every corner of the store with my mouth agape, I realized that other activities were happening inside. Behind a curtain-separated section of the store was an appliance atelier. Grandfathers who had spent their lives handling machines and retired now repaired defective appliances brought here, giving them new life, and also ran an ‘Appliance Restoration Workshop’ teaching others how to fix broken appliances themselves. It was a caring scene not only selling fish cheaply but also teaching fishing. The ultimate anti-capitalist restoration program was unfolding in this space. Pages 32?34

A small bookstore can become a community room where neighborhood people meet and converse, or a forum for intellectual discussion where they meet and talk with popular authors. In this way, bookstores become shared spaces of the community embraced wholeheartedly by the townspeople. Local governments are well aware of this. Although bookstores are entirely private commercial spaces, considering their social function, they can be said to share public functions with libraries. Since local governments do not want citizens to lose their emotional oasis, they seek ways to support bookstores to remain within their jurisdictions, directly or indirectly. A good example is the case of Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris. In November 2020, when the government issued a second lockdown and excluded bookstores from commercial facilities selling essential goods, she opposed this by writing an open letter to the president with an author. She insisted that bookstores should be allowed to remain open during the lockdown. Hidalgo’s determination gained support from bookstores nationwide and a strong response from citizens, reversing the initial announcement and allowing bookstores to open. Pages 42?43

The Louder, The More Abundant | Mok Sujeong | Hankyoreh Publishing | 312 pages | 17,000 KRW

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