[People Met Through Books] A Reading Enthusiast Who Finds Answers in Books: "True Success Comes When You Live for Others"

After a Near-Fatal Traffic Accident
Determined to Truly Live Life
Advocates the Value of Reading Through Book Immersion
"If Videos Are Engine Oil, Books Are Gasoline... Driving Change"

Writer Go Myunghwan is a reading enthusiast who draws answers to life from books. This passion was sparked by a near-death experience in a traffic accident in 2005. Determined to truly live his own life, he began to immerse himself in books. As his knowledge surpassed its limits, it began to flow. He transformed the knowledge gained from reading into life wisdom and thus reorganized his life anew. With the mindset of ‘learn and share,’ he advocated the value of reading. His recently published book last month, How I Find Answers to Life (Lagom), is part of this effort.

From the perspective of reading, Go classifies people into camels, lions, and children. ▲Camels live by doing given tasks haphazardly ▲Lions can choose their work but live only for themselves ▲Children live selflessly for others but benefit through a virtuous cycle. Go Myunghwan, who says true success is achieved by living for others rather than oneself, was met at his restaurant ‘Go Myunghwan’s Memilbaki’ in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu.

-You have been advocating the praise of reading for several years now. You meet many people through your books and lectures. Have you noticed any special changes during this process?

▲In the past, my belief in books was more like ‘maybe this is how it is’ or ‘this might be good.’ But now I am confident that I have reached the child stage. It is no exaggeration to say that books are everything. Although books may seem slow in this rapidly changing era, they are not. Unlike videos, watching a YouTube lecture might make you understand at that moment, but the problem is that it doesn’t translate into action. Your heart must be turned upside down.

-What do you mean by ‘your heart must be turned upside down’?

▲It is a big change, as the religious term ‘conversion (回心)’ implies. When I was young, there was a scary older boy in my neighborhood. Just hearing ‘Hey, come here’ would make my legs go weak. But one day, he started carrying a Bible, began helping people, and his smile became very beautiful. That kind of transformation is what I mean by the heart being turned upside down.

-Why do you claim that books have a greater impact on changing life than videos?

▲If videos are engine oil, books are gasoline. Reading should be done daily, while videos can be watched once every 4-5 months when enthusiasm wanes. Videos can recharge motivation but cannot turn your heart upside down. Videos last at most 2-3 days. But books lead to change in a life lived by inertia, even when you think ‘Oh, this isn’t it.’ You must interpret the metaphors in books yourself to gain lifelong driving force. There is a reason why Seongcheol Sunim spoke only in metaphors like ‘Mountains are mountains, water is water.’ You must embrace the sentences, ask yourself questions, and find your own answers.

-Can you share a personal story where you found answers in a book?

▲In the book Zorba the Greek, there is a phrase: “The only way to save myself is to try to save others.” It is similar to the biblical ‘Love your neighbor.’ There is a secret that helping others makes you happier. The moment I realized this, my heart was turned upside down. I no longer felt reluctant to give to others. It is not about giving calculatedly for marketing or expecting returns. Yet, it is a virtuous cycle. Giving eventually returns. In fact, at the restaurant I currently operate, I leave only a 20% margin instead of 40%. I believe it is better to earn 10 billion won slowly than to make 1 to 10 billion won quickly.

-Many people live with unhappiness in modern society. You said you discarded such feelings through reading. How?

▲You must abandon result-oriented thinking. Many sacrifice the present for goals like getting into university, becoming a building owner, or earning 200 million won annually. Education and social atmosphere have created this. Humans are originally creatures who enjoy the process. Taking a step now is more important than reaching the top. People who have reached the top all say they feel empty. Reading lets you realize this before trying.

The stork flies / The horse runs / The turtle walks / The snail crawls / The grub rolls / But all arrived on the first day of the new year / The rock arrived sitting still

This is a poem called ‘The First Miracle of the New Year’ by poet Ban Chil-hwan. Most people start their unhappiness by envying the speed of the stork. They cannot endure the speed of the snail. They give up easily by comparing, even though they only need to try a little more. Reading helps you know your own pace above all.

-You asserted that going to the library three times a week for 30 minutes and reciting positive affirmations for five minutes a day completely removes anxiety about the future. This is not a difficult method, so why do many people still cannot escape anxiety?

▲Because they rush. To make it a routine, you must persist for at least a year. Then the troubled mind truly disappears. It doesn’t have to be grand. Just maintain a five-minute daily routine. Don’t give up after six months asking why there is no change. The moment of happiness will surely come. I now fully understand the saying ‘reading is not a means but a purpose.’ At first, I saw reading as a means to make money, succeed, and raise my value. But now, fear has turned into confidence that things will go well.

-You mentioned that many luxury cars are seen early at the library. This means socially successful people start their day with reading. But if one can afford it, wouldn’t it be fine to buy books and read in their own space?

▲The difference in thinking at the library is huge. According to a survey, aerobic exercise helps lose weight, but it had little effect on busy salespeople. Because they thought they were working even though they were physically exhausted. The brain switches to work mode when working and exercise mode when exercising. I have read and written at home, but the insights at the library were very different. At the library, creative and useful ideas come out rapidly. What would take 100 times at home can be done 10 times at the library. The moment you go to the library, your mode switches. Then you can use 24 hours like 48 hours. Starting your day at the library compresses your daily schedule. There is a big difference between someone who plans and someone who starts the day hurriedly. Those people (owners of luxury cars) know this too.

-Since the book itself is not the answer but the process of internalizing and applying it to life is key, must one endure unconditional reading at first?

▲It is natural to struggle with books you haven’t read before. The brain tries to use minimal energy and dislikes focusing on new things. When studying for exams, you get hungrier than when exercising for a reason. Drowsiness comes because the brain wants to rest. At such times, you can command your brain: ‘I’m not tired, don’t make me sleepy because I have to read.’ Then you really won’t feel sleepy. Whether adult or child, try picking up a book and reading aloud just one line before grabbing your smartphone in the morning. Then your brain recognizes ‘This person is someone close to books.’ Everyone has a time in life when they must read books. Getting through this well makes you a reader. You can read 30 books simultaneously. Even if it seems chaotic, tremendous creativity bursts out while mixing.

-Earlier you said you reached the child stage. One difference from the previous camel and lion stages is kindness toward others, right?

▲Lions pursue their own lives, but children live for others. Research on death shows that the biggest regret people have before dying is not loving others and living only for themselves. Paradoxically, although people live only for themselves, most do not truly live as themselves. Nietzsche said that originally people lived as children who live for others while being true to themselves, but education and social atmosphere push them to become camels. Many camels carry burdens without knowing what they are. Many people only look at their salary without knowing the meaning of their work. Lions do what they want but living only for themselves ends in emptiness. This is what people who have achieved their goals all say. Gaining joy from helping others is human instinct. Help returns to me through a virtuous cycle.

-How do you help others?

▲In Go, a brilliant move is one that turns a crisis into an opportunity. Such moves are usually better seen by those around because they have no greed for victory or prize money. I help people without greed like this. For example, recently I gave a seminar to the livestock cooperative members in my hometown, Sangju, Gyeongbuk, and voluntarily helped brand Korean beef. In fact, Seongju Hanwoo has quality comparable to Hoengseong but is not well known. On the way driving there, I named the brand ‘Sangju is Hanwoo’ and even made a trot-style logo song: “Gold prize~ Silver prize~ All prizes~ Sangju is Hanwoo~ Delicious Sangju is Hanwoo~ Healthy Sangju is Hanwoo.” I plan to make short videos with comedian juniors. I wanted to sincerely do something without expecting anything. I believe helping others is for myself. Who knows? If it succeeds and the brand gains value, I might become the promotional model (laughs).

-Have you achieved the life you want? What are your next and ultimate goals?

▲I have found about 95% of the answer to how to live. I am enjoying awakening the sleeping giant within me. From comedian Go Myunghwan to top CEO in the food industry and bestselling author. This book sold 10,000 copies within a month of publication. I am also a speaker who started at 50,000 won and now charges 5 million won. The next giant is to become the director of a 30 billion won-scale library. The plan is already set. I have thought of the best idea in my fifty years (laughs). This idea did not come from some divine inspiration but was originally inside me, manifested through reading. It is infinite. I am very curious about the giants that will awaken in the future. I want to courageously challenge and meet a beautiful death.

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