I Decided to Live as Me

by Kim Suhyun

In a world where it can seem impossible to feel that you are ever good enough, and where it’s easy to judge yourself by the unrealistic standards of social media, I Decided to Live as Me offers guidance and encouragement for celebrating yourself and feeling comfortable in your own skin.

With her charming illustrations and words of comfort, Kim Suhyun has reached millions of readers—including Jung Kook from the K-pop band BTS—who have found inspiration in her journey of self-love. She offers a checklist to guide you on your own journey, with advice including:

Don't be kind to those who aren't kind to you.
Remember that no one lives a perfect life.
Don't be swayed by others' opinions.
Crack corny jokes sometimes.
Don't try too hard to get along with everyone.

Through these tips and more, I Decided to Live as Me teaches you that by freeing yourself from the pressure of other people's expectations, you can focus on what truly matters: living not for anyone else, but for yourself.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 20, 2025

Reviews

[Alannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book raises some valid points but the points are often extremely brief – hence it only being a checklist. I found myself speeding through the book without retaining much, as everything is short, fast-paced, and strangely repetitive. That said, when it comes to tips like “don’t be too sad” (just be sad the necessary amount!) the brevity is almost a relief, as advice that vague is not especially helpful and certainly does not need an entire chapter. Much of the book is closely tied to Korean cultural norms, which do not always translate to my European experience. It may also be that I am simply not the target audience, as it feels more suited to a younger readership.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of this book is good, and there are some truth bombs in it that are a 10/10. However, I think it’s aimed at much younger generations. I felt it lacked depth, and it was a bit boring. The illustrations are cute, tho.

[Luna's Little Library · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has nice sentiments and common sense statements but its not memorable. Granted I still frequently drifted off while listening to this.

It's not bad but I think just looking at the chapter (checklist) headlines you'd get the same benefit.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4
Had a few good points and was generally sth I thought I needed to hear atm

[museums of me ; danielle]

this was so freakishly on the nose for what i needed rn, it feels like witchcraft

[SaltyReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

short read. honestly it could have just been a blog post with the list and quotes.. . because even her short anecdotal stories didn't really give much more to what each checklist already said. ..felt like they were just added so that it could ..reach the word count required of that each section will have something... lol everything was very surface level.. author be giving you basic life advice that everyone else in your life is already giving you.. I think it would have been more helpful to have added tips on how to achieve each item or ways to think of a situation different rather than anecdotal stories( that sometimes were not giving) and then ending with vague things like .. so yea.. dont waste time with rude ppl OK (or whatever the item on the checklist is lol).

its ok to skip this one... unless you really need a someone to tell you things you may already know on how to live life as yourself. I can see how it could be helpful for some people..maybe younger or young adult.. or ppl still growing and discovering themselves in this way.... but I'm not the right audience.

[Sarah Beth ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book so much and I’m not really a self help type of reader. In her afterword, she mentioned it is more to do with the social psychology/sociology perspective which was perfect for me as I love to live against societal pressures. A lot of people asked me about the book when reading it in public and I couldn’t recommend it more! It also has little animations in it which is a cute visual perspective of the short sections/chapters.

I use references in the book in my real life also eg “try and change the algorithm of your life” by walking new routes to change the mundane repetitive daily actions we do by autopilot eg: walking the same way to work everyday etc.


Sad I finished it 🥲

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I found some of the stuff in this book to be stuff the average person would already know and pretty common knowledge. I did have a think about what was said here, but that's about the most I got out of the information shared.

The most interesting thing about this book is the insight I got into Korean culture as a lot of the advice was centered around critiques of the social system there. As a European who has never visited Korea, it was fascinating to get this insight from someone who was born and raised there. But that is about all I enjoyed here.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobooked :)
Interestingly other reviewers here have commented that this is more a commentary on Korean culture and how the author chooses to break free of this- however I didn’t find this off putting at all. I could hear how her experiences mirrored those we can have across cultures to a degree, so spoke to the nature of being human. This is a lovely book, one I might want to return to in future.

[Bart Michiels · Rating 1 out of 5]

Als luisterboek geconsumeerd, en misschien is dat al een deel van het probleem: er bleef weinig hangen. De boodschap wordt vaak zo simplistisch gebracht dat ze doorschiet naar iets wat bijna egoïstisch aanvoelt.

Grenzen stellen: absoluut. Maar de motivaties en oplossingen hier zijn zo eenzijdig dat ze eerder weerstand oproepen dan inzicht bieden. Zelfhulp die vooral in één richting duwt, en daardoor weinig nuance overlaat.

[catsatelite · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s an okey book, easy to read and it can resumed as light perspectives on how to live a fulfilling life basically.
i feel like i found it on the verge of boring and a bit “happy-go-lucky” but in an annoying way at times.
the vast majority of the morals are things most of us learned as teens or young adults.
its worth reading but don’t expect anything extraordinary or mind blowing.

[Elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really touched my heart. I read it probably in the most perfect time in my life, which is my late twenties. I’ve been feeling lost and anxious recently, so reading this made me feel seen. I felt like crying by the end and it’s great to know that I’m not alone in feeling this way and that there are people who went through the same and are still happy as adults.

[Hana · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a bit too fast paced for me. I love the concept and the checklist itself is great and really makes you put things into perspective but the chapters are really short. I would love to read more on each of the checklist items and maybe make it a little less frenzied. Also, don't read it on kindle, the whole experience sucks.

[Mk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jungkook made me read it.
Book made me realise I’m too old for it.

[marie ★ · Rating 1 out of 5]

in my humble opinion, this book isn't worth your money and time. it's rather underwhelming and generic

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, this book has some good tips. I might try to use some of them in the (near) future.

[ShanTheReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a helpful book with many great moments of insight. Having short chapters especially helped.

[Sabah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and the positive advice given on life, meaning and happiness. Snippets of wisdom :) life is precious and the future is hopeful. This book has inspired me to carve a path of my own, live true to myself and true in every moment.

[Moni · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writings could be useful advice but it wasn’t really new knowledge. I felt it was too surface level to really make an impact on me.

[Vicki Belisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook. She discusses Korean culture which was interesting. Most of the advice was pretty simple.

[Marion Linke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe dieses Buch bei einer Freundin auf dem Nachttisch gesehen und mich inspiriert gefühlt durch den Titel. Ich hatte vielleicht etwas anderes erwartet. Es ist gut gemacht und auch interessant geschrieben. Es gibt gute Einblicke in die persönliche und kulturelle Entwicklung der Autorin. Aber es war doch nicht ganz das, was ich mir vorgestellt hatte. Es gibt ein paar schöne Zitate, aber im Grossen und Ganzen bleibt das Buch wohl leider nicht in meinem Bewusstsein hängen.