Dulce

“Why would you sing the national anthem for people who’d been killed by soldiers? Why cover the coffin with the Taegukgi? As though it wasn’t the nation itself that had murdered them.”
― Han Kang, Human Acts

“<..> Reading makes you see with clearer eyes and understand the world better. When you do that , you become stronger - the feeling you associate with success. But at the same time with pain. Within the pages, there's much suffering, beyond that we've gone through in our finite experience of life. You'll read about suffering you didn't know existed. Having experienced their pain through words, it becomes a lot harder to focus on pursuing individual happiness and success. Reading makes you deviate further from the textbook definition of success because books don't make us go ahead of or above anyone else; they guide us to stand alongside others. <...>
<..> We become more compassionate. To read is to see things from someone else's perspective, and that naturally leads you to stop and look out for other people, rather than chase after success in the rat race. If more people read, I think the world would become a better place.”
― Hwang Bo-reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

“What happened to the holes?’
‘The holes?’
‘Yeah. You said you made the buttons but were stuck because there were no holes. How is it now?’
Minjun shook his head, trying to chase away the sleepiness. He stared up at his friend, a thoughtful look on his face.
‘Easy. I changed my shirt. This time I cut the holes first before I make the buttons that fit. Now, the shirt is buttoned up nicely.”
― Hwang Bo-reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

“After you died I could not hold a funeral,
And so my life became a funeral.”
― Han Kang, Human Acts