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Erika Na

Korean author Kim Su-hyun’s wildly successful book I Decided to Live as Me was born out of failure.
After graduating from university with a design degree and gaining work experience at a mid-size firm, Kim took what she believed in her mid-twenties to be the best next step, and began applying for jobs with South Korean conglomerates.
Things didn’t go as planned.
“I thought the only realistic option was to get a job at a good company, so I worked hard to get that. But after failing so many times, it really hit me hard that achieving that wasn’t even something I truly wanted to do,” says the author, now 37.

She realised that, if conforming to social norms was just as exhausting as pursuing her dream of becoming a writer, she might as well try chasing what she wanted in life.
She spent the next year and a half researching and writing her book.
Kim delved into sociology and social psychology research, and other materials, in an attempt to understand why she was “not living as herself”.
There were moments of doubt and anxiety, but to her surprise, her book was a huge success.
Following its publication in South Korea in 2016, I Decided to Live as Me remained on the country’s bestseller list for 300 consecutive weeks and sold more than two million copies.
I’m really excited to see how the English-speaking audience responds to the book
Kim Su-hyun
The Japanese translation of the book was released in 2019 and by 2023 had sold over 580,000 copies, making it the bestselling title by a Korean author in Japan.
In November this year, nearly eight years after its initial publication, the book was translated into English by Penguin Life and is now available to a new and wider audience.
Kim treated I Decided to Live as Me as a manifesto, expressing her resolve to no longer conform to societal expectations – such as getting a stable job – and to live as herself by becoming a writer.
“The subtitle of this book is The to-do list to live as an adult in South Korea,” Kim says. “It was primarily written for myself, and hence discusses various issues in a heavily Korean cultural context, as I was pondering how I was going to live my own life here.”
Kim puts the book’s commercial success down to the balance it strikes between readability and conveying core messages in depth.

“I put a lot of effort into making sure the book was easy to read. From the inception, the book was meant for the general public. There was no need for it to be a source through which my intellect should shine,” she says.
“I’m not the first person to say we should all live authentically as ourselves. When I was researching my book, I learned a lot from the thick, serious academic books out there, which in fact brought me a lot of understanding and solace.
“But what was most important for my book was to make sure the messages easily resonated with people, and that they would read the book cover to cover.”
The key characteristic of I Decided to Live as Me is its simple format. It is laid out like a checklist divided into six parts.
The first part is for “a life that respects who you are”, the second for “living as yourself”, the third for “not being defeated by anxiety”, the fourth for “living with one another”, the fifth for “a better world” and the final part for “a good and meaningful life”.
With the internet and social media … It is easy to get caught up in the toxic cycle of comparing ourselves
Kim Su-hyun
Each checklist features around a dozen pieces of advice from Kim. For example, the “checklist for a life that respects who you are” comprises tips like: “do not be polite to those who are not polite to you”, “be perfectly content with being ordinary”, and “don’t be modest to the point of low self-esteem”.
Kim backs up each piece of advice with a few pages of first-person prose, into which she weaves personal anecdotes and academic research.
Each segment is boiled down into digestible chunks featuring interesting stories about her friends, former bosses and even boyfriends.
Most of the advice sections end with a simple illustration by the author herself to drive her point home in a playful way.
The book’s positive reception belies the dwindling interest in reading among South Koreans. A government survey published earlier this year found that nearly 60 per cent of adults did not read a single book in 2023.
Interestingly, K-pop helped drive the popularity of Kim’s book.
In September 2018, it was spotted very briefly in BTS member Jungkook’s room during an episode of the boy band’s reality travel show BTS: Bon Voyage. Fans immediately sought out the book.

The book was marketed as one Jungkook had read when it was translated and sold in Japan, helping it sell 150,000 copies in the first three months – also a record for a Korean author in Japan. The book has found a following in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam too.
In June 2022 Baekhyun, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, read excerpts from I Decided to Live as Me for a YouTube video.
Its cross-cultural appeal cannot be attributed merely to the power of celebrity, however. The insights the book conveys beneath its lighthearted surface seemingly resonate with people from different backgrounds.
Still, what Kim proposes in her book is hardly groundbreaking.
It is rewarding when I hear from readers that they were able to get much better
Kim Su-hyun
The importance of being true to oneself has been emphasised by thinkers across cultures and time. It is a key teaching of both German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu.
So why are modern readers yearning to be reminded of this centuries-old lesson? Kim believes the concept has become more difficult to put into practice in contemporary life.
Unlike the words of ancient philosophers, hers are rooted in everyday life, making them especially powerful to modern readers.

“In the past, maybe we would have known around 200 people throughout our lives. There would’ve been just one prettiest girl, one most handsome guy, one richest person in the neighbourhood. But there was no way we could watch their every move,” Kim says.
“Today, with the internet and social media, we can watch every move of not only some of the most well-off people in our neighbourhood, but in the whole world. It is easy to get caught up in the toxic cycle of comparing ourselves to them.”
Kim says some of the most meaningful moments since her book was first published have been when readers have thanked her for the long-term benefits it has brought them.
“It is rewarding when I hear from readers that they were able to get much better, or were able to overcome something after they read my book a couple of years ago; it makes me feel that my book affected this person’s life in a good way,” she says.
“I’m really excited to see how the English-speaking audience responds to the book.”
Kim says she has loved writing since an early age. Even up to her early twenties, she used to tell people she wanted to write a book one day.
Thinking it to be an unrealistic path, she did not give it any serious thought at first. But ultimately, having the courage to fail proved to be life changing.


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Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live As Me has sold millions of copies in Asia since 2016. The South Korean author shares her excitement about a new English-language translation. Photo: Penguin Life

The cover of the English translation of Kim’s book. Photo: Penguin Life

Pedestrians in Seoul, South Korea. In her book, Kim gives checklists with the aim of helping readers follow the path they want to, not just the ones society sets out for them. Photo: AFP

Jungkook in New York. The BTS member helped propel sales of Kim’s book when it was seen among his possessions in travel series BTS: Bon Voyage. Photo: Reuters

A wooden pavilion stands amid modern buildings in Seoul. Kim’s message of being true to oneself has been a tenet of Eastern and Western philosophy for centuries. Photo: AFP

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K-pop stars helped Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live as Me fly off shelves in Asia. An English translation may help more find their own path


K-pop stars helped Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live as Me fly off shelves in Asia. An English translation may help more find their own path.


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Korean author Kim Su-hyun on being true to yourself, as her hit guide gets English version

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}K-pop stars helped Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live as Me fly off shelves in Asia. An English translation may help more find their own path

K-pop stars helped Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live as Me fly off shelves in Asia. An English translation may help more find their own path