Journey in Search of Love, Amazon Books' 'Stanley's Love Story' Published in Korea and Japan

The emotion called love is truly complex. It encompasses various subjects such as love between family members, love between lovers, and love for oneself. Love holds a great and absolute power that can change relationships between people and, furthermore, society itself.

In South Korea, the book "Stanley's Love Story" by author Stanley (Lee Eun-seok), published last November through Amazon Books, explores this very topic of love. This book serves as an answer 130 years later to the question posed by the great writer Tolstoy in his work "What Men Live By," and it also offers a perspective on our mindset and life as we live in the post-COVID era.

Notably, the process of finding the meaning of love is intriguingly conveyed through diverse stories such as BTS and The Wolf Boy. Lee Eun-seok, who is also a dermatologist in Gangnam, shared that he found happiness not through money or fame gained as a doctor, but through love as a solution.

Readers who have encountered the book have praised it as a modern completion of Tolstoy’s concept of love, noting that it conveys the meaning of peace and harmony in the chaotic times following COVID-19 and defines love for the new era. The book also received an average rating of 9.8 points, nearly a perfect score.

After its domestic publication, "Stanley's Love Story" was selected as a weekly essay bestseller at Kyobo Bookstore, ranking 2nd in the essay category and 14th overall in daily highest records. Following the strong response in South Korea, it is now being published in Japan through Kanyou Publishing.

While countless essays by Japanese authors have been published in Korea for nearly half a century, the opposite?Korean authors’ essays being officially published in Japan?has been extremely rare, countable on one’s fingers. Amid this, this book, officially published in Japan upon local publishing recommendation, has gained great popularity and is emerging as a leading figure in a new "publishing Hallyu" wave.

The Japanese publisher Kanyou Publishing, responsible for the Japanese edition of Stanley’s Love Story, stated, “After seeing the book’s message about filling life’s preciousness with love, we thought it was a story so valuable that it must never go out of print. We wanted to introduce this message to Japanese readers as well, which led to the publication in Japan.”

Currently, Stanley’s Love Story is available in Japanese and English versions on the Amazon online bookstore, while in Korea, both physical books and online books (eBooks) are being sold simultaneously. The essay has received a maximum average rating of 9.8, nearly perfect, garnering much acclaim. With its publication in Japan, it is expected to spark a new wave of publishing Hallyu.

Author Stanley said, “The fundamental problems and solutions regarding people and life can only be resolved through ‘love.’ I want to widely share love for oneself, love for others, and love for the world with more readers. As people live by the power of love, I hope they will join this book on the journey of love’s struggles and discovery.”

Meanwhile, Stanley’s Love Story is available for purchase at Yes24, Internet Kyobo Bookstore, Aladin, Interpark Books, Youngpoong Bookstore, Bandi & Luni’s, Connects Book, and Book 11st, among others.