Izeok, Who Published His First Prose Collection, Calls It "A Book Like Vitamins and Tonics"

"When I was young, my questions were filled with anger towards the older generation, asking 'Why is it like this?'. Now, there is a sense of resignation and emptiness in the question, 'Why on earth is it like that?'"

Lee Jeok, a singer-songwriter who debuted in 1995 with the group 'Panic' and released hit songs such as "Dalpaengi" (Snail), "Wensonjabi" (Left-Handed), and "Haneureul Dallida" (Running in the Sky), has published a prose collection. At a book launch press conference held on the morning of the 31st at Ewha Girls' High School Centennial Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, he said this and explained, "(This book) is a question about why we live despite everything. However, the tone of the question is not 'Ah~ why!!' but more like 'No, why~'."

Photo by Yonhap News

This is his first prose collection. The book compiles 101 pieces of writing based on 101 themes such as 'Life,' 'Time,' and 'Cinema.' The content ranges from essays to fiction and poetry. He started writing three years ago and included posts he uploaded on social networking services (SNS) for motivation, edited into the book. Due to the concise nature required by SNS, each piece is short enough not to exceed one page. Lee Jeok said, "When I wrote longer pieces, it felt like I was trying to teach someone," adding, "I wrote the pieces by trimming and compressing them so that readers could fill in the blanks themselves. No matter how good the content was, if the length was excessive, I cut it with a heavy heart."

His writings sparked interest online even before publication. Pieces such as "Success is a state where you can make a living without having to work with people you dislike," and "Let's create a 30,000 won bill so that when you meet your nephew after a long time and can't count 10,000 won bills miserably, you can boldly give 50,000 won without regret," caused a significant reaction. He said, "In fact, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation received quite a few inquiries about the 30,000 won bill," and added, "A certain member of the National Assembly proposed a related bill, which also became a hot topic."

Regarding this book, he said, "I hope it becomes a vitamin or tonic that stimulates the reader's imagination."

His next step is likely to be a musical drama. Having met the public through songs and books, he revealed plans to communicate through writing about music or via musical dramas in the future.

"If there are words I want to fill my life with, they are things like humor, leisure, and love. I believe humor will save the world. I am preparing to stage a 'musical drama' that accompanies the stories I wrote."