아시아 북 어워드
올해를 빛낸 아시아의 책
Money Free Life: Beyond broke
Korea, DULNYOUK Publishing Co. Park Jeongmi
Author
The author majored in sociology, but true knowledge of society could only be learned by going ‘outside of society’. She became a female military officer because she wanted to be strong, but she realized that true strength comes from freedom, so she left the army and lived a life of “work and consumption” in the city. she had to prove her existence every day, just like many Korean 20s and 30s. “Can I live without spending money?” The author embarked on a “Money Free Life” project in London, a city known for its murderous rents and prices. She then traveled to Europe and the Middle East, where She lived without spending money for about two years. Suddenly, she realized that her journey to live without money was having an impact on the environment. On her journey, she found a path to happiness, freedom, peace, and contentment. She now lives with her dogs, Simsimi and Hanga, in a rundown house in a small village in the foothills of the Taebaek Mountains. She is quietly starting a revolution for the earth, nature, and peace of mind.
Publisher
DULNYOUK Publishing Co.
Founded in 1987. Since its establishment, the publisher has published a number of literary works centered on social sciences and humanities. With the publication of “Toemarok”, the publisher became a pioneer in Korean genre literature. In the mid-90s, it published “Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty in one volume” and planned and launched the “Everything You Need to Know” series, proving that popular education books could be big sellers. Since then, the publisher has focused on the “Farmer Changes the World” series, and in 2011, it began developing a youth brand, launching “Blue DULNYOK” label, which publishes a series of education books for youth, a future exploration series, and educational books for parents. The publisher continues to contribute to the publishing industry through its essay brand ‘Sparrow Bookstore’ and genre literature brand ‘Goble’.
Is it possible to live without money? Is it possible to eat, sleep, dress, and move without spending a penny, not just for a month or two, but for years? The answer is yes. This book, which made a big splash when it was published in 2022, captures that experience. The author, who worked for a Korean company in London, England, was fired after standing up to her boss and started to practice ‘Money Free Life’. She thought she’d try it for a year, but she made it through two years. And at the end of it all, she still had her emergency fund in her wallet. She hadn’t spent a dime.
This book asks us to wonder two things. The first is why we should, and the second is how we can.
After being laid off from her job in a foreign country, she suddenly realized, “If I don’t have the money, I can just not spend it.” In order to pay the rent in London, she would have to work four part-time jobs a day with no breaks. She almost went down that path because she knew so many people who were doing it, but at the last minute, she made a sharp turn. The rebellious thought, “Why don’t I just not spend money?” stopped her.
The author’s Money Free Life’ project starts with “woofing” – living on a farm with food and shelter provided, Tinker’s Bubble, – an off-grid woodland(which is eco-friendly) community, “Squatting”, – occupying vacant land or buildings, “skip diving,” – searching large trash cans for food or useful items, and “Hitchhiking” when traveling from place to place.
‘Money Free Life’ was indeed possible. It’s also about saving space and things that are wasted and thrown away. Along the way, she had a huge realization: not spending doesn’t mean not working, and it doesn’t mean living in isolation from people, but it does mean relying on them. Moreover, the fact that she had no money meant that she had no limits, and her encounters with nature and the universe while living on the streets and growing crops had a strange effect on her heart, pulling her toward the fullness of existence.
The author is currently back in Korea after two years of “Money Free Life”. Back in Korea, she’s been living in an empty house and spending nothing for seven years. It started as a project, but eventually it became her life.
This book is not a proposal to reject capitalism. There are few radical claims in this book. At a time when the word “flex” is being used to describe young people’s consumption of luxuries, this book is a good reminder to those who feel overwhelmed by money that it is possible to live without it. This is not a book that argues with you, but one that seeps into you. The author argues that modern consumerism must be stopped for the sake of human sustainability. “Real revolution doesn’t start with Molotov cocktails and protests, It starts with a lifestyle of non-consumption.“