Why We Read Poetry
Written by Park Wansuh · Illustrated by Lee Seongpyo
Publisher: Jakga Jungshin (작가정신)
This is not just a children’s picture book.
It feels more like a quiet conversation with yourself.
Why do we read poetry?
Not because life is perfect.
But often because it isn’t.
“When we are bored and bored again,
Even when we don’t know why we are living,
We read poetry for comfort.”
The book speaks in simple, honest sentences.
When our minds grow dull and heavy,
like an animal that has eaten too much,
we read poetry
to be pierced by its thorns
and wake up again.
When aging feels lonely,
when thinking about death feels frightening,
we read poetry.
There is something deeply human here.
Nothing dramatic.
Just truth.
The lines about flowers blooming and leaves falling
remind us of repetition — of seasons returning.
We say we could die without regret,
yet we still prepare seeds
to plant next year.
That contradiction
is exactly who we are.
When Do You Read Poetry?
For comfort.
To wake your spirit.
Because you feel lonely.
Because you are afraid.
Perhaps we read poetry
when a small part of us
already feels tired.
Tonight,
for the slightly exhausted version of myself,
I choose to read poetry.
Korea picturebook 