Son Jong-won has been building a following through his appearances on JTBC cooking variety show "Chef & My Fridge," but his recent turn on the second season of Netflix's megahit "Culinary Class Wars" propelled him into full-fledged stardom.
A member of the show's "white spoon" team of established chefs, the 41-year-old is the executive chef behind two Michelin-starred restaurants: Eatanic Garden and L'Amant Secret.
Well-mannered and neatly styled, with a composed demeanor and an unshowy confidence on screen, Son has captivated viewers far beyond the usual foodie crowd. Early in his appearances on "Chef & My Fridge," fellow cast members coined the nickname "good-vibe man" that would soon follow him everywhere.
Off camera, Son has revealed a more introspective side. In multiple interviews, he has spoken about his interests in art exhibitions, American classic literature and jazz — pursuits he says shape how he thinks and feels.
"I do watch Netflix, of course," Son said in one interview. "But books stimulate a different kind of imagination, so I try to read at least a little every day. I'm always reminding myself to stay emotionally awake. When you read a book, visit an exhibition or listen to music, you're forced to reflect on your emotions and to be honest with yourself."
That sensibility briefly came into view in a recent video on social media racking up some 3.5 million views. In the clip, a fan casually asks for reading recommendations, and Son, without hesitation, offers up three of his favorite books.
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
The 1951 coming-of-age novel by J. D. Salinger is an American classic that captures adolescent angst with raw honesty. The novel follows three days in the life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old expelled from school, as he wanders New York City before returning home.
Long regarded as one of the best novels of the 20th century, "The Catcher in the Rye" is praised for its unflinching portrayal of a teenage boy confronting a world of hypocrisy and pretense, as well as for its depiction of Holden's emotional dilemma as he hovers uneasily between adolescence and adulthood.
"Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami
A 1987 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, "Norwegian Wood" is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s. The novel follows Toru Watanabe, a sensitive university student living in Tokyo, who is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful but emotionally troubled woman. Their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years earlier. As Naoko grows increasingly distant, Toru is drawn toward another woman.
An enigmatic love story about the complexities of love, death and mental illness, the novel turned Murakami into a literary superstar in Japan and remains his bestselling title worldwide.
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera's 1984 novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" is set against the backdrop of the Prague Spring, a period of political upheaval in what was then socialist Czechoslovakia.
The story centers on two women and two men: Tomas, a Prague surgeon raised without a father who embraces a philosophy of "lightness" through erotic freedom; his wife, Tereza, a photographer who suffers under the weight of his infidelities; Sabina, a painter and Tomas's lover who seeks absolute freedom from homeland and identity; and Franz, Sabina's lover and a family man drawn to the political and moral gravity she rejects.
Through these entangled lives, Kundera contrasts Nietzsche's idea of heaviness with Parmenides's understanding of life as lightness.
Celeb Reads explores how K-pop stars, actors and other public figures are reshaping the publishing world through heartfelt book recommendations that revive forgotten titles and create new bestsellers. The series highlights the books that shaped them — and may shape your next read. — Ed.
