The Power of Nunchi: The Korean Secret to Happiness and Success

Full disclosure. I’ve known Euny since 2014 and I’ve always admired how she handles social situations. When I read this book years ago, we were just prior work acquaintances.Interacting with others is a dance. Euny is a patient dance teacher whose focus is on helping you not step on other’s feet. Her advice isn’t judgmental and solely focused on faux pas and the mechanics behind them.Nunchi is, in essence, about reading the room. This book is about reading the room. But it’s not “just” about the concept of reading a room. This book doesn’t tell you to “just read the room.” It’s about the social mechanics behind it.Telling someone to “just read the room” when they don’t know what to look for is not helpful. There is nothing “just” about reading a room. It’s contextual and nuanced. Some of us need things spelled out.Euny does the math and shows her work.I sometimes feel that I acted inappropriately and I don’t exactly know how. Euny gives real life examples of awkward situations she has experienced and examines them play by play like a sports commentator replaying footage of a game. It isn’t mean. She focuses on her own real lived experiences.The situations Euny picked to examine are the types of situations we have all experienced at one point in our life. You’ll say, “that’s me!” and trust me, you’ll get a few laughs in. I read this book in a single sitting the week it was released and recommend it to anyone who comes to me asking about faux pas.Thanks, Euny, for teaching me rule 1 of dance: don’t step on people’s toes!

Insightful, with practical suggestions and witty vignettes that many can relate to. Nunchi is an articulation of both self-awareness and other-awareness in human interactions and relationships that actually all cultures possess (as acknowledged in her conclusion that this is both an Eastern and Western concept). Nunchi is a tool which if used appropriately, is a positive (and, either without nunchi or nunchi used inappropriately, a negative). It just happens that Koreans have historically had this word that sums up this concept well, and Euny provides more context to its definition by describing her personal experience in Korea with it, and how she and others have incorporated it in cultural settings outside of Korea.

Easy to read txt about a useful approach to human relations.

This book is full of wisdom and great ideas, especially for people who want to understand how to handle mystifying group and interpersonal dynamics.

Good book, good price

Great advice

"The Power of Nunchi" is one of my favorite books of the year! Euny Hong does a terrific job of introducing "nunchi" as a framework for human behavior.What is nunchi? Euny defines it as "eye-measure, or the subtle art of gauging other people's thoughts and feelings to build harmony, trust, and connection." She calls it the "Korean superpower" - e.g. the art of understanding how to read the room in order to be a better communicator and a more successful person.Have you ever walked into a party, noticed it was quiet, and told a joke to "liven things up"? And after the host burst into tears and ran into the bathroom, you were told that she just disclosed her incurable disease? Nunchi is about emotional intelligence.Euny does a fantastic job of illustrating her point with funny examples. She also provides practical examples. For instance, her advice on how to "empty your mind," practice box breathing, turn down the volume,watch your counterparts for clues, ask questions, and improve discretion are all terrific.Here are Euny's 8 rules of nunchi:1. Empty your mind. As Bruce Lee said, "Empty your cup, so that it may be filled."2. Be aware of the Nunchi Observer Effect. When you enter a room, you change it. Understand your impact.3. if you just arrived in the room, remember that everyone else has been there long. Watch them to gain information.4. Never pass up a good opportunity to shut up. If you wait long enough, you will answer your own questions without having to say a word.5. Manners exist for a reason.6. Read between the lines. People don't always say what they are thinking. Look for the silent clues.7. If you cause unintentional harm, it's sometimes as bad as intentional harm. Get outside your head and into others' thinking.8. Be nimble and quick. Gather data, process, and adapt quickly.In closing, unless you have perfect emotional intelligence, you should read this book!

Hello people. It’s called “Reading the room”. If you’ve made it past your twenties and can’t comport yourself with others, this little book ain’t gonna help.

Amazing delivery, must readrecommend this one.

I was going to offer this as a St. Nicolas present, however the book is dirty, it has dark fingerprints on the cover and also on the side and I cannot seem to remove them.

wonderful simple read and makes a great gift to learn to relax and enjoy the moment. thanks

Todo muy bien. Llegó muy rápido a pesar del covid, y el libro es de muy buena calidad. Muy buen servicio de la librería inglesa.

Love this book. Everyone should read it. It will change your life .. really it will ... it will make you think about stuff and you might find you make some better choices ... which will make things better thus changing your life