There is a moment when a single book changes the direction of your life—one line from a book that altered the lives of countless successful people. The work of gathering the voices of readers who went through that experience has begun.
The survey for “Best 50 Spiritual Books That Changed the Lives of Koreans,” co-hosted by Meditation Taste Spots, Mindlab (a nonprofit organization), Inner City, Chae Chun-nam TV, and Healing News, officially launched on May 15. As the first large-scale survey attempted in Korea’s spiritual field, it runs for one month through June 14.
A Definition of Spiritual Books Beyond Religious Boundaries
The organizers define spiritual books in this survey as “books that expand human consciousness and promote healing.” Candidate books are not limited to any particular religion or genre. Any book that brings deep insight and inner change to the reader’s life is included. However, religious scriptures—such as the Bible—whose credibility and effectiveness have already been verified are excluded from the survey.
It’s an approach that breaks down barriers between genres and places readers’ lived experiences at the center. Whether it’s a self-improvement book, a psychology book, or a meditation guide—any book that qualifies as one that unsettles and awakens a person’s consciousness is eligible.
How to Participate and the Schedule
The survey is conducted through Korea Research, a professional public-opinion polling organization. Participants can freely respond in an open-ended format by writing the spiritual books that had the greatest impact on their lives—anywhere from at least 1 book up to as many as 3 books. This is an open format with no fixed answer choices; readers directly write in the book titles.
A Collaborative Network Among Organizations in the Spiritual and Healing Field
Another reason this survey is drawing attention is its broad collaboration structure. Along with five co-hosting organizations, Mental World Publishing Company (“Jeongsinsegyeonsa”), Mindfulness Playgrounds, and Mombom are participating as sponsors.
In addition, many organizations join as collaborating institutions—including Bulkwang Media, Mabo, Center One, Gaia TV, the student association of the Graduate School of Seoul Buddhist University, Korean NVC Publishing, the Korean Buddhist Psychotherapy Society, the Korean Shalem Spiritual Training Center, the Won Buddhist Meditation Counseling Association, Thursday Brain Science News, and Lounge Akashic—strengthening efforts to recruit participants, with more and more institutions joining over time.
It brings together different areas—Buddhism and Christianity, meditation psychology, brain science, and spiritual culture—under one roof.
Healing News participates as a co-hosting organization, contributing to survey guidance for readers in the spiritual and healing fields, reporting on the progress, and sharing the results announcement. As a media outlet that covers meditation culture and healing content, the goal of this survey is to help make visible the spiritual landscape of Korean society.
Prizes Worth 2.5 Million KRW and Expected Impact
Survey participants will receive prizes totaling up to 2.5 million KRW, including book gift certificates, through a random draw. Anyone who has read spiritual books and experienced changes in their life can participate for free. Sponsored by Jeongsinsegyeonsa, which is leading Korea’s spiritual book market.
The organizers said, “We want to gather the public’s experiences and voices about books that changed people’s life directions and helped their consciousness grow, and create meaningful spiritual maps for Korean society.” They added, “We hope many citizens interested in spirituality will actively take part.”
The survey results are expected to be compiled and verified before being announced in the future, and will be used as data to create new momentum in Korea’s spiritual-book publishing ecosystem and the content market. Naturally, people are curious which book truly stirred the hearts and souls of Korean readers.
We look forward to your many subscriptions and participation.
Please join in growing the spiritual lives of Koreans.
▶ Survey Participation: mindlab.or.kr/50books
