[Provided by Barunbooks]
[Provided by Barunbooks]

Lee Dong-ho, former vice chairman of Hyundai Department Store Group, has published an autobiographical essay collection titled "The First Step of a Long Journey," released by Barunbooks.

Lee spent 36 years at Hyundai Department Store Group, overseeing strategic mergers and acquisitions and new business projects while leading organizational culture reform. He was promoted to vice chairman in 2017, taking broad responsibility for the group's overall management.

The book weaves together memories from his childhood through his years as a corporate executive, tracing his return to private life. It reflects a gentle outlook on the people who shaped his world — family, neighbors, friends and colleagues.

Rather than offering the grand life lessons, management secrets or success stories common to many business memoirs, the collection is candid and introspective, filled with quiet reflection and personal confession. The author's unpretentious warmth — the quality of a friendly neighborhood ajeossi — runs throughout. A chapter titled "Half a Century Together" stands out as a heartfelt love letter to his wife, written in the modest form of an essay, honoring the woman who walked quietly by his side for half a lifetime.

Lee also shares a modest personal wish: to avoid what he calls the final trial of losing one's peace of mind — drawing on the Buddhist teaching attributed to Shakyamuni, "Do not be struck by a second arrow." Through that reflection, he reminds readers that life is full and that luminous moments belong to everyone.


spa@heraldcorp.com