Why Poet Lee Byung-ryul Returned to Paris — Because He Loves It
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Poet Lee Byung-ryul’s new prose-and-illustration book, Good Because I Like It, collects memories and scenes from his time in Paris. Known for shaping Korea’s travel-essay genre with works like “Attraction” and “The Wind Blows, I Like You,” Lee revisits the city where he first learned of his literary success (his winning of the 1995 Korean Ilbo New Spring Literary Contest) and where his poetic identity took root. He had once left Korea for Paris during a period of uncertainty when he hadn’t published a poetry collection; the city’s people, cafés, artists, old buildings, and lingering traces of history rekindled his affection. Rather than focusing on tourist spectacle, Lee finds Paris’s capacity for inspiring love and art in its worn architecture and small, precious remnants. Illustrator Choi San-ho’s vivid drawings complement Lee’s gaze, transporting readers into Paris’s atmosphere. The book is part of the “Yeochek Jeochek” series, which spotlights travel books of many kinds.
