Silbizip (DdeunDdeun)

Lee Jiyeon: Silbizip, which means “a place that only charges for the actual cost of ingredients,” is an online entertainment show where Nam Chang hee serves a meal to his guests. Like the program writer's comments that "it’s a show made with a humble and bland concept," there’s no bustling chatter or reactions let alone provocative directing or editing at Silbizip. Only conversations and dishes for the guests made with care, or to cite a production staff, "We want it to be soft chatter like ASMR." During the show, which is also called "Nam Chang-hee's Little Forest," Nam prepares for the dish by checking the guests’ tastes in advance, choosing the menu a day before the program, and tending the ingredients. Even while cooking, he meticulously checks whether the guest prefers her food salty or bland, and devotes himself even to little things. “Actually, I’m just kind of pretending. It’s not like I’m good at it like real chefs. Since I’m not perfect, I think it would be nice to do it in a way that complements each other’s weaknesses," Nam says. But contrary to his words, his  high-level cooking, excellent plating and decorating skills make it more fun to watch. It also comes with various cooking tips that explain how to cook noodles (when cooking pasta, add chicken stock for extra flavor; when cleaning seashells, use iron spoons). 

Such friendly conversations between the host Nam Chang hee and guests add flavor to Silbizip's dish. EP.1 invites the program's producer and writers and lets them share the difficulties of their jobs and relatable stories; EP.2 provides a whole table with comforting food to a lawyer who’s busy with trials and often makes do with a sandwich. Silbizip is even called “a program that rediscovered Nam Chang hee” thanks to his great care, consideration and kindness for others throughout cooking. The warm and hearty dish made just for one person and their stories provide viewers as well as guests a sense of rest and hospitality just by watching. It’s a somewhat bland but lasting program in YouTube’s online entertainment shows filled with seasonings and condiments. Nam Chang hee’s cooking recipe is also made into a short with narration by the youngest producer and kind explanations that are easy for viewers to follow. 

The City and Its Uncertain Walls – Haruki Murakami

Kim Gyeoul (writer): It’s Haruki Murakami's first new book in six years. This alone is enough to grab readers' attention, but there’s a more interesting story behind this novel: it’s a collection of short stories—that had been published in a literary magazine in 1980 but never in any book—rewritten into a full-length novel after 40 years. Back then, The City and Its Uncertain Walls felt insufficient for Haruki, and with the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, he didn’t leave his home and started rewriting this novel from the beginning. This is where some characteristics of the novel are revealed: it’s a novel where two sides of the teenage boy protagonist intersect, as if Haruki in his thirties is meeting himself in his seventies; it features a city surrounded by walls, just as how the COVID-19 swept the world and created an age of isolation. On top of these, the novel transcends the fundamental questions of life with various subject matters including shadows, libraries, and dreams. As always, his novel is calm but contains mystery, making readers follow the chaos and look back on their own shadows.

“Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo)” - KISS OF LIFE

Kim Yunha (Music Critic): The video clearly shows a girl living on the streets. After barely getting her fatigue body up from the sofa, she starts to wander along the train tracks with a large backpack, a portable mini-audio, and headphones, which are probably all she possesses. Whether it’s the scene where she stuffs fast food into her mouth with the money she earned from dancing, her baggy hip-hop fashion, or even the background place that all make it hard to guess which age the video is set in, the whole video is wrapped by the sweet silky 1990s R&B sounds. “Just move, according to my heart / Dancing for myself / The transparent moonlight / Pours out, more freely.” This is “Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo),” a track on an album by the rookie girl group Kiss of Life who debuted in July.

The group Kiss of Life’s debut album unprecedentedly features solo songs by each of its members, among which “Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo)” is by NATTI. Anyone who’s been watching K-pop over many years should know NATTI. She has received attention by starting her career as an idol trainee in 2013 at the age of 11 and appearing in a series of survival audition programs like SIXTEEN (2015) and Idol School (2017). The song “Sugarcoat (NATTY Solo)” is the result of all the pushing and pulling that has been going on between K-pop and NATTI for a long time. The music and the video that seem to have been ripped out from the golden age of pop culture that we have deeply enjoyed don’t feel like a cliche because they have the vibe made by someone who has been on the same path for a decade. The harmony made by the veteran writer Cho Yoon kyung—who does an excellent job of capturing the smooth, slippery melody without missing a single note—and the vocal skills of NATTI is just exquisite.