“The luxury of midlife that comes as a bonus when you endure hardship and reach the summit is a blessing.” I never specifically decided to indulge in this “luxury” starting in my mid-fifties. It simply happened, without my realizing it. When an old acquaintance asked, “How did you keep that talent buried for so long?” I looked back on my difficult life. I have moved from being a full-time homemaker to having a much wider range of activities, thanks to the people around me who helped and

I picked up *The Luxury of Midlife* because its title caught my eye, and discovered the author Kim Young-hee’s reflections on midlife and her many pursuits. Medical and scientific advances have extended human life, making the boundaries of middle age less clear. Where does midlife fall in an era when people may live to 100? The author seems to place it from the fifties onward, which made the book feel more relatable to me. She began a new chapter in her fifties, while I am thinking about

We live in an era when people may reach 100, and the idea of youth has changed—some define it as lasting until age 65. “The second half of life” refers to beginning a new life after retirement. Korea has entered a super-aged society, so today’s middle-aged people, who would once have been considered elderly, generally have much more time ahead than previous generations. The efforts of the first half of life may not be enough to make the second half fulfilling, which raises the question of how

Luxury means spending more money or goods than necessary or living beyond one’s means. Today it is not simply a personal value or something judged only by a moral standard; it can be an essential part of life and a cultural phenomenon that shapes social trends. The word carries negative ideas of excess, vanity, and social disorder, but its earliest dictionary definition described a way of life that displays elegance and refinement through conspicuous consumption. Its roots carry both positive

*The Luxury of Midlife* has a somewhat provocative title. Through writing, the author suddenly began living a different life; she now enjoys midlife, writes happily, and gives good lectures. The book raises many questions we should consider as we go through life. It says that seven forms of capital—psychological, cultural, intellectual, and others—help us develop the habitus, or tastes, that make the luxury of midlife possible. These forms of capital all matter. Wealth alone cannot make us

I absentmindedly picked it up from the bestseller display, then stood reading for 30 minutes. I bought it and finished it at home in two days. Despite its somewhat bland title, it seemed to offer insight into life as a whole. A surprise in the best way? It has been a long time since I read a book worth the price.

The author discusses digital literacy on page 99. Today, literacy means more than being able to read and write Korean; it also matters where we can find the information we need, how much we can find, and how well we use it. The book cites Jack Andraka, a boy who, after a relative died, gathered information solely online and developed a pancreatic cancer test kit. Pancreatic cancer often shows symptoms late, when little can be done; a celebrity’s death from it shocked many people only a few

This book offers people in the later stages of life several ways forward. I recommend it to those who have spent their days as someone’s spouse or parent and lost sight of themselves. I hope they find through this book the things their true selves love and enjoy.

It is not easy to find courage as we get older, but it is not impossible. Life has its own level of refinement, and the life of habitus expresses it well. Kim Young-hee shares vivid stories of how she climbed the steps toward that life. These are stories she wants to tell people in midlife who dream of living well.