Personally, Laos is my number one choice for a Southeast Asian travel destination if I had more than a week. Among the places there, Luang Prabang is my top priority. For several years, I have wanted to take a long vacation to visit this place. However, my daily life did not easily allow it. The biggest reason is that my ambition was excessive. Because I kept thinking only about a minimum of a week, it was hard to take the time off. Then, travelogues about Laos that I occasionally read sparked

Smile for Me, Laos Author: Oh Dong-jun Publisher: RHK "Sabai di, nin di thi huchak (Hello, nice to meet you)." Laos. The place that made my heart flutter last summer. Strangely, while the various Southeast Asian countries seemed similar to one another, each had a distinct character of its own. Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam... and Laos is one of them. In particular, Vang Vieng in Laos, which I visited recently, is called "Little Guilin" because it is said to be a miniature version of China's

*Smile White, Laos* is a book chronicling the 777-day stay in Laos of a young man who set out to give toothbrushes as gifts. Before reading the book, I first wondered, "Where is this country called Laos?" Initially, I guessed it might be one of the many cities in Thailand. I had read a book about Khao San Road in the past, so I thought it was a similar place. However, Laos is an independent nation situated between Thailand and Vietnam. As mentioned in the book, it is a country that is quite

Smile White, Laos. Upon reading that Laos was selected as the number one must-visit country by The New York Times, I found myself wondering why Laos is a place everyone should visit at least once. The statement in the prologue that Laotians live to finish the race, not the race itself, really resonated with me. While Koreans prioritize the "hurry-hurry" mentality, Laotians say that the present is more important than the future. They explain that life is a cycle and ask why there is any need to

*Smile White, Laos* is as entertaining as reading a novel; filled with colorful photographs and rich content, I never felt bored while reading it. From the prologue, it immediately captivated my heart, making me eager to read the book right away. This book is a collection of stories written by the author based on the experiences and feelings she felt in Laos over a little more than two years. However, these "stories" are spectacular and intriguing in themselves, much like a protagonist driving

Before reading the book *Smile White, Laos*, I looked up what kind of country Laos is. I commonly remembered it only as a nation located in Southeast Asia and had absolutely no interest in its culture or politics. The official name of Laos is the Lao People's Republic, and it is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordering Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and China. Currently, the country is composed of various ethnic groups; the Lao people make up the majority, while the Hmong

"How much do I know about Laos?" "What is the capital of Laos?" "What is the history of Laos?" These were the questions that arose the moment I first picked up the book. I realized that I knew nothing about Laos other than that it was a Southeast Asian country. However, it didn't take long for me to find myself becoming deeply captivated by the charm of Laos as I read on. There is a passage stating that Laos enjoys the present rather than living in preparation for the future. In fact, I felt

Laos. A country I had heard of somewhere, yet felt unfamiliar to me. Before reading this book, I held the perception that Laos was simply an impoverished nation. However, as I continued reading, I came to realize that Laos is a pure and unspoiled country. Furthermore, witnessing the author teach physical education to innocent children and continuously engage in volunteer activities for their dental health known as the "Chika-Chika Project" purified my own heart and prompted me to reconsider the

After graduating from school, facing a bleak job market due to the IMF crisis, I was searching for various avenues when I learned about the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). It involved volunteering in developing countries around the world, staying in those nations for what I recall being about two years. I had become interested in the agency because it offered a variety of educational programs, ranging from Korean language instruction, and the author of this book also began their