■ How the World Eats (by Julian Baggini, published by Inmun Sikdang)
Food is more than a means of survival. It is the foundation that sustains human life and a central engine of modern society. Few dispute that the global food system is broken, but fragmented knowledge makes it hard to grasp the whole picture. Drawing on in-depth interviews with more than 20 experts and key United Nations reports, the author surveys the vast world of food through what he calls philosophical journalism. His argument is that people must move beyond passive consumers to become awakened "food citizens." 33,000 won.
■ Conditions for a Leading Nation With an Insurmountable Edge (by Jung Jae-hoon and Jeon Sang-hoon, published by Ccomm)
This book examines both the strategic assets South Korea has secured — semiconductors and traditional manufacturing, artificial intelligence and robotics, K-culture and content — and the bottlenecks that keep those assets from working. The authors, who built long careers in industrial policy and the energy sector, analyze the competitiveness of each industry alongside infrastructure such as electricity, talent and supply chains, as well as government plans and the on-the-ground capabilities accumulated by companies and workers. By weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the industries that support Korea on the same evidentiary footing, the book charts a path from advanced economy to leading nation. 18,900 won.
■ The Uncanny Muse (by David Hajdu, published by Kachi)
The world has reached a point where even music is made by artificial intelligence. The author, a Columbia University professor who is also a composer and performer, digs into the strange relationship between art and machines. He offers an accessible account of the sharpest debates surrounding art and AI — the claim that machine learning is changing the very nature of creativity and that machines may surpass humans in artistic work, and the opposing claim that art belongs solely to the human domain and that machines should not interfere in its creation. 22,000 won.
■ Kaho (by Haruki Murakami, published by Munhakdongne)
This is the first new work in three years from Japanese bestselling author Haruki Murakami, following "The City and Its Uncertain Walls." While keeping the familiar worldview that moves between the real and the unreal, the novel has drawn attention as his first to feature a woman as the sole protagonist. Kaho, a 26-year-old picture-book author, moves to a town on the outskirts of Tokyo and encounters a series of strange situations. As she becomes entangled with beings from an alien world — an anteater, a jaguar and a termite queen — she steps up as the one to resolve the crisis. 18,500 won.