[This Week’s Books] Inheritance in Opera and More

Inheritance in Opera

In the aftermath of the opera's final curtain, this book reads the theme of inheritance. Characters on stage, driven by love and betrayal, desire and reconciliation, are summoned from the world of drama back to the real-life courtroom, where death leaves behind property and rights. "Inheritance in Opera" is a cultural guidebook that reinterprets the cases of Nemorino from "L'elisir d'amore," Rosina from "The Barber of Seville," Violetta from "La Traviata," and the will in "Gianni Schicchi" within the modern Korean inheritance, gift, and tax system.

Kang Sungmin, a certified public accountant and former KBS Classic FM producer, and Yoon Hyungsan, a consultant at an accounting firm, combine commentary on the operas with explanations of tax law, weaving concepts such as inheritance tax, gift tax, compulsory share, contribution share, inheritance of copyright, and resident taxation into the stories. For readers unfamiliar with opera, it serves as a beginner’s guide to following the works; for those new to tax matters, it becomes a guide to understanding the structure of laws and systems through scenes of human relationships and desires. (Written by Kang Sungmin and Yoon Hyungsan | Cheonga Publishing)

The New War

Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but a matter of power. Former British diplomat Arthur Snell, in "The New War," traces how desertification, food crises, the scramble for critical minerals, and the opening of Arctic routes are becoming the conditions for new wars and hegemonic competition.

The book examines the changing world order through the four lenses of "earth, air, fire, and water." If oil was the key to power in the 20th century, in the 21st century, power lies in who controls food, water, minerals, and the energy transition. This is a primer on climate geopolitics, covering not only the rivalry between the U.S. and China, but also the rise of middle powers such as Brazil, Oman, and Indonesia. (Written by Arthur Snell, translated by Noh Seungyoung | LeadersBook)

The Immortal Designers

"The Immortal Designers" begins with the idea that Silicon Valley has started to see even death as a problem that technology can solve. Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Google are pouring vast sums of money into anti-aging biotechnology, AI-driven drug development, and gene therapy.

Alex Krotoski interprets this trend not as scientific progress, but as the new desires of power. The book traces how humanity’s dream of longevity is transforming into an investment industry, technological fundamentalism, lifespan inequality, and a Silicon Valley-style order that transcends national boundaries. (Written by Alex Krotoski, translated by Choi Jeongsook | Miraeui Chang)

Eat Well Before You Leave

The shamanist rituals of riverside villages, forbidden ceremonies, grand rituals summoning power, and sacrificial offerings left in empty shrines at midnight—familiar scenes of faith slowly turn into unfamiliar terror across the four stories in this book. Here, shamanism is not a traditional motif, but a dangerous gateway that opens the moment human desire trespasses into the realm of the divine.

Kim Ajik, Jeong Myungseop, Moonhwa Ryussi, and Choi Hana each draw out the chilling face of Korean shamanism through their own genre sensibilities. The will to save a life, the obsession to reveal the truth, and the desire to gain more ultimately bring characters face to face with beings that should never be summoned. This is a Korean-style occult anthology where ancient beliefs meet modern anxieties. (Written by Kim Ajik, Moonhwa Ryussi, Jeong Myungseop, Choi Hana | Factory Nine)

The Robots Are Not Coming

Although AI seems to operate on its own, there are invisible people behind it. Without human labor to classify data, filter out harmful content, and feed the algorithms with clicks, searches, and "likes," neither platforms nor the artificial intelligence industry could function.

Antonio Casilli challenges the conventional wisdom that automation eliminates labor, delving into how technology has fragmented and hidden work further than ever before. "The Robots Are Not Coming" reveals that the real issue in the AI era is not the disappearance of jobs, but the reality that labor, separated from wages and rights, is spreading into every aspect of daily life. (Written by Antonio Casilli, translated by Byun Jeongsu | Isang Books)

Why Must We Do Something?

The pressure to always be doing something has become the default of life. Even rest turns into a means for recovery, and freedom itself is seen as something that can be temporarily set aside for a greater purpose. Koichiro Kokubun asks how a society that reduces every action to a means and an end traps people in a state of compulsion.

This question goes beyond individual fatigue, extending to the issue of democracy. Reflecting on mobility restrictions and emergency measures during the COVID-19 era through the philosophies of Agamben, Benjamin, and Arendt, the author explores how easily freedom can be restricted when a plausible purpose is presented. This is a philosophy lecture that asks not "Why must we do it?" but "Where is the freedom not to do it?" (Written by Koichiro Kokubun, translated by Park Youngdae | UU Publishing)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.