The Power of Nunchi

The Korean Secret to Happiness and Success

By: Euny Hong

Narrated by: Jackie Chung

Length: 5 hrs

Publisher's Summary

"A must-read for anyone interested in the art of intuitively knowing what others feel." (Haemin Sunim, best-selling author of The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down and Love for Imperfect Things)

Improve your nunchi. Improve your life.

The Korean sixth sense for winning friends and influencing people, nunchi (pronounced noon-chee) can help you connect with others so you can succeed in everything from business to love. The Power of Nunchi will show you how.

Have you ever wondered why your less-skilled coworker gets promoted before you, or why that one woman from your yoga class is always surrounded by adoring friends? They probably have great nunchi. The art of reading a room and understanding what others are thinking and feeling, nunchi is a form of emotional intelligence that anyone can learn - all you need are your eyes and ears. Sherlock Holmes has great nunchi. Cats have great nunchi. Steve Jobs had great nunchi. With its focus on observing others rather than asserting yourself - it's not all about you! - nunchi is a refreshing antidote to our culture of self-promotion and a welcome reminder to look up from your cell phone.

Nunchi has been used by Koreans for more than 5,000 years. It's what catapulted their nation from one of the world's poorest to one of the richest and most technologically advanced in half a century. And it's why K-pop - an unlikely global phenomenon, performed as it is in a language spoken only in Korea - is even a thing. Not some quaint Korean custom like taking off your shoes before entering a house, nunchi is the currency of life. The Power of Nunchi will show you how the trust and connection it helps you to build can open doors for you that you never knew existed.

A Penguin Life title.

©2019 Euny Hong (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“The 5,000-year-old concept [of nunchi] is nuanced but ultimately simple: Pay attention.... With Hong’s guidance, you, too, can become a nunchi ninja in the New Year.” (The Washington Post)

“Profoundly wise.... This wonderful exploration of a nuanced Korean philosophy will appeal to any reader looking to hone skills of emotional perception.” (Publishers Weekly) 

"Advice that can serve everyone well.... Give[s] readers the chance to incorporate principles into their daily lives that will help them see through many everyday challenges." (Library Journal) 

Very disappointing

Good context and set up but application is cringeworthy. The part about nunchi at work makes it seem like the author stopped going to an office in 1972. Old fashioned and irrelevant.
The writing is inconsistent: sometimes almost funny, but not quite, sometimes cute and too rarely insightful

Nunchi Ninja Training

Few gifts have come across my path where I love them so much that I purchase them in bulk to give away at Christmas time as my favorite thing that year. This has won, hands down, my top pick for 2019 as the best product that has disrupted my thinking, enlightened me to so much and simply made everything click in my monkey brain.

For those that get to go through the same self discovery process and epiphany laden journey as I’ve emerged from, INVU4URAQT.

Social Awareness How-To

Great book to get a big picture view of how to improve social awareness and intuition. Filled with lots of validation and real world examples, this book gave me insight to improve how I show up at work and how I have conversations with my loves ones.
Great recommendation!!

Great book!

Love this book! It has a different perspective on the power of intuition and common sense for your daily life in different situations!

deeper understanding of whys

truly appreciate the honesty of personal struggles and proving good, bad & the ugly outcomes of each decision

Oh to have a Time Machine and this book!!

I wish I'd known this as a young person -- so thankful to have found it now. This is a really important concept, and the author does a fantastic job of explaining both the what and the why of each point. I loved the examples...really helped to understand in context. I look forward to using my new eyes, and I will be sharing and re-visiting this book often. My teenage sons are going to start on it next week. What a gift to understand this at their age!!