The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Hangyodong Edition): The Power to Keep Only What's Truly Important in Life

Author Mark Manson · Publisher Galleon · Publication Date 2026-09-03 · ISBN 9788901299730

About the Book

Erase everything but what's most important!
The subtle art of not giving a f*ck that helps you stay grounded in a complex world.

This is an era overflowing with opportunities and news. Success stories of creating something out of nothing dominate the media, and people everywhere compare themselves to each other, checking off bucket list items. A sense of competition that says "you can't fall behind others" and an impatience that demands constant acquisition weigh us down. The formula that a good life means working harder, rushing more, and achieving more success has spread like a virus.

However, there's something we're missing: the fact that every endeavor has an opportunity cost. Bill Gates spent most of his 30s sleeping in the office five days a week, and Steve Jobs failed to adequately care for his eldest daughter. Great achievements inevitably come with sacrifices. To gain something, you must give something up.

In the same vein, Mark Manson emphasizes that we should first ask what we need to abandon, rather than what we need to acquire. To truly care about what's important, he argues, we need the skill to appropriately not give a f*ck about trivial things. While many people grapple with the purpose of life, in an overzealous world, the real problem often stems from not knowing 'what to give up.'

So, what does it mean to not give a f*ck? The "not giving a f*ck" that Mark talks about is not indifference. It starts by abandoning the illusion that you alone are uniquely miserable, or the 'pretense' that you must be exceptional compared to others, and accepting the fact that life inherently involves suffering. Only then can you begin to discern what is truly important from what is not. This subtle art of not giving a f*ck is the master key to transforming life's inevitable problems into a more positive direction.

To you who have no idea what your life's goals are, or where happiness lies,
A refreshing, blunt message from America's most provocative writer.

Mark is currently a highly influential power blogger and successful startup CEO in the U.S., but he was quite a problematic student during his school years. He was expelled for drug use and later drifted further into turmoil after experiencing his parents' divorce and a friend's death. It was natural that he had no life goals, and after graduating from college, he lived as an unemployed person for a long time, and even after starting a startup, he struggled to find his way.

What he realized then was that once you start doing something, difficult tasks become easier. With nothing left to lose, he began by trying even simple things. Then, failure felt trivial. Since then, he has faced his life head-on, living with a sense of responsibility for both big and small challenges. Whenever he receives emails from people complaining that they don't know what to do with their lives, Mark emphasizes this 'just do something' principle and advises them not to fear failure. He believes that everyone eventually dies, and the present moment will not return. Therefore, he advises against clinging to self-destructive ideals or bogus values, and instead to discover realistic and meaningful values of one's own.

There are countless examples of lives ruined by being trapped in wrong values. Dave Mustaine, who was kicked out of Metallica, was one such case. He was a member of Megadeth, one of the most acclaimed bands in heavy metal history, and achieved tremendous success with over 25 million album sales, yet he lived his entire life feeling like a failure who was kicked out of Metallica. We should not make the mistake of wasting our lives pursuing empty values, unable to see the happiness that is right in front of us.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck introduces five values that are important to hold in life: take responsibility for everything that happens in your life, let go of the belief that you are always right, don't be afraid of failure, learn to say no, and accept that you will eventually die. If you engrave these values in your heart, you will be able to become a slightly less wrong person each day.

Entertaining stories, unreserved humor, profound insights into life,
Mark Manson's representative work that makes you laugh and then ponder.

Mark Manson's writing, which relentlessly delves into life's problems, makes you burst into laughter and then, at some point, stop and think as if you've been hit in the back of the head. We have believed that we must be better people, try harder, and always maintain a positive attitude. However, Mark Manson presents the opposite view. He says that we cannot have everything, we cannot be good at everything, and we don't need to care about everything. Sometimes it is necessary to give up and let go, and most importantly, it is about choosing what to care about.

Amidst countless choices and opportunity costs, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck delivered unexpected enlightenment to modern people confused about what is important. It quickly rose to become a #1 bestseller on Amazon and The New York Times through word-of-mouth. It was also selected as 'Amazon's most-read book of 2017' and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, enjoying long-lasting popularity. Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle Is the Way, praised it as a "philosophical and practical masterpiece," and accolades continued from various media outlets and celebrities, including Kirkus Reviews.

The 'not giving a f*ck' that The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck talks about is not a cynical attitude that values nothing. It's more about accepting the fact that you can't care about everything, and instead choosing what truly matters to you. Problems always arise in life, and not everything goes as planned. So, the important thing is not to create a problem-free life, but to decide what problems you are willing to bear, and what you will devote your time and attention to.

It's okay to let go of the pressure to be happy, and the burden to be good at everything, for a while. To look at life as it is, even when things don't go your way, and to care a little less about what's not important. Instead of offering a method for creating a perfect life, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck asks us, who live imperfect lives, what we will choose to value.


From the Book

I’m not going to teach you how to achieve what you desire. Instead, I’m going to talk about how to give up and let go. I’ll guide you on how to create a list of things in your life and then erase everything but the most important items. I’ll make you believe that it’s okay to close your eyes and fall backward. I’ll share the art of caring less. I’ll teach you how not to do things.
--- p.9

Charles Bukowski, known as an 'underground legend' in American literature. He was a drunkard, a womanizer, a gambler, a scoundrel, a miser, a slacker, and, to top it off, a poet. No one would have expected to seek life advice from him or to see his name in a self-help book. That’s why Bukowski is the perfect person to start this book with.
Bukowski lived his entire life as he was. His genius doesn't lie in overcoming immense adversity or rising to become a literary giant of his time. Rather, it's the opposite. Bukowski revealed himself, especially his worst aspects, without concealment, and calmly shared his flaws with the world. His genius lies in this simple ability. The real reason Bukowski succeeded was that he was nonchalant about his failures. He lived without giving a f*ck about success.
--- pp.18-19

There is another truth hidden in life. That is, you cannot become important enough to change someone else's life without being ridiculed or becoming a problem. It's not possible. Because we will never lack hardship. It just won't happen. As the old saying goes, "Wherever you go, there you are." The same goes for hardship and failure. Wherever you go, a 200kg 'pile of shit' awaits you. But that's okay. The important thing is not to run away from the pile of shit. The important thing is to find the pile of shit you are willing to accept.
--- p.38

The question of 'what you are willing to struggle for' defines who you are. Someone who enjoys the struggle in the gym might run triathlons, have sculpted abs, and lift massive barbells. A workaholic who enjoys late nights and office politics gets promoted rapidly. An artist who relishes the stress and anxiety that come with a hungry artist's life is more likely to succeed as an artist.
The question that determines success is not 'What do I want to enjoy?', but rather 'What pain am I willing to endure?' The path to happiness is strewn with piles of shit and humiliation. You have to choose something. You cannot live without pain. You cannot only walk on flower paths.
--- p.49

Dave Mustaine, a member of Megadeth, one of the most successful bands in heavy metal history, felt like a failure despite immense fame and success. This was because he valued comparing his success capriciously to the success of others. This caused him to suffer from terrible problems like, 'I need to sell another 150 million albums. Then everything will be okay,' or 'The next tour must be in a huge arena, no matter what.' Mustaine believed that solving these problems would make him happy. It's no wonder he wasn't happy.
--- p.123

We always live taking responsibility for our 'experiences.' Even if it's not 'my fault,' this is part of life. You, and no one else, are responsible for your situation. You might blame others for your unhappiness, but you alone are responsible for that unhappiness. Because you are always the one who chooses how to view, respond to, and evaluate the events you encounter in life. You are always the one who chooses the criteria by which to evaluate experiences.
--- p.142

I was always wrong. Completely. Throughout my life, I had completely misunderstood myself, others, society, culture, the world, the universe—everything. Growth is an endless iterative process. We move from being wrong to being slightly less wrong as we learn new things. As I get older and gain experience, I will gradually shed my mistakes and become a slightly less wrong person every day. Michael Jordan famously said, "I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." I've made mistake after mistake in my life. That's why my life has improved.
--- p.160

Table of Contents

[Prologue] Erase everything but what's most important

Chapter 1 Don't try, don't strive, don't give a f*ck
- The man farthest from self-help books in the world
- The truth of self-help: 'You're not enough'
- The infinite loop of the hell of anxiety
- Grandpa said, "That's just how life is, go shovel dirt"
- Don't try, don't strive, don't give a f*ck
- The turning point of life, the art of not giving a f*ck

Chapter 2 Happy endings are only in fairy tales
- Two questions that determine our lives
- The uncomfortable truth taught by Disappointment Panda
- The prince who gave up wealth and chose a life of suffering
- Problems continue, they only change or improve
- When you have to swallow a pill you don't want to swallow

Chapter 3 Why do you think you're special?
- The nonsense of 'everyone can be great'
- The venture capitalist delusional about becoming Steve Jobs
- The compulsion to be the best or the worst, to be in the top 1%
- The worst day when everything fell apart
- You are neither a promising talent nor a failure

Chapter 4 There's no 'how to avoid suffering'
- People who dedicated their lives to self-destructive ideals
- The illusion of unhappiness due to not owning a foreign car
- The man kicked out of Metallica overnight
- The former Beatles member who created a different outcome despite similar trials
- Bogus values that can be completely ignored
- If you want a better life, care about better values
※ 5 values that will change our lives

Chapter 5 If you make a choice, you must take responsibility
- How to run 42.195 km
- The choice that made a social misfit into a top scholar
- That breakup was ultimately my responsibility
- What Malala tried to protect against the gun
- Some hands are dealt at birth
- Do it if you're going to, don't if you're not, 'how' is not needed

Chapter 6 You're wrong, and so am I
- The only certainty is that nothing is certain
- People who constantly come up with lies
- The bogus advice of 'follow your heart'
- The woman who became a stalker by blindly believing in wrong values
- How dangerous is certainty about oneself?
- How to become a slightly less wrong person every day

Chapter 7 Don't suffer over failure
- Had nothing to lose, so had nothing to fear
- The reason Picasso could paint 30,000 pictures
- Choose the pain you can endure, and endure it
- Confessions of those who survived the war
- How to accept failure: 'Just do something'

Chapter 8 Saying no is an art of life
- What I learned on a trip where I left everything behind
- Choose what to reject, that is who you are
- The unhealthy reason for Romeo and Juliet's love
- Well-intentioned lies that destroy relationships
- A skill more needed when there are more options

Chapter 9 We all die eventually
- Enlightenment that came at the worst moment of life
- The question left by death: What will I leave behind?

[Acknowledgments]