{"id":780,"date":"2026-06-01T06:15:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T06:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/cul260528001-enkr\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T06:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T06:15:18","slug":"cul260528001-enkr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/cul260528001-enkr\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Ok-pyo’s \ud68c\uace0\ub85d ’20 Hours’ Becomes YES24 Bestseller, Chronicles 88 Years of a \uaca9\ub3d9 Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Image\"<\/div>\n
Hong Ok-pyo's \ud68c\uace0\ub85d '20 Hours' Becomes YES24 Bestseller, Chronicles 88 Years of a \uaca9\ub3d9 Life<\/div>\n

Pestbook recently announced that Hong Ok-pyo's \ud68c\uace0\ub85d, '20 Hours: A Portrait of a \uc138\ub300 Who Worked, Raised, and Protected,' has climbed to 18th place on YES24's diary\/epistolary bestseller list. The book vividly chronicles 88 years in the \uc778\uc0dd of a mother who navigated Korea's \uaca9\ub3d9 \ud604\ub300\uc0ac, including the \uc77c\uc81c\uac15\uc810\uae30 and the \ud55c\uad6d\uc804\uc7c1, to protect her \uac00\uc871. Far from being merely a \uac1c\uc778 account, it is hailed as a \ud5cc\uc0ac to all mothers who endured that \uc2dc\ub300 and a testament to the remarkable \uc2b9\ub9ac of maintaining \ud76c\ub9dd amidst \uc5ed\uacbd.<\/p>\n

The Book's Birth and Bestseller Status<\/h2>\n

Pestbook announced that Hong Ok-pyo's \ud68c\uace0\ub85d, '20 Hours: A Portrait of a \uc138\ub300 Who Worked, Raised, and Protected,' has reached 18th place on YES24's diary\/epistolary bestseller list. The book details 88 years of a \uc5ec\uc131's arduous life, spent working up to 20 hours a day to single-handedly support her \uc790\ub140 and in-laws through turbulent times, including the \uc77c\uc81c\uac15\uc810\uae30 and the \ud55c\uad6d\uc804\uc7c1.<\/p>\n

This \ud68c\uace0\ub85d, compiled by her second daughter, Kim Jin-hyang, from Hong Ok-pyo's \uc721\ud544 \uc6d0\uace0, was published to honor her mother's \uc778\uc0dd following her passing in 2024. Beyond simply recounting \uace0\ud1b5\uacfc \uace0\ub09c, the book holds profound \uc758\ubbf8 as a \ud5cc\uc0ac that documents the hidden histories and noble sacrifices of all mothers who quietly safeguarded a \uc138\ub300.<\/p>\n

A Life Through Tumultuous Modern History<\/h2>\n

Born in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, in 1937, Hong Ok-pyo experienced \ub300\ud55c\ubbfc\uad6d's \ud604\ub300\uc0ac firsthand. At the tender age of 14, when the \ud55c\uad6d\uc804\uc7c1 broke out, she began her \uc0dd\uc874 \ud22c\uc7c1, even boiling deceased chickens to feed her \uac00\uc871.<\/p>\n

A major \uc804\ud658\uc810 in her life occurred during the January 21 \uc0ac\ud0dc in 1968. When her \ub0a8\ud3b8, a police officer, died in an \uc0ac\uace0 during a \uc9c0\ubc29 \uc21c\uc2dc, 31-year-old Hong Ok-pyo was left solely responsible for ten \uc2dd\uad6c, including her eight-year-old eldest son, four young \uc790\ub140 in total, her 57-year-old mother-in-law, and her young brother-in-law and sister-in-law. To support them, she endured arduous \ub178\ub3d9, working up to 20 hours a day. Her \ub0a8\ud3b8's \uc21c\uc9c1 was not officially recognized until 10 years later, in 1978.<\/p>\n

While managing her \uac00\uacc4, Hong also actively engaged in \uc9c0\uc5ed\uc0ac\ud68c service. She served as \ud68c\uc7a5 of the Saemaul Women's Association starting in 1972, \ud68c\uc7a5 of the Cheonan City \uc5ec\uc131\ub2e8\uccb4\ud611\uc758\ud68c from 2003 to 2006, and \ud68c\uc7a5 of the Cheonan branch of the Korea Widows' Association for Fallen Soldiers from 1978 to 2015, leading an exemplary \uc0ac\ud68c\uc0dd\ud65c. For these \uacf5\ub85c, she received numerous accolades, including a \ub300\ud1b5\ub839 \ud45c\ucc3d, and her name is \uae30\ub85d in the '\ud55c\uad6d\uc778\uc0ac\uba85\uac10'.<\/p>\n

The Moving Comfort of a True Record<\/h2>\n

The Pestbook \ud3b8\uc9d1\ubd80 emphasized that the book is not merely a tale of \uace0\ub09c but a profound \uc2b9\ub9ac of an \uc778\uac04 who persevered even on the brink of despair, and a hidden \uc5ed\uc0ac of the \uc5ec\uc131 who endured that \uc2dc\ub300. They commented that despite imperfect spelling and raw \ubb38\uc7a5, the \uc800\uc790's \uc721\ud544 \uae30\ub85d contain a \uc9c4\uc2e4 and weight of \uc778\uc0dd that no \uc18c\uc124 could imitate.<\/p>\n

Online bookstore readers who read the book expressed deep \uacf5\uac10, leaving \uac10\uc0c1\ud3c9 such as, "It's sometimes difficult to read about her complete \ud5cc\uc2e0 to her \uac00\uc871, but it's also incredibly \ub3d9\uae30\ubd80\uc5ec," and "The figure of '20 hours a day' vividly illustrates the intensity of the \uc800\uc790's \uc778\uc0dd, and reading it sent shivers down my spine." The \ucd9c\ud310\uc0ac added that this \uae30\ub85d would serve as a \ucc98\ubc29\uc804 \uc704\ub85c for readers burdened by \uc778\uc0dd's \uace0\ub09c.<\/p>\n

\n
\uc774 \uae30\uc0ac\uc5d0 \uc0ac\uc6a9\ub41c \ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4 \uc6a9\uc5b4<\/div>\n
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English Version<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hong Ok-pyo's \ud68c\uace0\ub85d '20 Hours' Becomes YES24 Bestseller, Chronicles 88 Years of a \uaca9\ub3d9 Life Pestbook recently announced that Hong…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"remote_featured_image_url":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/kr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/cul260528001_01.png","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1299,1301,1306,1140,1305,1303,1300,1304,1298,1302],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-1299","tag-yes24","tag-1306","tag-1140","tag-1305","tag-1303","tag-1300","tag-1304","tag-1298","tag-1302"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kstories.kr\/en-ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}