The United Nations (UN) has set March 20 as ‘World Happiness Day.’  The Korean Economic Institute presented a report before ‘World Happiness Day,’ showing that Koreans’ economic happiness index is 40.4 out of 100. Also, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in a survey regarding ‘the degree of happiness,’ Korea ranked 24th out of 36 member states. In a UN survey, Korea ranked 56th out of 156 member states.
Though there is an official documentation proving that Koreans are generally unhappy, forget about these reports and ask yourself if you are happy. Have you ever thought about it? Of course, we do complain a lot in our every day lives, saying things such as I woke up too late, I have to skip breakfast, there are no seats in the subway train, the line in the cafeteria is too long, I have a class at 9 a.m. tomorrow. We often say that we are depressed, sad or angry. On the contrary, do we ever say that we are happy?
Let us get back to the question of ‘Are you happy?’ Most of you would answer back saying I do not know, I am not happy, or I am neither happy nor unhappy. When I am asked such a question, I say that I am not happy at all or even that I am unlucky. Recently, I read the book, Hector’s Trip in the Pursuit of Happiness (La Voyage d’Hector ou la recherche du bonheur). It has taught me that ‘happiness’ is not a complicated word and we can easily find it in our every day lives.
Hector's Trip in the Pursuit of Happiness is the story of Hector, a psychologist who plans to take a break from his work and travel all around the world to find the true meaning of happiness. He finds 23 principles of being happy. I want to share some of them with you.

Happiness is knowing that nothing is deficient in your family
Happiness is doing something that you like to do
Happiness is feeling that you are needed by others
Happiness is being loved by others just the way you are
Happiness is thinking about the happiness of someone you love
Happiness depends on how you look at things
The biggest enemy of happiness is the competitive spirit
Happiness is having interest in others’ happiness

If you simply read these principles in this article, they will probably mean nothing to you. However, if you read about them in the book, you will be able to learn the true meaning of happiness. Hector finds happiness from the trivial things that he sees.
Last year, a lot of books about healing and consoling were published. However, these books do not actually console the reader because the author has lived his own life, and does not know what exactly everyone else is going through. Those consolations are just superficial. Hector’s Trip in the Pursuit of Happiness does not give you direct advice; however, I am sure that this book can be a guide to finding simple, small happiness in your harsh lives. If you read this book and apply the principles to being happy, you will be able to make every day of your life more meaningful and enjoyable. Also, you might feel that you are already a happy person.

Choi Yu-hyun Editor-in-Chief
saera92@uos.ac.kr