By Felicia Chua

Best known for her self-illustrated mental health titles, I’m Not Lazy, I’m on Energy Saving Mode (2024) and It’s Okay Not to Get Along with Everyone (2025), Korean illustrator and author Dancing Snail called on the sunny shores of Singapore for her first international book tour. Moderated by interpreter April Kim, the book event held at POPULAR NEX on 11 April marked her final stop in Singapore.

Slow & Steady: Living at Her Own Pace

Warming up to the crowd, Dancing Snail introduced herself with her real name, Haneul Shin, and mused that whenever fans reach out to her via social media, she always wonders how international readers could relate so closely to her stories — as told by a Korean, and about Korean culture — and was thus looking forward to hearing from the audience at the book event.

When asked about her unconventional pseudonym, Dancing Snail shared that she might well be an anomaly in Korea’s infamously fast-paced society. Compared to the average Korean, she would be considered a ‘slow’ person, be it in terms of thinking, talking, or even eating. As such, she wanted the main key word of her pen name to reflect her ‘slowness’, and eventually landed on ‘snail’, which was the cutest and slowest animal she could think of. She explained that even though snails are naturally slow, from the snail’s perspective, the pace it sets for itself is the fastest it can go, and it lives at its own pace. Put together, her pseudonym — Dancing Snail — is the whimsical symbolism of her dancing through life at her own pace.

On her writing routine, Dancing Snail revealed that because her stories tend to be private and introspective, she needs her writing space to be quiet, isolated, and undisturbed. Working by her bio-clock rhythm, she finds it easier to make sense of rational ideas and concepts in the day, and draw out more sentimental or emotional thoughts during the night.

As with many Koreans, Dancing Snail loves MBTI, a 16-type personality framework, and visibly perked up when asked about her personality type. Instead of a straightforward answer, she posed the question back to the crowd, curious to see how she was perceived by her audience. After some guesses, Dancing Snail eventually revealed that she is an INFJ. 

Unveiling: New Beginnings & Happiness 

With palpable enthusiasm, Dancing Snail went on to unveil the cover of her upcoming third book — Starting Today, I Choose to Be Happy (2026) — slated for publication on 5 November. While her first book focused on her self-healing journey and her second book explored the human relationships around her, Dancing Snail’s third book pivots to a more philosophical subject — happiness.

A self-professed overthinker, the conclusion of her first two books led Dancing Snail to question, “How can I then live a happy life?” Try as she might, she could not find an answer that struck a chord with her, and began to look inwardly instead. Her introspection eventually kicked off her new literary project, Starting Today, I Choose to Be Happy. At the event, Dancing Snail pointed out that because ‘happiness’ is such an abstract, vast concept, she understood that she couldn’t just rely on her own stories and thoughts, and highlighted that a lot of research from academic reports and data, as well as professional advice, went into this book as well. 

Book Signing: Exclusive Stamp Design 

As the Question & Answer segment concluded, fans who knew the drill were quick to get in line for the book signing. Despite the queue, fans were content to wait for their turn, expressing delight as staff members went down the line to imprint their books with an exclusive stamp design drawn by the illustrator herself.

With clean strokes, Dancing Snail encapsulated her well-wishes to her readers in the form of a smiling snail doodle and encouraging message to “take your time”, no doubt the perfect finishing touch to adorn each book she signed, as well as a fruitful conclusion to her final book event in Singapore.

Coming and going at her own pace, Dancing Snail’s visit to Singapore leaves us with a gentle reminder that life doesn’t have to be rushed to be meaningful, and the best thing we can do for ourselves is to live for ourselves — and at our own pace.