Stories for the lovelorn

“SALA KHON SAO”, the popular pocketbook targetting the heartbroken and hopeless, is celebrating 50 years of publication by becoming a monthly magazine.

 The pocketbook, which was launched by the late music guru Lek Wongsawang in the late 1960s while he was working as a radio disc jockey, has always included real-life love stories, including infatuation and love triangles. In fact, the name “Sala Khon Sao” means a shelter for sad people, who find solace by sharing their stories.

Over the years, the pages of “Sala Khon Sao” have borne witness to the anger, disappointment and despair of more than a million heartsick Thais.

Lek’s daughter Piyawan Wongsawang, now executive editor-in-chief of the pocketbook-cum-magazine at the Wongsawang Publishing & Printing Company, says she wanted the pocketbook to catch up with the 21st century.

“The new look ‘Sala Khon Sao’ is bigger and better; it has a visual identity, beautiful layout and is printed on good-quality paper,” says Piyawan. “There are at least 20 columns and scoops about real-life experiences and the love stories of people in the entertainment circle, quizzes on love and sex, articles on dharma and love, as well as mysterious stories, laws, health tips, recipes, weird news from around the world, and entertainment gossip.”

The first issue of the monthly magazine, which is priced at Bt45, is being launched this month and comes with 50-stang gold necklace and two posters.

It also has a Facebook page, but Piyawan is confident that social media will never totally replace the traditional way of communication for “Sala Khon Sao” readers.

“Technology facilitates a faster connection but a posted message or account could never provide the same value or appreciation as a hand-written letter, which become precious memoirs,” she says.

Although the iconic cover of the publication has changed over the years, from featuring sorrowful faces of ordinary women to featuring beautiful stars to attract the modern reader, the soul and aim of “Sala Khon Sao” has remained the same.

“Today, there are lots of lonely people, especially those from upcountry, who have migrated to Bangkok,” says Piyawan. “They want to find new friends through ‘Sala Khon Sao’, which in itself is a good friend with interesting columns about health, sex education and legal issues as a guide to both love and life.”

 

 

n The magazine is available at bookstores and 7 Eleven shops nationwide.

n Follow the movement at Facebook.com/salakhonsao.page