Author: Bae Myung-hoon
Translated by: Stella Kim
Publisher: Honford Star, 2024
Original title: 청혼, 2013
Link to online store *
In The Proposal, a space opera romance set against the backdrop of a looming colossal war between Earth and a mysterious adversary, a story of love unfolds through a series of intimate letters. This poignant novella explores how a space-born soldier’s gradual involvement with an escalating conflict intertwines with a heartfelt proposal to his Earth-born partner, revealing the intricate dance of love and duty at the edge of an interstellar conflict.
Translated by Stella Kim, The Proposal reflects on the distances that separate us—both physically and emotionally—and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, ever striving to overcome these divides.
Source: publisher’s website
LKL says:
Although The Proposal made it into English three years after Kim Bo-young’s I’m Waiting for You, it was published in Korea two years before Kim’s novella. Both stories comprise a series of letters from a lover to their beloved, letters that have to travel the vastness of space to reach their destination. Comparing the two stories, I found I’m Waiting for You easier to follow and more engaging. Bae keeps you guessing as to the identity of the enemy in the intergalactic war in which our correspondent is a participant (is it in fact a splinter group from Earth’s own forces, somehow attacking from the future?) which some readers may find appealing, but others (including me) will find unsatisfying.
LKL rating: 
Entry on Goodreads.com here.
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