Kwon’s third collection of poems, Love and Beginning, has been published in 33 volumes in the K-Poet series. Poet Kwon Park received a lot of attention when he won the Kim Sooyoung Literary Award for 『It’s My Turn to Understand』 and expanded the world of his own work through his second collection of poems, 『Is … [Read More]
Booklist: Literature Fiction and Poetry (page 12)
A Mirror for The Blind: Reflections of a Digital Seoul
Discover the Realities of Contemporary Korea “Hi, nice to meet you. This is my third blind date this week, so… let’s get the usual stuff out of the way and decide where to go from there. Great, I’ll start. First, what’s your age? Your academic background? How much do you make? And your parents? How … [Read More]
Am I Not Your Sin (K-Poet 31)
As the 31st volume of the K-Poet series, poet Choi Ji-in’s 『Isn’t Your Sin Me?』 was published. This is her third collection of poems after “I Slept Against the Wall” and “Work, Work, Love.” If his previous collection of poems specifically portrayed the voices of the young generation living in the 21st century, in this … [Read More]
Poverty Must Persist (K-Poet 32)
As the 32nd volume of the K-Poet series, Kim Sai’s 『Poverty Must Be Maintained』 was published. This is her third collection of poems after “The Day I Quit Reflecting” and “I Say I’m Not Doing Anything.” As a poet who desperately portrayed the absurdity of the workplace and the reality of female workers suffering doubly … [Read More]
The Naked Tree
A delicate, timeless, and breathtaking coming-of-age classic, reimagined Critically acclaimed and award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim returns with a stunning addition to her body of graphic fiction rooted in Korean history. Adapted from Park Wan-suh’s beloved novel, The Naked Tree paints a stark portrait of a single nation’s fabric slowly torn to shreds by political upheaval and armed … [Read More]
The Apology
In South Korea, a 105-year-old woman receives a letter. Ten days later, she has been thrust into the afterlife, fighting to head off a curse that will otherwise devastate generations to come. Hak Jeonga has always shouldered the burden of upholding the family name. When she sent her daughter-in-law to America to cover up an … [Read More]
Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories
A woman is born. A woman is filmed in public without consent. A woman suffers domestic violence. A woman is gaslit. A woman is discriminated against at work. A woman grows old. A woman becomes famous. A woman is hated, and loved, and then hated again. Written in Cho Nam-Joo’s masterful, razor-sharp prose, Miss Kim … [Read More]
Sukhyang’s Tale & Sugyŏng’s Tale: Two Romantic Novels from Old Korea
Sukhyang’s Tale, known as one of the masterpiece women’s narratives in the 17th century of old Korea, evolves around the love story of Sukhyang and Yi Sŏn, which takes place in heaven and again on earth. It deals with stories from Sukhyang’s ordeals of being separated from her parents during a bandit riot to her … [Read More]
Knockoff Viagra & Jeje
“I had been called to pick up Jeje from a karaoke bar in Jongno district…” A deftly expressive short modern love story concerning the misadventures of Hyoung and Jeje as they navigate the Seoul underworld in search of something more from life with lots to say about our contemporary moment; how people use and are used by others, but … [Read More]
Take My Voice
“The bloodstains on the linoleum were impossible to remove completely.” A madcap, sci-fi, found-family caper set in a world where a small group of people, known as ‘monsters’, have developed odd special powers or traits necessitating their voluntary, or less voluntary, incarceration while the state works out what to do with them and which builds to a wonderfully comic set-piece, charmingly … [Read More]
Towards 0%
“Despite the hordes of people packing the theatre that day, I can’t remember a single face.” An extended meditation on the world of Korean cinema, the blockbuster versus the independent artist, its trends and its characters and role in society, seen through the eyes of a film enthusiast narrator and their interactions with those around them, each … [Read More]
Kyoko and Kyoji
“My name is きょうこ, Kyoko, I am Korean … I have something important to tell you.” A subtly disorienting story of reminiscences between a mother and daughter as they each in their own way struggle with the effects of the mother’s encroaching dementia. As they each try to piece together the fragments of a traumatic history, through doing so they tell … [Read More]
The Greatest Gamble On Earth
“If I had to choose the richest person whom I would call a friend, I would pick Han Seung-hui.” A reconnection with an old friend leads to an intriguing party invite with surprising results and, through this simple tale and the progress of a single relationship, but from separate and very different worlds, a deeper story is told of contemporary society and class. About the … [Read More]
Walk With A Goddess
“Are you referring to the ‘strange and sorrowful coincidences’? That’s what I call them. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but they’re no ordinary, everyday thing, just so we’re clear.” A young woman rumoured to be possed of a strange supernatural ability and a young man take a walk. As she tells him her story … [Read More]
Like A Barbie
“Met her again today. I finally got my hands on her, but still can’t believe what she put me through all that time. Attaching her face here. K-Bot.jpg” A story of a young student’s tribulations and those of the people around her which says a lot about the process of coming of age in contemporary Korean society … [Read More]
For That Which Cannot Be Restored
“I simply shrugged at her like a westerner, which did nothing to temper the bottled-up shame and simmering anger within me.” A cranky woman of letters ends up investigating after a story submitted for a writing competition at a government sponsored magazine is pulled from publication by its author, and in doing so finds a … [Read More]