Debut novel invites readers into dokkaebi-run magical market open only once a year You Yeong-gwang struggled with his vision for some time. It was painful to look at bright lights after eye surgery. With job options suddenly limited, he worked as a telemarketer at a call center to make ends meet, facing verbal abuse every day. After years of living like that, he couldn't go on. His escape came with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the boom in food delivery jobs it brought. His eyesight having recovere

Yun Jung-eun’s bestselling novel explores emotional healing for readers and author herself When you step into this particular laundromat, they promise to remove all kinds of stains -- yes, even those that linger in the mind. Jieun, an enigmatic yet warm woman, greets visitors and offers them tea from a porcelain teapot. The space, with its hanok-inspired interior, has the quiet charm of a countryside cafe. Moonlight streams through the windows, casting a glow that seems to slow the passing of ti

SINGAPORE -- A wave of “healing” Korean literature has gained momentum this year, with a growing number of titles winning hearts and more to come just over the horizon. At the center of the wave stands Shanna Tan, the Singaporean translator who debuted with runaway bestseller “Welcome to Hyunam-dong

Acclaimed Korean-to-English translator and newly minted novelist, Anton Hur is navigating his busiest year yet. Based in Seoul, Hur was born in Stockholm and raised in Hong Kong, Ethiopia and Thailand, “but mostly in Korea.” So far this year, he has published six translated works, made his debut as

Mira, a resident of Yeonnam-dong living with her daughter, Nahee, and her husband, Woochul, finds herself at a crossroads. Despite her past success, her reality feels bleak as she struggles to find work amid all her concerns about her daughter and financial worries. When her old washing machine brea

At 3 a.m., a young woman stands alone on Mapo Bridge in Seoul, leaning against the railing. Cars speed past, no one noticing her. She is contemplating ending her life: The pandemic has stripped her of her job, her debts are mounting and her hope is waning. It’s been two hours of deep, dark introspec

Author Lee Mi-ye hopes she has added magical reason for why one-third of our lives is spent asleep We all have that experience of waking up from a delightful dream, only to find it slipping away after a few hours, or suddenly waking up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. What if there was a store wher

Dagger-shortlisted novel follows anonymous narrator masterminding perfect murders The man is very good at his “job” -- crafting simple, elegant and effective solutions for “restructuring.” Not so obvious or messy, certainly nothing anyone would ever suspect as murder. The natural deaths he plans hav

Co-translator says poems show resilience, potential of humanity A monumental work of Korean labor literature, Park No-hae’s poetry collection “Dawn of Labor” has recently been published in English. In 1984, Park Ki-pyung, better known by his penname Park No-hae, meaning liberation of laborers in Kor

‘Cursed Bunny’ author writes about robots ‘sweeter’ than human Few voices resonate as uniquely as that of Bora Chung, whose gripping stories like the haunting narratives of “Cursed Bunny” captivate readers worldwide. With her genre-defying short story collection, translated by Anton Hur, Chung becam