Focus on Britain and America

2020.09.07

Jeong You-Jeong’s <Seven Years of Darkness (EunHaengNaMu)> was translated and published in the United Kingdom and the United States in May and June respectively. It had only been 2 years since her previous work <The Good Son (EunHaengNaMu)> was published in both regions in 2018. This new title is already receiving the spotlight from major media outlets. For example, Crimereads, Bustle, and AARP.org chose this book as the “Most Anticipated Book of Summer 2020,” while the Los Angeles Times commented, “You-Jeong Jeong is a certified international phenomenon … Genuinely surprising and ultimately satisfying … Seven Years of Darkness [bolsters] the case for Jeong as one among the best at writing psychological suspense.”

Korean covers of <Seven Years of Darkness>, <The Good Son>

Cover of the US and British edition of <Seven Years of Darkness>

Her <Seven Years of Darkness> which was also turned into a movie is a novel featuring a sorrowful but awe-inspiring and scathing 7-year-long story of a father and a son told with her overwhelming imagination and meticulous background research. The eye-catching and somewhat bewitching charm of the book stems from the author’s intention to “look deep into the hidden nature of human beings.” Her iconic thrilling sentences, well-built characters, and watertight world view present narrative catharsis to readers just like the pumping heart of a diver surging up to the surface from the deep sea.

Covers of the Korean and British edition <The Disaster Tourist>

A full-length novel <The Disaster Tourist (Minumsa)> written by Yun Ko-Eun that was first translated and published in the UK and the US is a Korean title that also deserves to be read in this half of the year. While being called “a satirical Korean eco-thriller with a fierce feminist sensibility,” the translated edition of the book was published in the two regions in July and August respectively. The Guardian commented that the book is “A fresh and sharp story about life under late capitalism … an entertaining eco-thriller,” while Elvia Wilk, the writer of <Oval> called it, “An endlessly surprising and totally gripping read, The Disaster Tourist is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking … There could not be a more prescient moment for this too-real fiction about how we create our own disasters on every scale and what resilience might mean in the face of catastrophe.” The book <The Disaster Tourist> is a story of “Ko Yona,” who had been working for 10 years as a head programmer at a travel agency called “Jungle,” which only sells packages that take travelers to regions devastated with disasters. The place she headed to when her company pushed her to the verge was “Mui,” a sinkhole in the desert. Unexpectedly isolated in the destination, she gets entangled in a massive project. The writer Yun Ko-Eun takes a rather refreshing approach as she talks about two different topics together – disaster and traveling. Readers will be able to find something in the book that they would never find in other works by her.

Covers of the Korean and the US edition <My Brilliant Life>

Meanwhile, another full-length novel <My Brilliant Life (Changbi)>by Kim Ae-Ran that is set for publication in the US in January next year is indeed a promising title. It topped the bestsellers’ list as soon as it was published in Korea in 2011, and it hasn’t lost a bit of popularity among readers until today. It drew even more attention when its movie was released in the cinema. The book lays out a story about youth and love that make our hearts pit-a-pat, while being led by the “youngest parent” and the “oldest child.” Among all the neatly written miraculous and beautiful sentences of Kim Ae-Ran, the reader finds her glistening insight towards life and love. Kim’s depiction of “being a parent, being a child, and getting old” makes readers smile until the end of the book with moments that fill their eyes with tears. Claire Lombardo, writer of a New York Times bestseller <The Most Fun We Ever Had> commented, “A moving, earnest, and deeply-felt exploration of a unique family in all its joys and disappointments … an utter delight.” The book deserves anticipation. It will be Kim Ae-Ran’s first debut into the British and American markets.

Written by Joseph Lee (President of KL Management)