Interpark Special Exhibition: 10 Young Korean Literature Writers to Watch

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Interpark is holding a special exhibition titled 'Young Korean Writers to Watch in 2020.'

This exhibition was prepared to support young writers leading Korean literature and to widely promote their works. It introduces 10 outstanding novels recently published by writers who debuted within the last 10 years.

Writer Kim Geum-hee has rapidly emerged as a promising figure in Korean literature, winning awards such as the Shin Dong-yup Literary Award, the Grand Prize of the Young Writers Award, and the Hyundai Literary Award. His third short story collection, Only One Person's Possession, looks squarely at past wounds instead of romanticizing them, finding meaning in all the time we have lived through with his uniquely tender perspective.

Writer Kim Se-hee debuted in 2015. She received the 9th Young Writers Award in 2018 for her short story collection Quiet Days. Through her first full-length novel Love at the Harbor, published last September, she tells a story of first love that was left behind but never forgotten, involving idols, fan fiction, and girls who loved other girls during that time.

Writer Kim Bong-gon debuted in 2016 through the Dong-A Ilbo New Spring Literary Contest and published his first short story collection Summer, Speed last year. He is also known as 'Korea's first openly coming-out novelist.' The queer short story collection Summer, Speed erases the boundaries between the universal and the particular, falsehood and authenticity, presenting the love between 'him' and 'him' to readers.

Kim Hye-jin, author of About My Daughter, released her new full-length novel Nine Times Work after two years. It tells the quiet tragedy of a man who refuses a recommended resignation and continues working at his company. The novel calmly yet persistently examines the harsh and sorrowful reality of 'work' that pushes away peaceful daily life.

Park Sang-young, who debuted in 2016, along with Kim Bong-gon, is one of the leading writers representing Korean queer literature and one of the hottest writers today. After his first short story collection Tears of an Unknown Artist and Zaitun Pasta in September 2018, he published his second book Love in a Metropolis less than a year later. As the title suggests, it depicts the love and breakups of youth unfolding in a big city.

Writer Baek Su-rin’s novel Dear, Dear deals with the stories of women across three generations. What does it mean to live as someone's mother? Women who become mothers for the first time can only guess that life through their own mothers. This novel is for those who have hesitated choosing the next words after writing the four letters 'To Mom.'

Writer Son Bo-mi, who debuted in 2011, published the short story collection Fireflies of Manhattan, which includes 20 short stories featuring characters such as a detective who finds the lost 7 o'clock, a cat thief, and a collector of misfortunes.

Writer Jang Ryoo-jin’s debut work The Joy and Sorrow of Work vividly portrays the daily life in Pangyo Valley that the author personally experienced, attracting great attention from many readers and the literary community, creating a sensation. It is a collection of eight short stories realistically depicting the daily lives and sorrows of young office workers in their 20s and 30s.

The Enthusiasts is the first short story collection by Jung Young-soo, who debuted with the Changbi New Writer’s Award in 2014. It includes eight works written from the debut piece Night in Lebanon up to autumn 2016. Through each work, the author sensitively portrays the essential conflicts between characters and their worlds.

A Person Harmless to Me is Choi Eun-young’s second short story collection, released two years after her debut work Shoko’s Smile. It compiles seven medium-length and short stories published from autumn 2016 to spring 2018. Novelist Kim Yeon-su described Choi Eun-young as 'a writer who writes novels with deep understanding of humanity.'

This special exhibition is a recommended book event selected by Interpark’s literature MDs. If readers are not satisfied with the featured works, they can return them for free. More detailed information about the works selected by the literature MDs and the free return event can be found on Interpark’s website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.