2025 Novel of the Year Chosen by Novelists: Kim Aeran's "I Said Goodbye"

Kyobo Book Centre Selects Top Novels from 95 Recommendations

In the '2025 Novel of the Year Selected by 50 Novelists' survey conducted by Kyobo Book Centre, Kim Aeran's "I Said Goodbye" took first place.

Kim Aeran. Photo by Lee Seungjae, courtesy of Kyobo Book Centre

Kyobo Book Centre compiled a list by asking novelists to recommend up to five novels they would suggest to others. Eligible works were novels published between November 2024 and October 2025, regardless of whether they were domestic or international, or their genre. This year, a total of 95 titles made it onto the recommendation list.

Author Kim Aeran achieved the remarkable feat of ranking first once again in 2025, following her short story collection "Outside, It's Summer" in 2017 and her full-length novel "One of the Two Is a Lie" in 2024. "I Said Goodbye," her first short story collection in eight years, explores conflicts and dilemmas surrounding space, articulated in a more mature literary language.

Kim Aeran commented, "One of the good things about getting older is that the depth of my gratitude for everything changes. Receiving this news at a time when even a single maple leaf on the street or a person in front of me felt especially precious makes me even more grateful. During a period when I was wondering how far and for how long my writing could reach, I want to express my deep gratitude to my fellow novelists, who are always close yet somehow difficult to approach."

Second place went to Koo Byungmo's "Jeolchang." Known for her steady creative output grounded in original imagination, solid narratives, and an experimental spirit, Koo Byungmo explores the act of interpreting the eternal text of 'the other,' along with its possibilities and limitations, through a strange love story in "Jeolchang."

Koo Byungmo shared, "For several years, I often found myself humming the lyrics 'I guess this is the end...' from Kim Kwangjin's song, but whenever I did, something inexplicably encouraging would happen. The support from fellow writers was one of those moments." She added, "Though I sometimes doubt and hesitate, thanks to such warm encouragement, I gain the courage to take another step toward the next year. I will carefully maintain my balance and move forward to the next place."

In third place, four titles were selected: Jung Ihyun's "No People Zone," Lee Giho's "The Cheerful Life of Ishibong, Short and Without Struggle," Kim Hyejin's "Only Hers," and Sung Haena's "Honmono." Fourth place was shared by Yoon Sunghui's "A Heart That Moves Slowly" and Pyun Hye-young's short story "The Future of Adults."

In particular, Sung Haena's "Honmono" has been one of the most talked-about works in Korean literature this year. With its distinctive characters and intense, chilling narrative, it is praised for ushering in a new generation of realism and vividly capturing the contemporary landscape.

The video introducing the recommended books from the '2025 Novel of the Year Selected by 50 Novelists' will be released on the Kyobo Book Centre YouTube channel on the 19th.

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