UNITED STATES / MIYE LEE / 이미예 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Korean Fiction  >  21st century

THE #1 KOREAN BESTSELLER WITH OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD For fans of magical realism and the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi comes this cozy fantasy debut. What if there was a store that sold dreams? Which would you buy? And who might you become when you wake up? In a mysterious town hidden in our collective subconscious there's a department store that sells dreams. Day and night, visitors both human and animal shuffle in to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor specializes in a specific type of dream: childhood memories, food dreams, ice skating, dreams of stardom. Flying dreams are almost always sold out. Some seek dreams of loved ones who have died. For Penny, an enthusiastic new hire, working at Dallergut is the opportunity of a lifetime. As she uncovers the workings of this whimsical world, she bonds with a cast of unforgettable characters, including Dallergut, the flamboyant and wise owner, Babynap Rockabye, a famous dream designer, Maxim, a nightmare producer, and the many customers who dream to heal, dream to grow, and dream to flourish. A captivating story that will leave a lingering magical feeling in readers' minds, this is the first book in a bestselling duology for anyone exhausted from the reality of their daily life. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10251735

SPAIN / Han Kang / 한강 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Korean Fiction  >  21st century

REMIO BOOKER INTERNACIONAL 2016 El fenómeno literario internacional que catapultó a Han Kang y que está destinado a ser un clásico «Un libro que resistirá el paso de los años». Gabi Martínez «Palabra a palabra, La vegetariana es una experiencia extraordinaria». Daniel Hahn, The Guardian «Una de las escritoras más sublimes que pueblan el escenario contemporáneo». Berna González Harbour, El País Hasta ahora, Yeonghye ha sido la esposa diligente y discreta que su marido siempre ha deseado. Sin ningún atractivo especial ni ningún defecto en particular, cumple los requisitos necesarios para que su matrimonio funcione sin sobresaltos. Todo cambia cuando unas pesadillas brutales y sanguinarias empiezan a despertarla por las noches, y siente la imperiosa necesidad de deshacerse de toda la carne del frigorífico. A partir de ese momento, Yeonghye impondrá en casa una dieta exclusivamente vegetariana que su marido aceptará entre atónito y molesto. Este será un primer acto subversivo seguido de muchos otros que la llevarán a la búsqueda de una existencia más pura y despojada, más cercana a la vida vegetal, un lugardonde el poder erótico y floral de su cuerpo romperá las estrictas costumbres de una sociedad patriarcal y ultracapitalista. Situada en Corea del Sur, La vegetariana es la historia de una metamorfosis radical y un acto de resistencia contra la violencia y la intolerancia humanas. Galardonada con el Premio Booker Internacional, esta bella y perturbadora novela catapultó internacionalmente a la que es una de las voces más interesantes y provocadoras de la literatura asiática contemporánea. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10799086?cid=37224

SPAIN / IM SEONG-SUN / 임성순 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Korean Fiction  >  21st century

. Cuando lo contratan como consultor, espera encontrarse con el típico trabajo tedioso, pero, como aspirante a escritor, la Compañía busca de él algo distinto: a partir de las circunstancias y personajes que le proporcionen, el protagonista debe desarrollar historias en las que la muerte aparezca de manera fortuita. La sorpresa llega cuando se entera de que los «personajes» son reales... La Compañía se enfoca en la reestructuración de otras empresas cuyos trabajadores ya no son requeridos, mas nadie sospecha que se encarga de eliminarlos en el sentido literal. A partir de esta premisa, y con humor negro, en El consultor se entremezclan situaciones en las que la muerte parece natural, accidental o provocada por la misma víctima, para así convencer a criminalistas, investigadores y hasta forenses de que no hay nada extraño, mientras el narrador se cuestiona hasta dónde será capaz de llegar por conservar su empleo. Calificado por The Korea Times como un suceso literario por su original reinterpretación del género thriller, en El consultor Im Seong-Sun retrata un mundo perturbador donde el distanciamiento emocional, característico del estilo de vida corporativo, es el propulsor de una dinámica autodestructiva del trabajo en la que todos somos reemplazables. Audiolibro narrado en español neutro.

UNITED KINGDOM / Baek Sehee / 백세희 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Essay  >  21st century

THE PHENOMENAL KOREAN BESTSELLER TRANSLATED BY INTERNATIONAL BOOKER SHORTLISTEE ANTON HUR 'Will strike a chord with anyone who feels that their public life is at odds with how they really feel inside.' - Red PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you? ME: I don't know, I'm – what's the word – depressed? Do I have to go into detail? Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her – what to call it? – depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgemental of others. She hides her feelings well at work and with friends; adept at performing the calmness, even ease, her lifestyle demands. The effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favourite street food, the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like? Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a 12-week period, Baek begins to disentangle the feedback loops, knee-jerk reactions and harmful behaviours that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is a book to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness.

UNITED STATES / HAEMIN SUNIM / 혜민 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Essay  >  21st century

"In When Things Don’t Go Your Way, Haemin Sunim offers readers a warm and reassuring path through the most challenging moments of our lives. By sharing his hard-won wisdom, he guides us from hardship to self-discovery, helping us to stay centered and feel whole." -Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and co-host of the Dear Therapists podcast From renowned Zen Buddhist teacher Haemin Sunim, a guide to turning life's challenges into opportunities for self-discovery Have you ever felt like life has thrown you a curveball? Are you struggling to overcome unexpected challenges and setbacks? While loss, heartbreak, and loneliness are all part of the human experience, in this warm guide, internationally bestselling author Haemin Sunim shows us that these moments can actually be rare opportunities for self-discovery, serving as stepping stones to greater things in life. Drawing on Zen Buddhist philosophy and Sunim’s own experiences, When Things Don't Go Your Way helps you navigate life's challenges with resilience and grace. Whether you're dealing with rejection, uncertainty, loneliness, conflicts in relationships, or burnout—or simply seeking to improve your mental and emotional well-being—Sunim offers a new spiritual perspective, one that helps us face life's challenges with greater ease and understanding, and offers solace and courage when we need it the most.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION / Пак Хёнсок / 박현숙 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Children and Adolescents

Школьнику Ван Доёну и шеф-повару Ли Минсоку после смерти несказанно повезло! Ведь далеко не каждому удается встретить загадочную Кумихо и получить от нее предложение — всего-то капелька крови в обмен на 49 дней жизни. Вернуться из мертвых столь просто — большой соблазн, однако условия сделки оказываются не такими прозрачными... Перед Ван Доёном и Ли Минсоком встает непростой выбор, но один из них готов на многое, чтобы воскреснуть и исправить ошибки прошлого. Ведь когда еще представится такой шанс? Трогательная история о том, что такое настоящая жизнь. О том, как важно проживать каждый ее момент и благодарить даже за малое. source : https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10590331?cid=37224

UNITED STATES / SOYOUNG PARK / 박소영 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Children and Adolescents

Enclosed under a vast dome, Snowglobe is the last place on Earth that’s warm. Outside Snowglobe is a frozen wasteland, and every day, citizens face the icy world to get to their jobs at the power plant, where they produce the energy Snowglobe needs. Their only solace comes in the form of twenty-four-hour television programming streamed directly from the domed city. The residents of Snowglobe have everything: fame, fortune, and above all, safety from the desolation outside their walls. In exchange, their lives are broadcast to the less fortunate outside, who watch eagerly, hoping for the chance to one day become actors themselves. Chobahm lives for the time she spends watching the shows produced inside Snowglobe. Her favorite? Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s biggest star—and, it turns out, the key to getting Chobahm her dream life. Because Haeri is dead, and Chobahm has been chosen to take her place. Only, life inside Snowglobe is nothing like what you see on television. Reality is a lie, and truth seems to be forever out of reach. Translated for the first time into English from the original Korean, Snowglobe is a groundbreaking exploration of personal identity, and the future of the world as we know it. It is the winner of the Changbi X Kakaopage Young Adult Novel Award. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/9893187

GERMANY / JUNE HUR / 허주은 / 2023 / literature  >  English and American literatures

Den Palast zu betreten bedeutet, einen blutigen Pfad zu beschreiten. Joseon (Korea), 1758. Unehelichen Töchtern stehen in der Hauptstadt nur wenige Möglichkeiten offen, aber durch harte Arbeit und Studium hat sich die achtzehnjährige Hyeon eine Stelle als Palastschwester verdient. Alles, was sie will, ist, den Kopf unten halten, gute Arbeit leisten und vielleicht endlich die Anerkennung ihres entfremdeten Vaters gewinnen. Doch plötzlich wird Hyeon in die dunkle und gefährliche Welt der Hofpolitik gestoßen, als jemand in einer einzigen Nacht vier Frauen ermordet. Die Hauptverdächtige ist Hyeons Mentorin. Entschlossen, die Unschuld ihrer geliebten Lehrerin zu beweisen, beginnt Hyeon mit ihren eigenen geheimen Ermittlungen. Bei ihrer Suche nach der Wahrheit trifft sie auf Eojin, einen jungen Polizeiinspektor, der ebenfalls auf der Suche nach dem Mörder ist. Als die Beweise beginnen, auf den Kronprinzen als Mörder hinzuweisen, müssen Hyeon und Eojin zusammenarbeiten, um die dunkelsten Ecken des Palastes zu durchsuchen und die tödlichen Geheimnisse hinter dem Blutvergießen aufzudecken. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10279506?cid=37224

UNITED KINGDOM / Bora Chung / 정보라 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Korean Fiction  >  21st century  >  SF  >  Fantasy

By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the Korean by Anton Hur, Your Utopia is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. "Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung's terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts" (Vulture), yet these stories are suffused with Chung's inimitable wry humor and surprisingly tender moments, too—often between unexpected subjects. Chung's writing is "haunting, funny, gross, terrifying—and yet when we reach the end, we just want more" (Alexander Chee). If you haven't yet experienced the fruits of this singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting. Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10485037?cid=37224

UNITED STATES / Park Seoryeon / 박서련 / 2024 / literature  >  Korean Literature  >  Korean Fiction  >  21st century  >  SF  >  Fantasy

A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga. Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul's Mapo Bridge. But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone. But the young woman's initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it's portrayed in stories. It isn't just destiny—it's work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn't a monster or an intergalactic war. It's global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too. Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it's ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game. Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur Source: https://lti.overdrive.com/media/10079073?cid=37224