This is a review by literary critic Cho Yeonjung of poet Shin Hae-uk’s poetry collection Natural History from the Edge of the Natural. While the poems predominantly evoke sad, cold, and strange feelings, the critic notes that there are moments of humor and warmth, as always with Shin’s work, echoing the poet’s voice that readers must never stop imagining warmly.

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-01

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Readers can enjoy poems by Shin Hae-uk, the Featured Writer of KLN Vol. 70. Ten poems from Natural History from the Edge of the Natural (Spring Day Books, 2024) have been translated by translator Spencer Lee-Lenfield. The poems are: “hot on my own tail,” “the great ginkgo at the temple of literature in Seoul,” “tour,” “the noblewoman and the grandmother,” “on location,” “deep inside the house,” “humoresque,” “encore,” “hosanna,” and “grandmas with beautiful foreheads, grandmas.”

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-01

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This is an interview with poet Shin Hae-uk, often described as a “poet’s poet.” Poet Im Seungyu conducted the interview with insightful questions that illuminate Shin’s poetic world.

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-01

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This is an essay by novelist and stand-up comedian Soyoon Won on her literary debut. She recounts submitting her novel manuscript to a publisher, waiting for an editor’s response, and her former pride in not having “ascended (deung)” any authoritative “platform (dan),” in either of her fields—comedy and literature—only to later recognize that she stands under the long and storied traditions of these fields.

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-01

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The Cover Feature of KLN Vol. 70 centers on the theme of “The Birth of a Writer” and explores the stories of two writers (poet Jo Hae Ju and writer and stand-up comedian Soyoon Won), who began their literary careers through paths other than Korea’s unique “literary debut” (deungdan) system. The Featured Writer section includes an interview with poet Shin Hae-uk, ten of her poems, and a critical review of her work. This issue also introduces essays by Swedish comic book artist Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom and French translator Pierre Bisiou. The Bookmark section features Jeong Gi Hyun’s short story “Wishful Wall-Clock World” and Kim Young-ha’s essay “The Waltz of Expectation and Disappointment,” as well as poems by Song Jaehak and Moon Tae Jun. The issue also includes reviews of Korean literature published in English, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, and Dutch, such as dd’s Umbrella, A Thousand Blues, and Reinvestigation.

2025-12-01 to 2025-12-01

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This is an anthology of the winning entries from the 2025 Korean Literature Review Contest. It features 14 outstanding reviews selected from 13 countries, offering diverse cultural perspectives on Korean literature, including voices from China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Italy, Türkiye, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Azerbaijan.

2025-03-21 to 2025-12-17

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This review of YSRA’s novel The Age of Filiarchy (Japanese title: 29歳、今日から私が家長です) explains how the work explores Sra’s journey as a young woman leading both her family and company, challenging patriarchal traditions. By maintaining equal relationships with her parents and other family members, she ensures fair domestic labor and practices democratic leadership. The review commends the novel for its reflection on linguistic and cultural gender bias and its vision of a more equitable society.

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-01

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This piece, published in KLN Vol. 69, is a review of Kim Jiyun’s novel Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat, and it highlights the novel’s gentle depiction of ordinary people and their quiet resilience. The work shows Old Jang, the protagonist, discovering a green diary, and how this leads the laundromat’s visitors to connect and heal through small acts of kindness and sympathy. The nuanced German rendition by Tamina Hauser beautifully conveys the human sentiments and emotional texture of everyday Korean life.

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-01

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This review, published in KLN Vol. 69, introduces Kim Hyesoon’s poetry collection Autobiography of Death, exploring the boundary between life and death through a Buddhist lens. The book portrays death as a collective and polyphonic phenomenon, rich with dialogue between the dead and the living, ritual, memory, and imagination. According to the reviewer, this work engages with European thanatology and philosophy, offering a new understanding of communal death and human existence.

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-01

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This review, published in KLN Vol. 69, introduces Lee Yuri’s Broccoli Punch, the first of her works to be translated into English. The collection’s delightful and inventive short stories amuse the readers through humorous first-person narratives and magical realism while addressing heavy themes, such as grief, depression, and loss. The review expresses hope that Lee’s short stories will resonate with English-speaking readers and reveal a fresh charm of contemporary Korean fiction.

2025-09-01 to 2025-09-01

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