list_Books from Korea / -

Descartes's Descendants: The Novels of Bae Myung-hoon and Kim Bo-young   By Bok Dohoon on Nov 02 2014 00:17:49 Vol.20 Summer 2013 As science fiction continues to work at gaining respect as a literary genre in Korea, two young writers are at the forefront, bringing imagination and a touch of realism to their explorations of human existence.   Emerging Writers In the Korean literary scene where realism has traditionally dominated, science fiction was, in both quantity and quality, relatively underrepresented. Moreover, at times science fiction was not recognized as literature and cherished only by a small fan base. In the 2000s, a trend began in the Korean literary scene: the active exploration of fantasy and the future. These explorations led to discoveries of a new reality. A new generation of writers started traversing the line between the fantastic and the real, intermixing elements from realism and fantasy. In novels, protagonists that were aliens, zombies, clones, and "pseudo-human[s]" began appearing. These creatures problematized the humanistic value system and humanity as a race. The settings of these works escaped the familiar reality and expanded into a computer-generated virtual reality, outer space, and post-apocalyptic worlds. In the midst of these changes and developments, science fiction entered into Korean fiction. In addition, readers and literary critics focused more attention on this genre. The young writers who have received the most attention are undoubtedly Bae Myung-hoon and Kim Bo-young. These two authors write science fiction, but their works also span broadly over the genres of fantasy, children's literature, and detective novels. Nonetheless, the majority of their works, and the ones that received the most attention, are science fiction.

Bustle / April 01, 2021

Spring has finally arrived, and it’s bringing a bevy of new books to a shelf near you. The most anticipated books of April 2021 include new releases from Charlie Jane Anders, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Helen Oyeyemi — just to name a few. If you’re looking for a new read from one of your favorite authors, you’re in luck this month. Jhumpa Lahiri is publishing her first novel since 2013, and Sally Thorne’s back with an all-new rom-com you’re sure to love. Helen Oyeyemi’s latest book is just as dreamy as you’d expect, and Brittney Morris has written a speculative new YA novel that’s all too timely.

GIZMODO / April 01, 2021

This month we’ve got teenage telekinetics, magical twins, shapeshifters, supernatural detectives, space adventures, palace intrigue, fantasy epics, monsters, and more — plus the first-ever YA fantasy novel by Gizmodo co-founder Charlie Jane Anders. Read on!

POPSUGAR / April 01, 2021

Forget spring showers: this year, April is bringing a boatload of must-read new books in every single genre you can imagine. Looking for moving and inspiring nonfiction? Prepare to be blown away by Little and Often by Trent Preszler. Want to get lost in a funny mystery/romance novel that's also about the unbreakable bonds of family? Then Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto is the book for you. More into fantasy, magical realism, or historical fiction? This month's new releases include incredible books in those genres, too. Forget making plans this April: just tell everyone you need to spend some quality time curled up with the 25 new books on this month's must-read list.

The Times & The Sunday Times / April 22, 2021

Have you ever felt you were born in the wrong era? Want to skip to the year your pension plan matures? Then leap on a ship bound for the Orbit of Waiting: it’ll draw a close-to-light-speed, time-dilating helix around the sun and then return to the place it departed from. In I’m Waiting for You, the title story in this dazzling and accomplished collection from the South Korean writer Kim Bo-young, a young passenger sails around the Orbit of Waiting, marking time before he can be reunited with his bride-to-be, who’s sailing back from Alpha Centauri. The couple’s missed connections and crossed letters begin as farce, then rapidly take on an epic scale as the weeks, then the months, then the years shoot by,

Where to Kim? / April 21, 2021

I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories by Kim Bo-Young is an immersive, sci-fi short story collection that takes you to another time and place. Find out what a talking wall and Artificial Intelligence have in common, and how AI and gods share some similarities. Location: linked to South Korea, but not necessarily taking place there (aside from some sightseeing in a scifi version of Seoul)

The Straits Times / July 04, 2021

Not knowing if you can hold your wedding is an anxiety many couples will be all too familiar with of late, as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions throw nuptial plans into disarray. But South Korean science-fiction author Kim Bo-young's novella I'm Waiting For You takes wedding uncertainty to intergalactic extremes.

Where to Kim? / April 21, 2021

I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories by Kim Bo-Young is an immersive, sci-fi short story collection that takes you to another time and place. Find out what a talking wall and Artificial Intelligence have in common, and how AI and gods share some similarities. Location: linked to South Korea, but not necessarily taking place there (aside from some sightseeing in a scifi version of Seoul) I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories synopsis A stunning collection of short fiction by one of South Korea’s most treasured writers, available in English for the first time. In the title story, an engaged couple working in distant corners of the galaxy plan to arrive on Earth simultaneously and walk down the aisle together. But small incidents wreak havoc on their vast journeys, pushing the date of their wedding far into the future. As centuries pass on Earth and the land and climate change, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together. Through two pairs of interlinked stories, Kim Bo-young explores the driving forces of humanity – love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence.

Time Magazine / April 01, 2021

The best new books arriving in April tackle a wide range of subjects, from a sweeping anthology that illuminates the history of Black farmers in the United States to the firsthand account of an EMT in New York City. This month welcomes the return of award-winning authors like Jhumpa Lahiri and Haruki Murakami as well as the first novels from Morgan Jerkins and JoAnne Tompkins. Here, the best books to read in April. We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy, Natalie Baszile (April 6) In her new anthology, Natalie Baszile examines the relationship between Black farming and American culture through essays, photographs, first-person accounts and more. Together, these pieces dissect the legacy of Black farmers in the U.S. and the impact of land loss and food injustice over generations. In illuminating how these farmers persevered in the face of such challenges, Baszile creates a moving collection about identity, food and community.

The Star / July 04, 2021

Not knowing if you can hold your wedding is an anxiety many couples will be all too familiar with of late, as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions throw nuptial plans into disarray. But South Korean science-fiction author Kim Bo-young's novella I'm Waiting For You takes wedding uncertainty to intergalactic extremes. In it, a young couple on different interstellar voyages try to synchronise their returns to earth so they can make it to the altar on time. But the slightest deviation while travelling through space can mean delaying arrival on earth by months, even years. As connections are missed, travel plans are derailed and the planet itself begins to fall apart, the couple keep trying against the odds to reunite at not just the same place, but the same time. The epistolary novella is one of four in I'm Waiting For You And Other Stories, Kim's first short story collection to be translated into English.