LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
[SPANISH] Cruzaré el tiempo por ti scrap
by Glady Juria
Translated by Lucina Schell
May 29, 2025
Author Bio 작가 소개
Lee Kkoch-nim
They say no one writes letters anymore. The act of writing one by hand and putting an envelope into a mailbox now seems anachronistic, and for this reason Eunyu, a fifteen-year-old girl, finds her father’s request terribly boring: he wants her to write herself a letter to be delivered in one year. What this teenager doesn’t expect is the response she gets two weeks later. Someone—a girl with the same name as her—receives her letter and writes back to her from the past.
Lee Kkoch-nim’s I’ll Cross Time for You is a young adult epistolary novel with a touch of fantasy. It transports us back to our adolescence, to those years when every feeling was new and complex. On the surface, it’s a simple story about two girls whose letters cross time. But this is just a pretext for discussing loneliness and the need for connection with others. Through forty-one letters, the work introduces us to the main characters: two girls who have nothing in common except that they share the same name and live in the same country, although at different times. Present Eunyu, who lost her mother and has never celebrated her birthday, grapples with a deep sense of abandonment by her father—especially since his decision to remarry. With no friends and no one to confide in about the loneliness that overwhelms her, her only consolation lies in her plan for the future: running away when she turns sixteen and living on her own.
What begins as a form of solace in a difficult situation turns out to be the start of an adventure, as the letters from the other Eunyu become a lifeline for the one in the present. The first ones, full of misunderstandings and a certain childish distrust, also overflow with humor and tenderness. Their initial disbelief and fascination at these magical letters crossing the barrier of time gives way to a growing friendship. As they get to know each other, their bond deepens and the story’s emotional intensity builds until it erupts in an avalanche of emotion. In this sense, Lee demonstrates great ability in guiding readers through the full spectrum of emotions: she is capable of eliciting a broad smile at one moment and a torrent of tears only a few pages later.
While Present Eunyu receives the letters over the course of one year, readers witness the development of Past Eunyu over a longer span of time: she grows from a distrustful girl unfamiliar with the internet into an adolescent struggling in the shadow of her perfect sister, and finally into a young woman determined to help her friend from the future. This friendship through correspondence gives Present Eunyu the hope and fortitude to confront her problems at home: a father who makes her feel invisible by never calling her by her name or looking her in the eye, let alone having a simple conversation with her. He seems to have found happiness with his new partner, which only makes Eunyu feel more excluded. In her letters, Present Eunyu sees in her friend from the past the familial bond she had so yearned for and been denied: a connection to an older sister figure who’d move heaven and Earth to help her. But above all, she finds in her a cure for her loneliness, an outlet for her deepest feelings, and the comfort of knowing that someone is accompanying her through time and space.
Despite its fantasy elements, this story is more than just a young adult or fantasy novel: it is a beautiful elegy to letters and writing as a means of escape; as well as to the emotions of youth and the need for human connection. It reminds us of the importance of correcting mistakes and making amends, but also of how vital it is not to lose time, so as not to strain and sever the ties that bind us together.
While it may be true that people no longer write letters, the nostalgia that lingers after reading this book will certainly make you want to take up paper and pen and begin again.
Translated by Lucina Schell
Glady Juria
Content creator specializing in Asian literature
Writer 필자 소개
Glady Juria
Translator 번역가 소개
Lucina Schell
Lucina Schell is a member of the Third Coast Translators Collective and translates primarily poetry from Spanish into English. She has published translations of poets including Miguel Ángel Bustos, Graciela Cros, Daiana Henderson, Erika Martínez, María Ángeles Pérez López, Mercedes Roffé, and Ada Salas.
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