skip-navigation

한국문학번역원 로고

TOP

Korean Literature Now

Back to Others

Honmono / No Warm Welcome or Send-off / Light and Thread / Sparkle scrap

Translated by Julie Wigo link September 5, 2025

 

.

Honmono

by Haena Sung

Changbi, 2025, 368 pages

No Warm Welcome or Send-off

by Park Joon 

Changbi, 2025, 112 pages

This is the second short story collection by Haena Sung, who was voted the “number one young author representing the future of Korean literature in 2024” by customers of an online bookstore. The titular work that enchants readers with just the right amount of madness tells a fast-paced, riveting tale about a shamanic exorcism. As the title suggests (“Honmono” means “real” in Japanese), the story focuses on the unclear boundary between what is real and what is fake, constantly questioning our preconceptions. Each of the seven stories in Sung’s collection brims with charisma and razor-sharp critical consciousness. It won’t take long for readers to understand why Sung holds the rapt attention of Korean readers and critics today.Poet Park Joon has left an impressive mark on the landscape of South Korean poetry. He enjoys such popularity among Korean readers that some even call him “the pop idol of the Korean literary scene.” Like his previous two books, Park’s most recent collection tenders both sorrow and consolation, touching upon what we have lost and forgotten while walking down the path of life.

Light and Thread

 by Han Kang

Moonji Publishing, 2025, 172 pages

Sparkle

by Choi Hyeon-jin

Changbi, 2025, 204 pages

This essay collection is Han Kang’s first publication to appear after she stunned the world by winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. The book includes her Nobel lecture (also titled “Light and Thread”), as well as poems, journal entries, and a collection of photos. These intimate and personal pieces provide readers with glimpses into Han Kang’s daily life. Han writes about the joy she felt after she found a much-coveted north-facing room, her reverence for life, and the temperature of writing. “Literature simply pushed me in the direction of life,” she writes. “Because language is that which connects us together against all odds, there is a kind of bodily temperature in literature.”This novel, winner of the 2025 Changbi Young Adult Fiction Award, is Choi Hyeon-jin’s first work in this category. After an unfortunate accident, the main character Yuri undergoes a cornea transplant. The transplant is successful and saves her eyesight. However, she is left deeply scarred by this experience. This novel traces Yuri’s journey toward recovery as she confronts her psychic pain and searches for her donor. Choi lends a comforting hand to young readers who are still searching for themselves in an uncertain world.

 

Translator 번역가 소개

Julie Wi

Julie Wi

Julie Wi studied at Ewha Woman’s University and LTI Korea Translation Academy. In 2024, she was awarded the Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Award Commendation Prize for her translation of Park Jiyeong’s To My Pet Rice Cooker, Cuckoo. She lives in the United States with her partner and dog.

Did you enjoy this article? 별점

Did you enjoy this article? Please rate your experience

Send