Books set in South Korea – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle

The cover of Walking Practice by Dolki Min, displaying a weird, grotesque alien,is held in the lap of the writer's sundress. In the background you can see a very gross beach.

(Buy this book here.) Spoilers abound, because there was no other way. Sometimes, it takes a people eating alien to show us just how much dating, gender expectations and hook-up culture can suck. This debut novel by enigmatic queer Korean literary figure Dolki Min follows an alien stranded in Seoul, light years away from home,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle”

[REVIEW]The Dark Side of Seoul: Weird Tales From Korean Lore, by Shawn Morrissey, illustrated by Tim Bauer

(To buy this book, go to the publisher’s website here) I never had the chance to go on a Dark Side of Seoul tour when I lived in Korea, but they had a wide reputation as a scary fun time for English-speaking horror lovers. (In fact, I’m pretty sure one of the readers of thisContinue reading “[REVIEW]The Dark Side of Seoul: Weird Tales From Korean Lore, by Shawn Morrissey, illustrated by Tim Bauer”

[Hear Me Out] The Television Adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko Wasn’t Made For Me–And I’m Both Glad and Worried

(This is an edited version of a post from the Equal Opportunity Facebook page. To buy the book the series is based on, click here.) Thanks to a kind and generous soul in The Black & Asian Alliance Network, I now have an Apple TV account and have been watching the series adaptation of MinContinue reading “[Hear Me Out] The Television Adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko Wasn’t Made For Me–And I’m Both Glad and Worried”

[REVIEW] A Black Guy Was Sitting Next To Me On The Subway, Yerong

(Buy it HERE(e-book only)) Yerong is a South Korean kindergarten teacher– sweet, intelligent, creative and reasonably aware of social issues. One day she meets Ghanaian scientist Manni and her eyes are opened to the realities of being an immigrant and a black person in a society that values conformity and often puts white Europeans onContinue reading “[REVIEW] A Black Guy Was Sitting Next To Me On The Subway, Yerong”

[REVIEW] When My Name Was Keoko, By Linda Sue Park

(Buy it HERE.) This middle-grade book by Newbery-medal-winning Korean-American author Linda Sue Park explores an episode of history that seems curiously underexposed, if my own world history and Asian history classes in school are any indication. When My Name Is Keoko is set during the oppressive Japanese occupation of Korea in the 1940s. Pause forContinue reading “[REVIEW] When My Name Was Keoko, By Linda Sue Park”

[REVIEW] Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982, by Cho Nam-Joo (translated by Jamie Chang)

(Buy it on Bookshop HERE.) /5⠀ I feel so many ways about this book. Let me start by saying that this is not an enjoyable read at all, but it is important. It isn’t dramatic, but it is realistic. And it isn’t entertaining, but it is necessary, I think. ⠀ Kim Ji-Young was the mostContinue reading “[REVIEW] Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982, by Cho Nam-Joo (translated by Jamie Chang)”