Books from South Korea

Set in Korea under Japanese colonial rule, Capitalists Must Starve reimagines the life of Kang Juryong, a real-life labour activist who challenged the exploitation of workers in the early twentieth century. Born into poverty, Juryong dreams of becoming a modern, educated woman, but financial hardship and restrictive social expectations repeatedly obstruct her ambitions. After her husband’s death, she refuses to accept her family’s plans for her future and leaves for Pyongyang, where she finds work at a rubber factory. There, she becomes involved in the labour movement, confronting factory owners over their treatment of workers and joining the struggle for collective rights. Her determination culminates in a daring act of protest that makes her a symbol of resistance. Blending historical events with feminist storytelling, Park explores the intersections of gender, class and colonial oppression. With a sharp-tongued heroine, dark humour and emotional depth, the novel celebrates the courage of working-class women who refuse to remain silent in a society designed to suppress them.

Set in the Korean kingdom of Joseon in 1758, The Red Palace follows Hyeon, an eighteen-year-old woman who has worked hard to become a palace nurse despite the social disadvantages of her birth. Hoping to earn her estranged father’s approval, she is determined to remain unnoticed and perform her duties well. Her plans collapse when four women are murdered in a single night and her beloved mentor becomes the prime suspect. Refusing to accept the accusation, Hyeon begins investigating the killings herself. She joins forces with Eojin, a young police inspector, and their search leads them into the dangerous world of royal politics, where powerful figures may be hiding the truth. As evidence begins to implicate the Crown Prince, Hyeon must decide how much she is willing to risk for justice. Hur combines historical mystery with an exploration of gender inequality, political power, and a young woman’s determination to make her own choices in a restrictive society.

In 1917, Korea is under Japanese colonial rule, and the lives of its people are shaped by poverty, violence, and the struggle for independence. When ten-year-old Jade is sold by her desperate family to a courtesan school in Pyongyang, she enters a world where survival depends on learning to navigate rigid social hierarchies. After fleeing to Seoul, she meets JungHo, an orphan boy struggling to survive on the streets. Their bond becomes a defining force in both their lives, even as their paths diverge and JungHo becomes involved in the resistance movement. Spanning five decades, from the final years of the Korean Empire through colonial occupation and the upheavals of the twentieth century, this sweeping historical novel follows a cast of interconnected characters whose destinies are shaped by love, ambition, betrayal, and political turmoil. Moving between courtesan houses, bustling cities, and battle-scarred forests, the story explores what it means to fight for personal dignity and national freedom when the world seems determined to take both away.