general

• quick summary - an unnamed young franco-korean woman who works at a guest house one day meets a frenchman who is staying in sokcho to find inspiration for his new comic book. they develop a curious relationship, traveling around sokcho, looking for a way to finally see each other.
• key themes - isolation, alienation, loneliness, self-identity.

interests

• what i found interesting - the suffocating atmosphere created by the prose. the short list of characters (even less of speaking ones) really brought me into the isolation the main character felt, and I just could not stop reading. the similarities between a town that is still holding her breath, in-between two worlds, the winter season, and the feelings of the mc were brilliantly done. her wish of being seen by someone, even if just for one moment, felt real and heartbreaking + so did her relationship with her mother (love, but also an often uncomfortable attachment)
• what i learned - despite having lived in korea and having heard of the name, I had no idea that sokcho was so close to the border, nor that it was a summer resort.
• fav quote - "our beaches are still waiting for the end of a war that's been going on for so long people have stopped believing it's real. they build hotels, put up neon signs, but it's all fake, we're on a knife-edge, it could all give way any moment. we're living in limbo. in the winter that never ends" + "that was sokcho, always waiting, for tourists, boats, men, spring"

books it reminded me of

• kim jiyoung, born 1982 - I think it only reminded me of this book because I have not read so many books taking place in korea, about korean people. I do believe there are some similarities about the nature of being a woman in south korea, and the social expectations that come with it.

further reading

• follow-up context research - I will definitely be looking into the history of sokcho!

rating

• 4.25/5 - I did not expect to enjoy this book so much. sometimes literary fiction reads too pretentious, but not this time. I think that being set in korea, and having first-hand experience with the foods, traditions, and overall atmosphere permeating a korean town helped me dive deep into the story. on the other hand, I wished the fact that the man was specifically french had some more impact on the story (due to her father being from there too). I hoped the disorder eating part would have been more directly dealt with, but I can also understand the impact it can have on people by just reading it between the lines. I think the synopsis suggests something that does not really happen- I did not understand that they took trips to get to know the 'authenthic korea', since the guy was not into korean anything (which pissed me off a bit), and these trips were simply a reason for them to interact with each other. I very much enjoyed it.