![]() ![]() ![]() This interview was produced with support from the Literary Translation Institute of Korea. Translations from Korean to English in this interview are done by Anton Hur, the translator for Love in the Big City. I corresponded with author Sang Young Park and translator Anton Hur over email, where we chatted about the role of humor in Park’s work, the ecology of Seoul, and the current-day movement of queer Korean literature in translation. Ultimately, for me, Love in the City is about both the absurd comedy and aching tragedy of growing up more accurately, of growing up and then realizing there’s not really anywhere left to go. What I wasn’t quite expecting was how Park also probes at different ways of loving (like the narrator’s friendship with Jaehee) or lack thereof (his tenuous relationship with his ailing mother). Given the title, I was expecting the book to be an exploration of modern urban romance. ![]() The novel is divided into four sections, loosely centered on Young’s relationships with four different people. Young, the first-person narrator of the novel, meanders through jobs, relationships, and life goals. Like the flashing 24-hour neon lights of Seoul, the prose is filled with exuberance and brilliance simultaneously, it also illuminates those seemingly insignificant, quieter details, the overlooked corners of life. ![]()
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