Korea: New Voices in Fiction

Korea: New Voices in Fiction

Juhea Kim, Ela Lee & Park Seolyeon

Korean fiction has exploded in popularity over the last couple of years. Join three unmissable new voices, Juhea Kim, Ela Lee and Park Seolyeon, as they discuss their ambitious and incisive novels that will challenge and expand your idea of Korean literature, in conversation with Joanna Lee, publicist and co-founder of the East and South East Asian Literature Festival.

Ela Lee’s Jaded is a searing exploration of race, power and violence, as well as how hope can light up the darkest moments, City of Night Birds transports us to the cutthroat world of Russia ballet in a novel of love and redemption, ambition and desire, and subline artistry and Park Seolyeon’s Capitalists Must Starve is a reimagined history of Kang Juryong, a female factory worker who became an independence fighter and labour activist.

Juhea, Ela and Park will be in conversation with Joanna Lee. Joanna is the co-founder of the ESEA Publishing Network and ESEA Lit Fest, the UK’s award-winning literary festival dedicated to East and South East Asian literature, which in 2024 celebrated its second year in partnership with Foyles and the Southbank Centre. She works in publishing as Senior Commissioning Editor at Scribner, the literary imprint at Simon & Schuster.

‘A novel that will be read and loved for the next one hundred years, and essential reading for right now. I could not have loved it more.’
Coco Mellors, on City of Night Birds

Sponsored by the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the Korea Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Agency.

Presented in partnership with ESEA Lit Fest, the UK’s award-winning celebration of East and South East Asian literature.

Limited number of free tickets to residents in postcodes CR4, CR7, SM3 and SM4 (restricted to two free tickets per event, per household).

Under-30s tickets : £6.50