VOL.74/2024.09

 

Writer Kim Ki-Tae

The birth of a storyteller who creates intriguing stories out of ordinary daily lives

 

2024.09.02

 

The emergence of an exceptionally talented writer is like a blessing in the literary circle. This is because they enrich the publishing market with works that resonate with and support many readers. Kim Ki-Tae debuted in 2022 and quickly became a bestselling author by publishing several short stories. His first novel, The International for Two (Munhakdongne Publishing), which features the lives of various people living the most ordinary lives and maximizes novelistic pleasure and immersion in the work with solid sentences, has officially announced the emergence of a powerful new talent who will surely influence our time. Following is an interview with Kim Ki-Tae, a confident new writer who supports ordinary life through his works.

 

 

It’s an honor to have you with us on K-Book Trends. Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

 

Hello, everyone. I began writing fiction in 2022, and I recently released my first short story collection, The International for Two. I’m living in Seoul, and I like winter more than summer. It’s a pleasure for me to be meeting all the international readers out there through this interview.

 

Your book, The International for Two, became a hot topic in the market, gaining much positive response from readers as soon as it was published. How do you feel, and can you tell us more about the book?

 

The collection contains 9 short stories. Characters like a weightlifting teenage girl, a high school teacher teaching classics, a woman in her 30s on a dating show, and two young laborers who have resolved to live together appear in the stories. They are mainly stories based on contemporary Korean society. Of course, the reality of a country today will be connected to international orders. I think that if you are a reader who has been observing Koreans and Korean society today, there will be scenes that you will definitely find interesting.

 

 

After you made your debut through the Annual Spring Literary Contest in 2022, you won the Young Writer Award with Universal Culture, not to mention the two books - All the Seas in the World and Pax Atomica - winning the Excellence Award at the Yi Sang Literary Award for two consecutive times. Plus, your works were chosen as the “Novels of the Season” and the “Problematic Novel of the Year,” seeing you called the “hottest new writer in Korean literature.” As such, the quality of your works has been recognized in the Korean literary community. Can you tell us where the driver for such achievements comes from?

 

Literature itself is an industry, and new items are often followed by marketing hype. The awards could have probably been just a coincidence. If the Korean literary circle has been favorable to me so far, I guess that’s because I have taken on a relatively wide range of material. Perhaps they are encouraging me to take on more.

 

You are a writer who also has a full-time job. How do you allocate the time for writing stories, and how do you keep the balance between the two?

 

I work at the office during the day, and I write stories at home at night. It is actually not that difficult to balance the two. The problem is that my life as an independent being is disappearing, like having dinner with my family or friends, reading books or watching a movie for no reason, doing regular sport activities, and randomly going out for a walk. I haven’t solved this problem yet, and I’m trying to find some personal time back. I think I need to regain my senses as an independent being so that I can write better novels.

 

 

Sometimes I want to root for ordinary lives, and sometimes, I want to doubt them.

 

 

Your works have been mainly about the lives of ordinary people. Is there a message that you want to deliver to the people of our time, those who are living the most ordinary, through your stories?

 

I think that even if you are not going through any dramatic events, life itself is a challenging thing. And if that toughness is unavoidable, the fact - that we all are suffering - somehow consoles us. And if it is something that we don’t necessarily have to experience, we can ask, why we are unable to improve the situation. As ordinariness is such a problematic concept, I sometimes want to root for it, and sometimes I want to doubt it. There’s some kind of a deadlock that makes me have contradictory feelings. And The International for Two was a result of my attempt to portray it.

 

It seems that you cherish daily experiences more than anything. You must read a lot of books to find material for discussing everyday life. What kind of books do you usually read?

 

I read both fiction and non-fiction. It’s always interesting to read how writers in other countries, those of my generation, understand the contemporary world. I have recently been reading Tokyo-to Dojo-to (Tokyo Sympathy Tower), by Japanese writer Qudan Rie. It’s about an architect who has to design a huge tower in a time when no language can be used with any confidence.
Meanwhile, I’m also a subscriber to four periodicals. One titled Small Book features accounts of life and work with the slogan, “Only when working people write does the world change.” This small but strong magazine teaches me a lot - things that I can’t get from novels or academic journals.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 62 – Go to books recommended by writer Kim Ki-Tae

 

You once said, “It is enough for me to publish just three books, and I’m satisfied if I can write only one piece with good quality.” What do you mean by stories that you can be satisfied with? Also, can you tell us about your favorite work of yours and the reason for it?

 

I don’t think I can define what “a story I can be satisfied with” is in advance. Rather, I hope that once I write one, I will automatically recognize it. My favorite piece changes every time - but I wonder how short stories like The Headlights will appeal to international readers. It’s because the protagonist is the epitome of what we call an “ordinary successful life” in Korea. There would be parts that readers from other cultures might not agree or support, and discovering those differences means something to me.

 

 

In one of your interviews, you expressed your ambition to write “a novel that can be included in world literature collections.” What do you think is the meaning and value of having your story included in such collections?

 

When I was asked about my aspirations as a writer, I made that up on the spot and didn’t expect it to be quoted. I don’t know if there is a distinction between “world literature” and “non-world literature,” or if there are qualities intrinsic to the concept of “world literature.” Maybe there is only a distinction between a “good novel” and a “not-so-good novel.” If it’s a “good novel,” one in which an author has persistently explored a truth that he or she has felt, then it has the potential to be world literature. I don’t think the apparent diversity of characters or settings is important. A novel like The Old Man and the Sea would be a good example. Wouldn’t a young person living in a country without a sea be moved by it?

 

 

In my forthcoming full-length novel, I’m looking to expand the spatial and temporal scale.

 

 

You have so far been releasing short stories only. Do you have plans for full-length novels as well? If so, what would it be about?

 

The first full-length novel is a very important task for me. I’m thinking of focusing on writing a full-length novel next year. My short stories have mainly been centered on contemporary Korean society – I’m looking to expand the spatial and temporal scale in my first full-length novel. While I said earlier that apparent diversity doesn’t matter, the next work will feature characters from diverse countries and different places in the world.

 

With your works having made such a big splash across readers and the literary community, we look forward to your next steps. Lastly, please tell us about your future plans and goals.

 

I’m planning to release two more short stories this year. And then I’ll take a break to recharge myself and flesh out my full-length novel. I hope it can be introduced to international readers as well. This is a goal that I have just set.

 

 

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