VOL.81/2025.04

 

Writer Choi Jin-Young

An Endearing Exploration of Life and Love

 

2025.03.10

 

When taking a path, a person who constantly asks questions and seeks answers gains deeper and broader insights as they go. The same is true for fiction. A story finds its direction through questions about people, love, and ourselves, and it is only when it resonates with a wider audience that it gains literary and popular recognition. Since her debut, Choi Jin-Young has continued to pursue her own literary direction and creative writing style, and has developed a rich world of works. Writing fiction for her is a journey to find answers to life’s questions while giving love to readers and, most importantly, to herself.

 

 

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

 

Hello, everyone. I’m writer Choi Jin-Young. I have written full-length stories such as The Name of the Girl Who Brushed Against You Is (Hankyoreh Publishing), Gu’s Proof (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing), To the Warm Horizon (Minumsa Publishing), To My Sister, Jeya (Changbi Publishers), and That One Person (Hankyoreh Publishing), and short story collections such as The Top (Changbi Publishers), Winter Vacation (Minumsa Publishing), and Things I Will Write (Anon Books). Thanks for inviting me to this interview.

 

 

You are now in your 20th year since your debut in 2006. How has your creative world changed over the years, and what is life like as a writer?

 

Publishing my first work in my mid-20s, I’m now in my mid-40s. Each day has added up to twenty years, and it’s pretty amazing to think about that span of time. On the one hand, I’m glad I’m still writing. My early fiction was very edgy, energetic, and hostile to the world and to people, compared to now. I was preoccupied with the question of who I am, why I live, and what my purpose in life is, and I was very critical of myself and the society I was a part of.
Then, in April 2014, we faced the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. The whole country watched the ship slowly sinking in real time, and the cowardly way many adults dealt with the tragedy made me feel guilty, because I saw myself in their irresponsibility and selfishness. After that, my question changed to “how I should live,” and my novels gradually evolved. Rather than blindly criticizing adults, I started to include adults in my novels that I wanted to learn from. I focused on the value of “love” as an important theme in my novels, because the answer to the question of “how I should live” became “to live as a lovable being.” Through my novels, I am learning about the diversity of love and how to love wholeheartedly. I am very satisfied with my life as a writer because I can find answers to life’s important questions by writing novels.

 

You have been a prolific writer, consistently releasing works since your debut. In your acceptance speech for a literary award, you said, “I wrote every night to fight with myself,” which hinted at your rigorous writing life. What is your regular writing routine like?

 

Before my debut, I used to write at night because I had other jobs during the day, but since the release of my first novel, I have become a full-time writer who writes during the day when everyone else is working. My daily routine is very similar every day. I wake up in the morning, do some simple stretches and workout, shower, eat, and clean up. When I’m done with all that, which is usually between 11 am and noon, I head to my room with a tumbler full of coffee, and write until 5 or 6 pm. Of course, I don’t write for six hours straight - I write for about 30 minutes and then take a 10 minute break.
Even on days when I feel like the words are pouring out of me (and those days are rare), I don’t work overtime. I jot down short notes for the next day and make sure I’m out of the room before 6 pm. I do this because I have learned from experience that if I write a lot at once on a good day, I don’t write as well the next day. I also don’t write at night because I know that what I write at night is often erased the next day. So, I write in the daylight, in the afternoon when everyone else is working. Now that I have been doing this routine for over a decade, my brain is trained, and even on days when I’m not feeling well physically or mentally, I feel comfortable sitting at my desk from noon to 5 pm, writing and reading.

 

 

I think the best characteristic of my novels is that they are good at relating to readers.

 

 

You have won several prestigious literary awards, including the Manhae Prize for Literature, the Baek Sin-Ae Literary Award, the Shin Dong-Yup Literary Award, the Hankyoreh Literary Award, and the Yi Sang Literary Award, garnering the attention of the literary scene and the love of readers. What do you think is the most distinctive and appealing aspect of your works?

 

I tend to keep a close eye out for reviews for a couple of months after a book is published. The most recurring and impressive reviews I get from readers are, “It’s like my own story,” and “It was so immersive that I read it in a flash.” I think the process of connecting with a fictional character and accepting a fictional story as if it were your own could be described as “relatability.” I think that’s probably the best characteristic of my novels because I try to put “emotion” into my novels rather than focusing on interesting storylines, plots, or unique characters. I like to pose questions through my novels and hope that people will find their own answers when they finish reading them. To do that, I think it’s important to have a heartfelt emotion that I try to convey through the story. I try to keep my sentences as simple and short as possible to convey what I want to say concisely.

 

One of your signature works, Gu’s Proof, was first published in 2015 and has recently experienced a reverse run, with sales surpassing 300,000 copies. Why do you think Gu’s Proof continues to be so beloved by readers, and what was it like for you to experience this unexpected reverse run?

 

I think the biggest reason is probably because it’s a “story about people who love.” Gu’s Proof is a poignant, grueling love story. Or, you could say it’s a bittersweet, heartfelt love story. Humanity has enjoyed love stories since the earliest times - it would be hard to find a single piece of literature that doesn’t have a love story. Everyone has a different definition of love, and everyone experiences love differently. But, everyone experiences love - even those who say “I don’t need love” fall in love at least once in their lives.
Love is something everyone wants, and yet it’s something we always feel like we don’t have enough of. Gu’s Proof is a novel that depicts not “happy love,” but “love that embraces togetherness despite misfortune.” The fact that so many readers could relate to such a story means, perhaps, that many people want that kind of love (love that embraces misfortune). I remember that the sales of the book gradually increased from around 2021. It wasn’t a sudden increase overnight. It was more of a gradual increase, so there was no “I woke up and everything was different” surprise. I just thought, “Oh, it’s going to be a brief spike, and then it’s going to die down.” I’m just grateful that it’s lasted longer than I expected.

 

 

In your latest short story collection, Things I Will Write, you address issues facing modern society, such as the climate crisis, war, and AI. What message did you want to convey to readers through these topics?

 

A writer’s job is to “think” before beginning to “write.” To write, you have to think about it for longer than writing, and those thoughts aren’t really that special. They are just questions that every human being should ask and seek answers to at least once in his or her life. Topics such as loss, pain, grief, hope, and love—along with questions like ‘Why was I born?’, ‘What is the reason for my existence?’, ‘What is life?’, and ‘What is the meaning of death?’—are core themes and values in human life. However, people are often too busy with day-to-day living to take the time to think about them seriously.
A writer is someone whose job it is to think about and ask questions about those things. The climate crisis, war, and AI - these are things that are happening right now, in the present, not in the near future. As someone whose job it is to observe and write about the world we live in, I wanted to ask myself, while writing, “How should I live in a world like this?” And, I wanted to find the answer through novels. I hope that my questions will reach readers and that they will find their own answers.

 

 

The essay collection, A Secret (Nanda Publishing), the first of its kind since your debut, explores your fictional world in the form of a letter arranged in 24 solar terms. Was there a particular reason you decided to talk about fiction in your first essay?

 

“Fiction” is becoming more and more important to me as time passes. From the launch of my debut until just a few years ago, I never really thought about why I write novels or what I like about them. However, as I continued to publish more and more books, I was asked in interviews and book talks, “How did you get into writing novels?” and “Why do you write novels?” It made me ponder, and I was able to find so many good things about novels. I also realized how writing fiction has changed me, and I found that it pushes me in a positive direction. That made me love fiction even more, and my time writing fiction became more valuable to me. So, now I can’t think of myself separate from fiction, and I can’t describe myself without it.
Fiction has become an important value in my life, second to “love.” Besides the commitment to live as a “loving being,” there is the commitment to live as a “writing and reading being.” Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t help but fill my first essay with “love” and “fiction.” Love and fiction are the most expansive and delicate words that can describe me.

 

 

After finishing writing a book, I become a slightly different person.

 

 

You frequently have meetings with readers at public libraries and other places. How does this kind of direct interaction with readers and talking about your works affect your writing, and what do you seek to pursue through these activities?

 

After I publish a book, I indirectly feel the presence of readers by looking at reviews in online bookstores or on blogs. Readers I meet online are, after all, unknown and anonymous. But, at a book talk at a library or small bookstore, you can meet readers in real life. I think that a reader who takes the time to not only read a novel but also comes to a book talk is someone who is really passionate about reading and has a great love for the novel and the author. They come to me as a whole being and tell me face to face that they enjoyed the book and that they liked this and that. I look into their eyes, hear their voice, ask their name, and sign their book. Some sweet readers even give me a handwritten letter. It’s a moment when readers come to me as individual realities, and it’s special because I get to feel them alive. Experiences like that give me great strength when I’m writing alone in my room. I find the courage to keep writing when I think about the individuals I have met and recall the looks and words they have given me.

 

 

There has been a recent rise in people’s interest in Korean books, as Korean literature has become more prominent in international markets. Which of your books would you like to introduce to international readers and why?

 

It’s hard to pick a few favorites. I would like to introduce The Name of the Girl Who Brushed Against You Is, winner of the Hankyoreh Literary Award, as it is my first full-length novel. Another one, To My Big Sister, Jeya, winner of the Manhae Prize for Literature, is a book I would like to share with female readers around the world, regardless of race or country. If many women can relate to the protagonist, Lee Jeya, that’s probably sad, but on the other hand, we can also dream of hope by sharing such a heart. I also wonder how people in other countries will read Gu’s Proof, which is the most topical novel I have written. I also want to know how international readers will respond to To the Warm Horizon, which features a queer protagonist in an apocalyptic setting. My most recent full-length novel, That One Person, and my short story collection, Things I Will Write, reflect my current questions and worldview, so it would be great to share those as well.

 

 

You have been widely acclaimed for your novels, which are often thematically diverse and feature stories that readers can relate to. Please tell us about your plans and goals for the future, as well as any new titles you are working on.

 

I used to write a full-length story every winter, but I haven’t gotten around to it this winter for lack of time. However, I do have a few stories in mind that I would like to develop into full-length stories, and I’m waiting for the right time to write them. I don’t have any specific plans or goals - I just want to keep writing. When I finish writing a book, I become a slightly different person, because there are things I realize and learn while writing that story. So, I write the novels that I need to write first. The thing that drives me to write is, “What are the questions I need to ask myself right now,” and “Who am I going to be when I finish this novel?” I hope to write for as long as I can for myself and no one else, without ever losing sight of those questions.

 

 

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