Journalist
Lee Hugh
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Hanwha Eagles’ Noh Si-hwan signs record 11-year, 30.7 billion won non-FA deal Hanwha Eagles infielder Noh Si-hwan has agreed to a record-setting long-term deal with the club. Hanwha said on Feb. 23 that it signed Noh to a non-free agent, multi-year contract on Feb. 22. The deal runs 11 years and is worth 30.7 billion won, including incentives. The club said it is the longest and largest contract in KBO League history, including both free-agent and non-free agent multi-year deals. The agreement also includes a clause allowing Noh to pursue a move to Major League Baseball via posting after the 2026 season, when he becomes eligible for free agency. General manager Son Hyuk said Noh is a model player who aims to appear in all 144 games and has developed into a right-handed power hitter representing both the team and the league. Son said the club considered multiple options to respect the player’s goals and treat him as a franchise star, leading to the agreement. He added that he hopes Noh will follow in the footsteps of Jang Jong-hoon and Kim Tae-kyun as a hitter who symbolizes Hanwha. Noh thanked the club for what he called a historic contract, saying it valued him highly. He also credited fans for their support, saying it played a major role in the deal and in his career so far. He said he will take on greater responsibility as a franchise player and do his best to help Hanwha establish itself as a top club. Looking ahead to 2026, he said he will work with the manager, coaches and teammates toward the goal of winning the Korean Series. 2026-02-23 08:15:00 -
WHIB Sets First Concert Tour Starting in March, Visiting 13 Cities in Japan and North America WHIB will launch its first concert tour of 2026 in March, starting in Seoul and continuing through 13 cities in Japan and North America. The tour, titled 'GO UP : Our era,' is scheduled for March 14-15 in Seoul; April 18 in Osaka, April 25 in Yokohama and April 29 in New York; and May 5 in Atlanta, May 7 in Nashville, May 10 in Chicago, May 12 in Kansas City, May 14 in Dallas, May 16 in Denver, May 19 in Salt Lake City, May 21 in Tempe and May 23 in Los Angeles. Now in its third year since debut, WHIB said it will use the tour to showcase a polished stage and the group's strong chemistry. The group recently released its first comeback as a complete seven-member lineup with the first mini album 'ROCK THE NATION,' setting a personal record for first-week sales. From November through January, WHIB also wrapped up its 2025 fan concert, 'AnD : New Chapter,' across five Asian cities. The Seoul shows that open the 2026 tour will be held at Blue Square's Woori WON Banking Hall at 5 p.m. on March 14 and 4 p.m. on March 15. Tickets are on sale through the online seller NOL Ticket.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 08:09:15 -
BTS’ Jimin’s ‘Who’ Tops 2.3 Billion Spotify Streams BTS member Jimin has extended his record run on Spotify, underscoring his global reach. According to Spotify charts dated Feb. 19, “Who,” the title track from his second solo album “MUSE,” has surpassed 2.3 billion cumulative streams. The milestone came 581 days after the song’s release on July 19, 2024. Jimin is the first and only Asian artist to reach 2.3 billion Spotify streams with a solo track that does not feature a collaboration with a foreign artist. Nineteen months after its release, “Who” continued to chart at No. 54 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart and No. 1 in South Korea, showing sustained popularity without outside collaborations or large-scale promotion. The album has also set a new mark. On Feb. 18, “MUSE” surpassed 3.8 billion cumulative streams, the fastest such total for a Korean-language album and the first and only Korean-language solo album to reach 3.8 billion streams. On U.S. charts, “Who” spent 33 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, setting the record for the longest run by a K-pop male artist’s solo song. “MUSE” has also logged 34 weeks on the Billboard 200, extending the record for the longest-charting K-pop solo album and still holding that mark.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 08:00:17 -
Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics close after 17 days; next Games set for French Alps The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the first to be held in a dispersed format, wrapped up a 17-day run. About 2,900 athletes from 92 national Olympic committees competed for 166 gold medals across eight sports. The Games ended with the closing ceremony held in Italy’s Verona Arena on Feb. 23 (Korea time). The event marked several firsts: Italy hosted the Winter Games for the first time in 20 years, and it was the first Olympics whose official name included two place names. With Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo about 400 kilometers (250 miles) apart, organizers operated four clusters and six athletes’ villages. The parade of athletes and the lighting of the cauldron were also staged simultaneously in two locations for the first time. Verona, the site of the closing ceremony, is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Milan, where the opening ceremony, skating events and ice hockey were held. No competitions were staged in Verona. The 80,000-seat Verona Arena is an amphitheater completed in A.D. 30 during the Roman Empire, once used for gladiator contests and animal hunts. It will also host the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics, which begin March 6. The closing ceremony opened with the story of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “La Traviata,” followed by a performance featuring characters from famous operas on a giant chandelier set. The Olympic flame arrived at the arena after being carried by former members of Italy’s team that won cross-country skiing gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, then was moved to a structure shaped like the Olympic rings. After the host nation’s flag was raised, the flags of participating countries entered in Italian alphabetical order, starting with Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics. As in the opening ceremony, South Korea was announced 22nd. Flag bearers Choi Min-jeong of Seongnam City Hall and Hwang Dae-heon of Gangwon Provincial Office walked in together holding the South Korean flag, circled the arena and returned to their seats. Athletes then entered, with South Korea’s team waving flags and taking in the atmosphere. South Korea sent 130 people, including 71 athletes, and finished 13th with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals. The team fell short of its top-10 goal but improved one place from the 2022 Beijing Games, where it placed 14th. After a welcome performance for athletes, medals were presented for the women’s cross-country 50-kilometer mass start held on the final day. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson, who won in 2:16:28.2, received her gold medal at the closing ceremony. South Korean bobsledder Won Yun-jong, elected to the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, also appeared on the ceremony stage. He won the athletes’ vote among 11 candidates on Feb. 19. He spread his arms and pumped his fists, thanking athletes for their support, then presented bouquets to representatives of the Games’ volunteers before leaving the stage. As music from the opera “Madama Butterfly” filled the arena, the Olympic flag was handed to the next host, the French Alps. The 2030 Winter Olympics will be held in France’s Alps region. It will be the fourth Winter Games in France, after Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992, and is set to be the first Olympics whose official name does not include a specific city. With attention turning to the next Games in four years, the two flames that lit Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo were gradually extinguished, bringing the 17-day competition to a close. 2026-02-23 07:15:00 -
South Korea Enters Milan-Cortina Olympic Closing Ceremony With Flag Bearers Choi Min-jeong and Hwang Dae-heon South Korea’s team entered the closing ceremony of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics with smiles. The delegation attended the ceremony on Feb. 23 (Korea time) at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy, bringing the 17-day Games to a close. After the host nation’s flag was raised, Greece’s flag appeared first, followed by participating nations in Italian alphabetical order. As in the opening ceremony, South Korea was announced 22nd. Flag bearers Choi Min-jeong (Seongnam City Hall) and Hwang Dae-heon (Gangwon Provincial Government) walked in together holding the South Korean flag. They made a full lap of the oval stadium before returning to their seats. Choi and Hwang made history in short track at these Games. Choi won gold in the women’s 3,000-meter relay and silver in the 1,500, setting a new record for most Olympic medals by a South Korean athlete across the Summer and Winter Games. With seven career medals (four gold, three silver) from Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022 and Milan-Cortina 2026, she surpassed Jin Jong-oh (shooting), Kim Soo-nyung (archery) and Lee Seung-hoon (speedskating), who each had six. She also tied Jeon I-kyung (four gold) for the most Winter Olympic gold medals by a South Korean athlete. Hwang won silver in the men’s 5,000-meter relay and the 1,500. It was his third straight Olympics with a medal and his fifth career Olympic medal (one gold, four silver). He tied Lee Ho-suk (one gold, four silver) for the most Olympic medals by a South Korean men’s short track skater. As the athletes’ parade continued, South Korean competitors waved their flags and took in the closing-ceremony atmosphere. Verona, where the closing ceremony was held, is about 160 kilometers from Milan, which hosted the opening ceremony and events including skating and ice hockey. No competitions were held in Verona; only the closing ceremony took place. The 80,000-seat Verona Arena is an amphitheater completed in A.D. 30 during the Roman Empire. It once hosted gladiator contests and wild-animal hunts. It will also serve as the venue for the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics, which begin March 6.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 06:09:00 -
Shinhan, KB Back Snow and Ice Athletes as Korea Wins at Milan-Cortina Olympics Behind South Korea’s anthems on snow and ice was more than a decade of steady, low-profile support from the financial sector, with long-term backing of lesser-known sports paying off, analysts said. At the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which ended early Sunday in South Korea, the Korean team posted notable results across both snow and ice events. Choi Ga-on’s gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe was especially symbolic as the country’s first Winter Olympic gold medal in a snow event. Choi is cited as a standout success of Shinhan Financial Group’s “Rookie Sponsorship.” Shinhan has run the program since 2011 to identify and support promising athletes in less popular sports who have international potential but limited training conditions. In snowboarding, Shinhan-backed Kim Sang-gyeom won silver and Yoo Seung-eun took bronze, broadening South Korea’s medal haul beyond its traditional strength on ice. Shinhan also sponsors Lee Chae-woon, who unveiled a world-first technique in the snowboard halfpipe at these Olympics, and Lee Seung-hoon, the first Korean athlete to reach the freestyle ski halfpipe final. KB Financial Group is known for broad support of ice sports over 20 years, starting in 2006 with “figure queen” Kim Yuna. Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, who finished fourth in the men’s singles, has been backed by KB since 2015. In the women’s short track 3,000-meter relay, the national team that included KB-sponsored Kim Gil-li and Choi Min-jeong delivered South Korea’s second gold medal of the Olympics. In the women’s 1,500 meters, Kim and Choi won gold and silver, respectively. Kim added bronze in the women’s 1,000 meters, giving her three medals at the Games. Hana Financial Group has supported luge for 14 years. At these Olympics, Jung Hye-seon finished 24th in the women’s singles, a result the company said helped raise South Korea’s competitiveness in the sport. Woori Financial Group is sponsoring athletes through an official partnership agreement with the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee. Starting with this Winter Olympics, it plans continued support for national teams competing at major events including the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 06:03:00 -
U.S. beats Canada in overtime to win men’s Olympic hockey gold for first time since 1980 The United States captured its first Olympic men’s ice hockey gold medal in 46 years, beating Canada 2-1 in overtime in the final of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games. The Americans won Sunday (Korean time) at Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, sealing the title on a goal by Jack Hughes 1:41 into overtime. The victory gave the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 Lake Placid Games and its third gold medal overall in the event. The United States also became the first country in Olympic ice hockey history to win both the men’s and women’s titles at the same Games. In the women’s final on Feb. 20, the Americans also beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to take gold, returning to the top for the first time since the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Canada, which assembled a “dream team” featuring many star players from the NHL, fell short in its bid for a 10th Olympic title. After winning gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, Canada has gone three straight Olympics without gold: bronze in 2018 in Pyeongchang and sixth place in 2022 in Beijing. The matchup drew added attention ahead of the Games amid U.S.-Canada political and economic friction, including disputes over tariffs, with the rivals meeting for Olympic gold in a sport both consider a national strength. The final was tight throughout. The United States struck first when Matt Boldy capitalized on a Canadian defensive mistake 6 minutes into the first period on a counterattack. Canada tied it late in the second period, with 1:44 remaining, after Cale Makar beat the U.S. defense with a powerful shot to make it 1-1. Canada pressed in the third, outshooting the United States 41-26 overall, but the Americans held on to force overtime. It was the third time an Olympic men’s hockey final went to overtime. Hughes ended it early in the extra period, finishing a counterattack to deliver the gold medal.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 01:57:00 -
Producer Kim Tae-ho Says MBC’s ‘Manitto Club’ Prioritizes Message Over Buzz MBC’s “Infinite Challenge” helped reshape the rules of Korean variety TV, and the generation that grew up on it is often called “Infinite Challenge kids.” Producer Kim Tae-ho’s new show, “Manitto Club,” is built around a familiar “manitto” idea — a secret gift-giver — with a twist: a club of people who split one thing into two and share it. The show debuted with a 2.1% rating before sliding to 1.6%, but Kim said the goal was never to chase hype. “Of course it was disappointing,” he said. “But we didn’t make it to squeeze ratings out of having Jennie, Choo Sung-hoon or Noh Hong-chul. ‘Manitto Club’ is an omnibus that keeps returning to the theme of sharing. I wanted it to feel like an omnibus movie you’d see around Christmas. From the start, we agreed to center the message, and I hoped the intent would land well and be sustainable rather than focusing on immediate results.” Kim said early feedback made him rethink how much information the show gave viewers up front. “I also felt we should have provided more information at the beginning,” he said. “The teaser set the overall direction, and we were a bit confused, too. Still, we want to stick with a show people can watch comfortably and relate to, rather than content that’s all dopamine. We originally didn’t design it as a highly variety-driven show because we were thinking of a weeknight or late-weekend slot. But when it was scheduled for Sunday evening, we decided we needed more variety elements and a faster pace. We’re explaining what needs explaining more clearly and adjusting the rhythm. People watch on broadcast and on OTT, so we’re also thinking about how to balance those two viewing experiences.” Kim said the casting followed the show’s core idea, which began with the keyword “gift.” “In August last year, Jennie said she wanted to do content that would feel like a gift to viewers around the year-end holidays,” he said. “That word ‘gift’ stuck with me and led me to think of manitto. Because of the first group of cast members, the chase element stood out and people said, ‘Is this a chase show?’ But what I wanted was a story about thinking of someone and giving a gift. The most important thing in our program is the secret manitto, and we cast based on who fits that.” “Manitto Club” rotates cast members by “class.” Class 1 featured Jennie, Dex, Choo Sung-hoon, Lee Soo-ji and Noh Hong-chul. Class 2 includes actors Go Youn-jung and Jung Hae-in, and entertainers Park Myung-soo and Hong Jin-kyung. Kim said Class 1 leaned more heavily into variety, while Class 2 is expected to have a more detailed, “handmade” theme. “Because there was a benefit for the first person to give a gift, the flow turned into something like a chase,” he said. “Maybe that made it hard to build details. So for Class 2 we chose handmade. If people make things by hand and show their effort, I thought a different flow could come out. I also wanted a consistent tone in how they give gifts to their secret manitto. When it’s handmade, you can see the sincerity more clearly, and you feel the group’s energy.” Kim also addressed why familiar faces such as Park Myung-soo and Noh Hong-chul — known to many viewers from “Infinite Challenge” — appear again. “With real variety, even if new cast members study hard, they don’t have experience data, so there are difficult points,” he said. “From a production standpoint, you mix a certain percentage of familiar people with a certain percentage of new people. That’s why people like Park Myung-soo, Noh Hong-chul and Kwanghee appear. And when you think about who fits the secret manitto concept, they naturally come to mind. I think Noh Hong-chul in Class 1, Park Myung-soo and Hong Jin-kyung in Class 2, and Kwanghee in Class 3 each did their roles well. It’s not only because of ‘Infinite Challenge.’ There are clear advantages to the data you get when you meet new people, like in ‘Earth Marble.’” Running a variety show by rotating “classes,” rather than fixed members, is a difficult choice because it gives up the chemistry and relationships that build over time. Kim said it is also an experiment in a different storytelling approach. “Because it’s class-based, I think it could develop into other forms of content,” he said. “People who form connections can continue across classes. Nothing is set yet, but I’ve imagined earlier classes influencing later ones or making special appearances. These days, many people don’t even watch all 12 episodes, so it could be fun to compress it into four episodes and end it. Fixed cast members build chemistry and make editing easier, but we chose a harder path. It was a decision to try a different way of speaking.” Asked about what comes next, Kim said he does not see “Manitto Club” as something he completes alone. “Our judgment matters, but I also think absorbing viewers’ reactions matters,” he said. “That’s the direction I want. Rather than deciding alone, I want to give viewers the ‘major shareholder’ seat. If people tell us what’s good or bad, we can reflect it. We’ve finished filming through Episode 12, and we’re trying to reflect opinions as much as possible.” Kim said it has been five years since he founded the production company TEO, and the market has changed. “These days people prefer concepts with strong dopamine, like survival shows or genre series,” he said. “In some ways, genres have narrowed compared with before, but if you don’t touch the sidelined genres, PDs might never experience them in their careers. That’s why we often talk about sitcoms at the company. I think junior PDs who haven’t experienced sitcoms need to try drama-style directing for new seeds to grow. That’s one reason I made the company. At first, I thought the OTT environment was so good that if you had good material you could keep working, but now we’re already in a different place five years later. Still, TEO has been putting out solid content while working with good platforms. I initially wanted to give younger staff opportunities rather than directing myself, but I’ve ended up working alongside them longer than expected. With our fifth anniversary this year, we’re rethinking the company’s brand image and setting a new direction.” He said TEO has focused on two tracks: producing content for global distribution and building intellectual property that can become company assets. “We have many great creators, and everyone is doing their part,” he said. “From next year, there will be content where seeds bear fruit, and we’re starting to see global results little by little. Profitability matters, but the biggest dopamine for a PD is hearing, ‘You opened a new era.’ Just as ‘Culinary Class Wars’ opened an era for cooking programs, what matters is opening a new era. So we keep thinking: What do we open next? We’ll keep a company identity, but we want as much variety as possible in genres and content.” * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 00:06:09 -
Seiko Matsuda Makes Long-Awaited Korea Concert Debut With 45th Anniversary Tour Japanese pop star Seiko Matsuda held her first concert in South Korea, 45 years after her debut, drawing fans across generations as renewed interest in her music has spread among younger listeners and longtime followers alike. The show took place on Feb. 22 at Inspire Arena in Incheon as part of the Inspire Concert Series #7, titled “Seiko Matsuda 45th Anniversary Concert Tour – Sing! Sing! Sing! in Korea.” It followed stops that included Saitama Super Arena and Japan’s Budokan, where the tour drew major attention. Matsuda debuted in 1980 with “Barefoot Season” and went on to set records in Japanese pop, including 24 consecutive No. 1 songs on the Oricon chart and cumulative album sales of 29.63 million. The article notes that at her Budokan concert last September, she expressed strong anticipation about visiting South Korea. She opened with “Blue Coral Reef,” one of her best-known songs among Korean fans, appearing in a white dress with pink ribbon details. She followed with “Heaven’s Kiss,” as the crowd responded with loud sing-alongs. Midway through the concert, she switched to a black dress and performed “Alice in the Country of Time,” “Pink Mozart” and “Cherry Blossom.” She also varied the staging by taking drumsticks and slinging on a guitar, prompting cheers from the audience. Addressing the crowd in Korean, she said, “Hello, I’m Seiko Matsuda. Have you been well? This is my first concert in Korea. Nice to meet you.” In an acoustic section, she interacted closely with her band and said she prepared the Korean greeting with longtime members for the Korea visit. The set included ballads such as “I Want to Be Loved,” “Eighteen” and “Seychelles Sunset.” During “Sweet Memories,” the venue fell quiet as the audience focused on her vocals. Near the end, she said, “I waited all day, excited to meet the Korean audience in person. I’m truly happy that you’re cheering me on with such warm eyes.” She then sang “Red Sweet Pea” with the crowd and closed with “Rock’n Rouge” and her debut song, “Barefoot Season.” The concert featured frequent audience choruses, underscoring the cross-border appeal of her catalog and leaving fans with what the article described as a long-promised meeting finally fulfilled. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 00:05:00 -
Author Kang Ji-young’s Korean-Rooted Characters Drive Global Interest in K-Thrillers A woman in her 50s with urinary incontinence is a cold-blooded professional killer. A bald, potbellied shop owner is an arms dealer. A seemingly ordinary college student is suddenly swept into a war among assassins. In Kang Ji-young’s thrillers, characters look familiar but rarely turn out to be what they seem. The same goes for settings: a neighborhood supermarket or butcher shop can be more than it appears. Kang’s novel “Mrs. Shim Is a Killer,” credited with helping open the door for “K-thrillers,” is set to be published in more than 20 countries in the first half of this year. In a recent interview at Seoul Chaekbogo in Jamsil, Kang said the overseas attention is “because the characters are Korean,” adding that “there also seems to be a culture forming worldwide that ‘Korean things are hip.’” The upcoming U.S. and U.K. editions highlight Korean elements, including an image of metal chopsticks and bilingual English-and-Korean text for the title and author name. Kang will begin a book tour March 28, starting in Paris and continuing to Lyon, Poland and Hungary. She called the results “very joyful,” but said she also feels “a sense of responsibility.” “I’m excited, but I’m worried, too. I was lucky to export one work, but my work can’t end up blocking the path for other writers,” she said. Kang works across genre fiction and literary fiction, as well as webtoons and web novels. Disney+ released the 2024 drama “A Shop for Killers,” based on her work “A Shop for a Killer,” starring Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun. After the success of Season 1, Season 2 will be released within the year. Her books are known for quickly drawing interest in adaptation rights. Readers cite vivid descriptions that make scenes easy to picture, along with black humor that can prompt a laugh even amid sharp violence. Kang said she does not plan stories with screen adaptations in mind. She attributes the strength of a “super IP” to everyday life. She writes on a strict schedule, sitting at her desk at 9 a.m. and ending manuscript work at 5:30 p.m. “There was a time when it was hard to survive if I didn’t write diligently,” she said. “I have a child. A kid can’t grow on dreams alone,” she said. “I worked hard. Until my late 30s, I held a job while writing novels. Writing becomes meals, academy tuition, and school lunch money. That process itself was a period of growth. I feel not only accomplishment but a lot of pride. I didn’t choose writing as a high-end hobby.” Twists on familiar people Kang’s characters often begin with people around her. “The female lead in ‘Gama-goe on a Giraffe’ borrows some of my younger sister,” she said. “Jeong Jin-man in ‘A Shop for a Killer’ is a stand-in for my father, and Shim Eun-on in ‘Mrs. Shim Is a Killer’ draws partly from my aunt. After losing her husband, she raised her siblings while running a butcher shop. I took the basic setup from that. That’s why readers can find pieces of ‘our mom’ or ‘my sibling’ in my work.” Then comes the reversal: the middle-aged woman becomes a knife-wielding assassin, and the potbellied man a major figure in arms trafficking. Kang also often portrays women in their 20s and 30s as resilient people who “keep walking forward to find a way out.” Early in her career, she said, most of her short-story protagonists were men and women were often reduced to victims of violence. “As I started writing novels, I thought, ‘As a woman, I should make women into active characters,’” she said. “That’s why many of my novel protagonists are young women just stepping into the world.” That approach also shapes the three-part “A Shop for a Killer,” which reads like a coming-of-age story as protagonist Jeong Ji-an collides with the world and grows tougher. “Even without landing a full-time job, I wanted to portray a woman who faces the world in her own way — not a beginner anymore, but an independent person,” Kang said. Kang linked that to her own 20s. Raised in Paju, she said she had to become independent after entering a university in Seoul. “Back then I worked part-time jobs relentlessly. I started working and earning money at 21,” she said. “It felt like the world was picking on me for no reason. At some point, my family felt unfamiliar. I started devoting myself to family after I had a child. That’s when I moved from being Jeong Ji-an, the niece, to Jeong Jin-man, the uncle.” Dangerously convincing lies Many characters die in Kang’s novels, yet the stories can feel oddly cathartic. “Doesn’t everyone have at least one person they want to kill?” she said. “Doesn’t everyone think at least once, ‘I want to kill them cleanly’ or ‘I want to get rid of them’?” she said. “I’m just carrying out, in a story, what’s hard to do in real life.” She said the same logic applies to suffocating relationships. In “Gama-goe on a Giraffe,” the protagonist cuts off family ties. “I wanted to tell readers, ‘If it’s harmful, you can cut it off,’” she said. “You have to find your own path to happiness. For people who can’t bring themselves to do it, I want to give them at least some vicarious satisfaction.” Kang recently finished the novella “Dokni.” Its protagonist is described as a composite of South Korean female serial killers including Go Yoo-jung, Lee Eun-hye, Eom In-sook and Kim Seon-ja. “There are many cases of killing someone they loved with poison, so I titled it ‘Dokni,’” she said. Through a woman in her 70s who is released on parole after 29 years and one month, Kang said she examines, from a skeptical perspective, “whether humans can truly be rehabilitated.” A separate work centered on a traditional Catholic exorcism rite is set to be published around summer. Kang said writing it was so difficult that she suffered sleep paralysis throughout the process. Often labeled a “young writer” or a “storyteller,” Kang, who is approaching 50, said she no longer cares about such descriptions. “I sometimes describe my job as ‘someone who cleverly lies without getting caught,’” she said. “I keep making lies that feel real, on a razor-thin boundary. I don’t care what I’m called. It’s enough if readers fall for the world I created.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-23 00:03:28