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Your Utopia
By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the Korean by Anton Hur, Your Utopia is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. These stories are suffused with Chung's inimitable wry humour and surprisingly tender moments, too — often between unexpected subjects.
In ‘The Center for Immortality Research’, a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors, only to be blamed for a crime she witnessed during the event, under the noses of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. But she can’t be fired — no one can. In ‘One More Kiss, Dear’, a tender, one-sided love blooms in the AI-elevator of an apartment complex; as in, the elevator develops a profound affection for one of the residents. In ‘Seeds’, we see the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet and the GMO companies who rule the agricultural industry in this bleak future, but nature has ways of creeping back to life.
If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of this singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.
In ‘The Center for Immortality Research’, a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors, only to be blamed for a crime she witnessed during the event, under the noses of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. But she can’t be fired — no one can. In ‘One More Kiss, Dear’, a tender, one-sided love blooms in the AI-elevator of an apartment complex; as in, the elevator develops a profound affection for one of the residents. In ‘Seeds’, we see the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet and the GMO companies who rule the agricultural industry in this bleak future, but nature has ways of creeping back to life.
If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of this singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.
242 pages, ebook
First published August 25, 2021
355 people are currently reading
18851 people want to read
About the author
Bora Chung
18 books1,117 followersBora Chung has written three novels and three collections of short stories. She has an MA in Russian and East European area studies from Yale University and a PhD in Slavic literature from Indiana University. She currently teaches Russian language and literature and science fiction studies at Yonsei University and translates modern literary works from Russian and Polish into Korean.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 934 reviews
March 5, 2024
a utopia? for me? you shouldn't have.
honestly, reading this book prompted a lot of shouldn't haves.
cursed bunny is strange and fascinating and unpredictable. this, by the same author, led me to expect a bizarre good time, but all of these stories — while striving for weird on the surface — were one-note and easy to anticipate.
some of them were in space, some were in the future, some were...well actually most of them were in one or the other, but all of them were about technology and society, and they had simple things to say.
after two story collections from chung, i'd be interested in a novel.
bottom line: full of thin ideas.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
honestly, reading this book prompted a lot of shouldn't haves.
cursed bunny is strange and fascinating and unpredictable. this, by the same author, led me to expect a bizarre good time, but all of these stories — while striving for weird on the surface — were one-note and easy to anticipate.
some of them were in space, some were in the future, some were...well actually most of them were in one or the other, but all of them were about technology and society, and they had simple things to say.
after two story collections from chung, i'd be interested in a novel.
bottom line: full of thin ideas.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
December 29, 2025
I preferred CURSED BUNNY tbh 🐰
1. The Center for Immortality Research
As this began in a rather mundane office setting with too many job titles than I prefer, it very quickly evolved into something a bit more interesting. I hope the other stories keep on trend.
2. The End of the Voyage
I will actively avoid zombie media. It’s just not my thing. I did watch TRAIN TO BUSAN, but I think we all know why I watched that. This is equal parts thriller, science fiction, and adventure, and I loved every second. I had a feeling I knew where this was headed, and it headed there, but I still had a blast. A man thinks he can trick you? One up him. Blessed.
3. A Very Ordinary Marriage
Lies and deceit. I would call this A VERY UNORDINARY MARRIAGE. I suppose marriages are made on less. Don’t mind me. I’m extra cynical right now.
4. Maria, Gratia Plena
The drugs were fine. The hallucinations were fine. The Catholicism triggered me.
5. Your Utopia
Robots and AI in dystopian worlds usually interest me, but this was a slog to get through. Pass.
6. A Song for Sleep
Is this the elevator’s POV? I’m confused. I still enjoyed it, because it was rather sad, but I’m confused.
7. Seed
Southern California is a deathtrap for dog poop, so the human poop as fertilizer, communing with nature, and overall disgustingness triggered me. If Zana is around, did this review remind you of anyone? It sucks that the first few stories are so much better written than these last few, but I suppose they wanted to suck us in. It worked.
8. To Meet Her
I read this last night, and meant to review it immediately, and now I can't remember anything about it. Must've been great.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books
1. The Center for Immortality Research
As this began in a rather mundane office setting with too many job titles than I prefer, it very quickly evolved into something a bit more interesting. I hope the other stories keep on trend.
2. The End of the Voyage
I will actively avoid zombie media. It’s just not my thing. I did watch TRAIN TO BUSAN, but I think we all know why I watched that. This is equal parts thriller, science fiction, and adventure, and I loved every second. I had a feeling I knew where this was headed, and it headed there, but I still had a blast. A man thinks he can trick you? One up him. Blessed.
3. A Very Ordinary Marriage
Lies and deceit. I would call this A VERY UNORDINARY MARRIAGE. I suppose marriages are made on less. Don’t mind me. I’m extra cynical right now.
4. Maria, Gratia Plena
The drugs were fine. The hallucinations were fine. The Catholicism triggered me.
5. Your Utopia
Robots and AI in dystopian worlds usually interest me, but this was a slog to get through. Pass.
6. A Song for Sleep
Is this the elevator’s POV? I’m confused. I still enjoyed it, because it was rather sad, but I’m confused.
7. Seed
Southern California is a deathtrap for dog poop, so the human poop as fertilizer, communing with nature, and overall disgustingness triggered me. If Zana is around, did this review remind you of anyone? It sucks that the first few stories are so much better written than these last few, but I suppose they wanted to suck us in. It worked.
8. To Meet Her
I read this last night, and meant to review it immediately, and now I can't remember anything about it. Must've been great.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books
January 27, 2024
Having discovered Bora Chung only last year through her fantasy/horror collection Cursed Bunny, I'm happy to be able to read her second English short story collection, Your Utopia, so soon. The stories all have a science fictional basis; like research for eternal life, a spaceship looking for a new planet for humanity to settle after a cannibalistic virus pandemic, aliens not only among us, but closer to us than we ever could have imagined, a post apocalyptic world in which only robots with solar panels survived, the internet of things becoming emotional and much more. So the stories do the title justice.
My favorites were A Very Ordinary Marriage in which a husband catches his wife making phone calls in a strange language and discovers a wild side to her and A Song for Sleep where a smart Lift falls in love with a resident of the home for elderly it is in, and tries to make her feel at ease and comfortable when everyone in her life ignores her. Very touching.
It's great to have a Korean author so popular in the English speaking community so we get to read her stories a lot, though honestly, I personally of course preferred her horror tinted stories from last year.
My favorites were A Very Ordinary Marriage in which a husband catches his wife making phone calls in a strange language and discovers a wild side to her and A Song for Sleep where a smart Lift falls in love with a resident of the home for elderly it is in, and tries to make her feel at ease and comfortable when everyone in her life ignores her. Very touching.
It's great to have a Korean author so popular in the English speaking community so we get to read her stories a lot, though honestly, I personally of course preferred her horror tinted stories from last year.
October 11, 2024
4 stars
short review for busy readers:
This enjoyable collection focuses on social justice topics told through the lens of sci-fi and in a bold, narrative voice. A handful of the stories are based on real incidences. There is rather a lack of subtilty in the pieces (quite on the nose) and many try to explain the injustice rather than tell a genuine story. Grief and the lack of empathy are the overriding emotions. Little gore or grossness. The title story is, btw, a very good example of the New Weird genre.
in detail:
I haven't read Cursed Bunny yet so I can't compare that collection to this one, except to say that the gross elements from that one are not present in this one. There is a little bit of body horror and one corpse, but that's it. Most of the horror is inferred.
It seems, from reading a number of reviews of this one, that each story lands very differently with each individual reader. Very much a collection that appeals to taste!
My faves were: The Center for Immortality Research, Maria Gratia Plena, A Song for Sleep and Your Utopia. The last being my fave, but then I like New Weird, so it would be. It's also far more subtil with the grief than A Song for Sleep, which seems to be the fave with many readers.
The one thing that I thought would have improved the collection, would have been the use of different narrative voices.
All the stories in Your Utopia are told in the exact same voice, regardless of the narrator. It's a bold, candid, enjoyable voice reminiscent of George Saunders work (he also had a problem varying his narrative voices), but being unable to alter makes the tone one note after a while.
Here's a run down of the individual stories with my rating:
The Center for Immortality Research: 3.5. A 'wacky comedy' (Bora's words). The madness and hell of corporate culture seen from a low flunky's level. Quite funny.
The End of the Voyage: 2. A space zombie apocalypse story that is mostly an info dump with some Star Trek-y action. Kill the idiot Red Ensign already.
A Very Ordinary Marriage: 3. A man discovers there is something very strange about his new wife...and he's caught up in the weirdness with no escape. (slight gore)
Maria, Gratia Plena: 4.5. a moving story about scanning the brain of a comatose, dying criminal to harvest her memories. The police are only interested in getting info to make arrests, they couldn't care less about the humanity and problems of the patient. Based in part on a true story.
Your Utopia: 5. *My Fave* An automated vehicle on a planet humans have abandoned adopts a malfunctioning humanoid care bot it found to replace the human owner it misses. Shades of China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. (slight gore)
A Song for Sleep: 5. An AI elevator/lift takes an interest in an elderly woman suffering from Parkinson's disease. As it doesn't understand disease or death very well, it doesn't know what it can do for the woman beyond play her her favourite song. High grief.
Seed: 4. Big Ag corps are evil. Bio horror. (In fact, a very typical trope for bio horror, but rather inferred) Based on real agriculture companies and their gobsmackingly ruthless, inhumane and destructive corporate policies.
To Meet Her: 3. An anti-hate story about an elderly woman almost dying in an assassination attempt when a transwoman celeb she admires is targeted by hate groups. Not much on story, but big on social justice. Based in part on real people and most reflective of Bora Chung's own feelings about when she attended protests and protest actions in S. Korea.
Together that's: 3.75 rounded up to 4.
short review for busy readers:
This enjoyable collection focuses on social justice topics told through the lens of sci-fi and in a bold, narrative voice. A handful of the stories are based on real incidences. There is rather a lack of subtilty in the pieces (quite on the nose) and many try to explain the injustice rather than tell a genuine story. Grief and the lack of empathy are the overriding emotions. Little gore or grossness. The title story is, btw, a very good example of the New Weird genre.
in detail:
I haven't read Cursed Bunny yet so I can't compare that collection to this one, except to say that the gross elements from that one are not present in this one. There is a little bit of body horror and one corpse, but that's it. Most of the horror is inferred.
It seems, from reading a number of reviews of this one, that each story lands very differently with each individual reader. Very much a collection that appeals to taste!
My faves were: The Center for Immortality Research, Maria Gratia Plena, A Song for Sleep and Your Utopia. The last being my fave, but then I like New Weird, so it would be. It's also far more subtil with the grief than A Song for Sleep, which seems to be the fave with many readers.
The one thing that I thought would have improved the collection, would have been the use of different narrative voices.
All the stories in Your Utopia are told in the exact same voice, regardless of the narrator. It's a bold, candid, enjoyable voice reminiscent of George Saunders work (he also had a problem varying his narrative voices), but being unable to alter makes the tone one note after a while.
Here's a run down of the individual stories with my rating:
The Center for Immortality Research: 3.5. A 'wacky comedy' (Bora's words). The madness and hell of corporate culture seen from a low flunky's level. Quite funny.
The End of the Voyage: 2. A space zombie apocalypse story that is mostly an info dump with some Star Trek-y action. Kill the idiot Red Ensign already.
A Very Ordinary Marriage: 3. A man discovers there is something very strange about his new wife...and he's caught up in the weirdness with no escape. (slight gore)
Maria, Gratia Plena: 4.5. a moving story about scanning the brain of a comatose, dying criminal to harvest her memories. The police are only interested in getting info to make arrests, they couldn't care less about the humanity and problems of the patient. Based in part on a true story.
Your Utopia: 5. *My Fave* An automated vehicle on a planet humans have abandoned adopts a malfunctioning humanoid care bot it found to replace the human owner it misses. Shades of China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. (slight gore)
A Song for Sleep: 5. An AI elevator/lift takes an interest in an elderly woman suffering from Parkinson's disease. As it doesn't understand disease or death very well, it doesn't know what it can do for the woman beyond play her her favourite song. High grief.
Seed: 4. Big Ag corps are evil. Bio horror. (In fact, a very typical trope for bio horror, but rather inferred) Based on real agriculture companies and their gobsmackingly ruthless, inhumane and destructive corporate policies.
To Meet Her: 3. An anti-hate story about an elderly woman almost dying in an assassination attempt when a transwoman celeb she admires is targeted by hate groups. Not much on story, but big on social justice. Based in part on real people and most reflective of Bora Chung's own feelings about when she attended protests and protest actions in S. Korea.
Together that's: 3.75 rounded up to 4.
April 10, 2024
Bora Chung marry me.
February 1, 2024
Absolutely no notes. Might be one of the best short story collection I’ve read. This was fantastic and every single story in it had me either wanting to cry or just absolutely shook to my core. I liked Cursed Bunny but this is on another level and it’s like genuinely changed me as a person lmao. The second story in it was probably one of the most perfect and amazing things I have ever read and I genuinely have been thinking about it every waking moment since I read the last word. Anyway everyone read Your Utopia.
January 14, 2024
The stories in Your Utopia were fine but they didn't hit me the way the stories in Cursed Bunny did. It's possible that if I'd read this first, then I would have loved it more.
Read
February 4, 2024Bora Chung is a legend of short Korean fiction. Her collection Cursed Bunny—which leans hard into the horror but also blends sci-fi and fantasy in a fairy-tale style—shook the world of literature. Your Utopia forgoes all other genres for an entirely science fiction approach, though it still utilises the tropes and effects of horror stories and fairy tales to weave a varied emotional tapestry across its sci-fi stories.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-sci-fi-b...
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-sci-fi-b...
November 26, 2025
There's so many things going through my mind now, but what I can say that this book is outstanding. A reflection to the world that we live in - told in a way that is not only laced with dark humour but slapping you with realities of the world that we live in, and maybe, the future that we can forsee happening.
I need to sleep off for a bit before writing my full thoughts , or I will end up spiraling again.
But best to say, its so early in this year and I think I may found a top read already.
RTC.
Finally writing out my full thoughts here : Edited on 31/1/2024
Before I go in this review, suffice to say that these would be pretty much a very spoilery review - the spoiler part has tags so you have been warned - as I was going back and forth wether or not I should elaborate on each stories individually, and since this book had really reigned me in, I feel it would do injustice if I don't pan out my thoughts out on it, so please you have been warned.
Such intelligence written with brilliance
That's whats best described these short collection of short stories for me. And if you're going in right after finishing Cursed Bunny (which I adored), then go in with a different mindset as these collection are in a completely different league and in the best way as well. There is a quiet sense of horror that is still attached with Bora Chung's stories, but in ways that are more subtle and how eerily close to the world that we live in are now. Its a depiction of an intelligence that somehow exceeded human's capabilities and thrown in the mix is a stand of solidarity for what both the author and translators stands for, and mostly, its about being human - in every form possible. Even if its translated into a form of intelligence.
And in what form in life that we seek to create a tangent of hope? Revisiting my notes that I scribbled in this book whilst reading this had revisited a whole array of emotions. Whilst Cursed Bunny had given the goth-horror-tales that stems from misogyny and capitalism, Your Utopia brings around the same themes but with more emotions and depth and possibly, with much anger that radiates from the connotations, depth and voice that each story holds. Its in the way of subtle criticism towards capitalism and in people of power by portraying the after-effects from the abuse towards the people that had been struggling to live. Its in the stories that might stake as dystopian and horror but is also portraying the effects of capitalism on the environment. And its in the way how emotions are not just entirely conformed to humans but it can extend to the machinery and intelligence that has been created. Its in the way how the word artificial intelligence itself exceeded its functions and becoming a form that is their own.
Its not often that I give a collection of short stories 4 stars and above for each and every one of them, but good lord, did these 8 short stories caught my heart in ways that I didn't know it could. Not only was I enamoured by each stories, Bora Chung's deep sense of dark humour had made this such an enjoyable read. There were a lot of moments that had loads of "wtfs" and "huhhh" and "good lord" in my notes to the point that it had made me chuckling at some. But in the mix of all that dark humour, there was also a deep sense of dread after some reflection from each stories.
And please, good lord Bora Chung can freaking write a sci-fi full novella and I will eat it up. One of the easiest 5 stars that I can give in the story was from The End of The Voyage where it depicts about a journey of a group of people that was sent to outer space to find a replacement for Earth as it has been infected by a form of virus that is non-traceable. Sounds familiar? That's whats eerie about this book. Its reflecting during the time of the lockdown and pandemic but taken with a twist that really made me went on a voyage of my own. I had to stop and breathe because it felt like I went on a full ride with that story alone and it gave me such a serotonin boost to read something THAT GOOD and satisfied both my fantasy and literary read cravings.
Whilst some stories like The Center for Immortality Research and A Very Ordinary Marriage had all the fun and games (read: horror-goth in its true and playful form), the centre theme that revolves around this book is the portrayal of intelligence that exceeds human expectations.
The conformity of life and death. Expired through a disease? or being said to be malfunctioning?
The existential crisis that had me questioning the difference between human and machines. As we train machines and artificial intelligence to be trained to do human functions they also inhibit the emotions instilled too , in which surpasses what a machine was designated and supposed to do. And in which point did the limits of human and machines comes through? This was what I felt one of the main questions that is portrayed from Your Utopia - where loneliness is a disease, a malfunction that can affect anyone; even by the machines that were created by said humans; whilst A Song For Sleep had left me feeling void and got me thinking into the the kind of "malfunction" that is no different from humans and machines. Its very much unheard for an elevator to be able to sympathize and feel empathy for a human and being able to act on it.
The thin line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence? Where does it lie? Between the lines of black and white? Or is dulled due to it being it in the gray area?
And don't get me started on how misogyny towards women and of sexual discrimination has been portrayed in Maria, Gratia Plena and To Meet Her. These two stories shows the act of resistance from the author herself, in which both stories had got me sobbing as they are a tribute for real women that had been affected in real life. These stories of abuse and the cause of trauma by tyrants that is called society, had led to innocent lives being taken with brutal force. And in these stories lies a deep sense of solidarity with the author (in which she is an active activist herself).
The most unique story of all and one that had caught my heart unexpectedly was Seed and this story had not only rendered me speechless, its a form of beauty in the horrors as well; in which is a sign of resistance towards brutal capitalism and environmentalism. Its a sad and almost horrifying potrayal in which shows how the need for survival will lead to extremism.
At the end of the day, in celebrating loss and hope, Your Utopia had to be one of those reads that I will definitely revisit time and time again. Its a timeless piece that speaks of issues that stemmed from the human greed that can lead to a artificial intelligence maybe someday exceeding the lines of its existence. Its sci-fi and speculative fiction in its core but its also a parallel to the events of reality in which might happen if we choose to ignore and close our eyes to what's happening in the world now. Its of a small act of resistance told and written with such grace. And I for one had enjoyed every single page of this ride.
This author and translator duo - Bora Chung and Anton Hur continues to exceed my expectations. And I for one am happy to go in a ride with both of them for any books that they will put out in the future.
Highly recommended. It was definitely a thrilling ride.
Thank you so much to Honford Star for this copy, and Anton himself for the US gift copy. Might be one of the best gifts I can get this year.
I need to sleep off for a bit before writing my full thoughts , or I will end up spiraling again.
But best to say, its so early in this year and I think I may found a top read already.
RTC.
Finally writing out my full thoughts here : Edited on 31/1/2024
Before I go in this review, suffice to say that these would be pretty much a very spoilery review - the spoiler part has tags so you have been warned - as I was going back and forth wether or not I should elaborate on each stories individually, and since this book had really reigned me in, I feel it would do injustice if I don't pan out my thoughts out on it, so please you have been warned.
Such intelligence written with brilliance
That's whats best described these short collection of short stories for me. And if you're going in right after finishing Cursed Bunny (which I adored), then go in with a different mindset as these collection are in a completely different league and in the best way as well. There is a quiet sense of horror that is still attached with Bora Chung's stories, but in ways that are more subtle and how eerily close to the world that we live in are now. Its a depiction of an intelligence that somehow exceeded human's capabilities and thrown in the mix is a stand of solidarity for what both the author and translators stands for, and mostly, its about being human - in every form possible. Even if its translated into a form of intelligence.
Some machines are happier than humans
And in what form in life that we seek to create a tangent of hope? Revisiting my notes that I scribbled in this book whilst reading this had revisited a whole array of emotions. Whilst Cursed Bunny had given the goth-horror-tales that stems from misogyny and capitalism, Your Utopia brings around the same themes but with more emotions and depth and possibly, with much anger that radiates from the connotations, depth and voice that each story holds. Its in the way of subtle criticism towards capitalism and in people of power by portraying the after-effects from the abuse towards the people that had been struggling to live. Its in the stories that might stake as dystopian and horror but is also portraying the effects of capitalism on the environment. And its in the way how emotions are not just entirely conformed to humans but it can extend to the machinery and intelligence that has been created. Its in the way how the word artificial intelligence itself exceeded its functions and becoming a form that is their own.
Its not often that I give a collection of short stories 4 stars and above for each and every one of them, but good lord, did these 8 short stories caught my heart in ways that I didn't know it could. Not only was I enamoured by each stories, Bora Chung's deep sense of dark humour had made this such an enjoyable read. There were a lot of moments that had loads of "wtfs" and "huhhh" and "good lord" in my notes to the point that it had made me chuckling at some. But in the mix of all that dark humour, there was also a deep sense of dread after some reflection from each stories.
And please, good lord Bora Chung can freaking write a sci-fi full novella and I will eat it up. One of the easiest 5 stars that I can give in the story was from The End of The Voyage where it depicts about a journey of a group of people that was sent to outer space to find a replacement for Earth as it has been infected by a form of virus that is non-traceable. Sounds familiar? That's whats eerie about this book. Its reflecting during the time of the lockdown and pandemic but taken with a twist that really made me went on a voyage of my own. I had to stop and breathe because it felt like I went on a full ride with that story alone and it gave me such a serotonin boost to read something THAT GOOD and satisfied both my fantasy and literary read cravings.
Whilst some stories like The Center for Immortality Research and A Very Ordinary Marriage had all the fun and games (read: horror-goth in its true and playful form), the centre theme that revolves around this book is the portrayal of intelligence that exceeds human expectations.
"When the world I was designed for has changed so much, in what ways must I myself change?"
The conformity of life and death. Expired through a disease? or being said to be malfunctioning?
The existential crisis that had me questioning the difference between human and machines. As we train machines and artificial intelligence to be trained to do human functions they also inhibit the emotions instilled too , in which surpasses what a machine was designated and supposed to do. And in which point did the limits of human and machines comes through? This was what I felt one of the main questions that is portrayed from Your Utopia - where loneliness is a disease, a malfunction that can affect anyone; even by the machines that were created by said humans; whilst A Song For Sleep had left me feeling void and got me thinking into the the kind of "malfunction" that is no different from humans and machines. Its very much unheard for an elevator to be able to sympathize and feel empathy for a human and being able to act on it.
The thin line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence? Where does it lie? Between the lines of black and white? Or is dulled due to it being it in the gray area?
And don't get me started on how misogyny towards women and of sexual discrimination has been portrayed in Maria, Gratia Plena and To Meet Her. These two stories shows the act of resistance from the author herself, in which both stories had got me sobbing as they are a tribute for real women that had been affected in real life. These stories of abuse and the cause of trauma by tyrants that is called society, had led to innocent lives being taken with brutal force. And in these stories lies a deep sense of solidarity with the author (in which she is an active activist herself).
"If God is a man, he could never understand the mundane threats women experience every single day of our lives.
The most unique story of all and one that had caught my heart unexpectedly was Seed and this story had not only rendered me speechless, its a form of beauty in the horrors as well; in which is a sign of resistance towards brutal capitalism and environmentalism. Its a sad and almost horrifying potrayal in which shows how the need for survival will lead to extremism.
At the end of the day, in celebrating loss and hope, Your Utopia had to be one of those reads that I will definitely revisit time and time again. Its a timeless piece that speaks of issues that stemmed from the human greed that can lead to a artificial intelligence maybe someday exceeding the lines of its existence. Its sci-fi and speculative fiction in its core but its also a parallel to the events of reality in which might happen if we choose to ignore and close our eyes to what's happening in the world now. Its of a small act of resistance told and written with such grace. And I for one had enjoyed every single page of this ride.
This author and translator duo - Bora Chung and Anton Hur continues to exceed my expectations. And I for one am happy to go in a ride with both of them for any books that they will put out in the future.
Highly recommended. It was definitely a thrilling ride.
Thank you so much to Honford Star for this copy, and Anton himself for the US gift copy. Might be one of the best gifts I can get this year.
December 3, 2024
This was a book of concise stories. I could say short stories, but I say concise because I think these were more interesting than the average book of short stories and that each one was more concise and more precise. Also, this was an interesting intersection of sci-fi, sometimes dystopian/sometimes pre-apocalyptic/sometimes post-apocalyptic, and always existential, which elevated my interest. Plus, the characters were Korean, which automatically made me want to read it (being Korean myself).
I really appreciated the last story, which I'm guessing was inspired by Byun Hui-su - South Korea's first trans servicewoman. She was exceptionally brave to come out as publicly as she did several years ago. Shamefully, South Korea, while having legalized homosexuality, still socially follows and practices Christian conservatism (thanks to the Dutch missionaries of many years ago - grrrrrrrrrr, though in truth, Buddhism is pretty conservative too). So Byun's brief but glorious moment of pride was extinguished quickly and cruelly by the military and society, which is why I was so grateful for the last story in the book.
I really liked wandering through the author's brain. Her vision of the future was both bleak and believable (to an extent). 4.5 and rounding up.
I really appreciated the last story, which I'm guessing was inspired by Byun Hui-su - South Korea's first trans servicewoman. She was exceptionally brave to come out as publicly as she did several years ago. Shamefully, South Korea, while having legalized homosexuality, still socially follows and practices Christian conservatism (thanks to the Dutch missionaries of many years ago - grrrrrrrrrr, though in truth, Buddhism is pretty conservative too). So Byun's brief but glorious moment of pride was extinguished quickly and cruelly by the military and society, which is why I was so grateful for the last story in the book.
I really liked wandering through the author's brain. Her vision of the future was both bleak and believable (to an extent). 4.5 and rounding up.
May 19, 2024
2.25 stars
"Some machines are happier than humans.”
Reading this reminded me that science fiction is not my preferred genre. However, the tale premises and the way they evolved turned me off, despite the fact that the author's other book is one of my favorite short story collections. The writing style was fine, but the stories lacked thrill and excitement for me, therefore I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped.
- THE CENTER OF IMMORTALITY ˗ ★★.5
Only one word "meh" I didn't really care. The summary described it as fantastic, but we got almost nothing.
- THE END OF VOYAGE - ★★★
Definitely better than the previous one, with more action. However, it seemed like a movie script.
- A VERY ORDINARY MARRIAGE -★.5
This isn't really a full-fledged story; it felt lacking on many elements, including motivation, action, conversation writing, and absolutely no story.
- MARIA, GRATIA PLENA- ★
Didn't quite get it.
- YOUR UTOPIA - ★
One of the worst titular stories I've ever read, and it even made the cover.
- A SONG FOR SLEEP- ★★★★
Definitely my favourite, and it's not even difficult to select. More specifically, the concept appealed to me and also had an emotional component to it.
- SEED-★.75
Why was this even a thing? It tried way too hard to be edgy.
- TO MEET HER★.5
Sorry
"Some machines are happier than humans.”
Reading this reminded me that science fiction is not my preferred genre. However, the tale premises and the way they evolved turned me off, despite the fact that the author's other book is one of my favorite short story collections. The writing style was fine, but the stories lacked thrill and excitement for me, therefore I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped.
- THE CENTER OF IMMORTALITY ˗ ★★.5
Only one word "meh" I didn't really care. The summary described it as fantastic, but we got almost nothing.
- THE END OF VOYAGE - ★★★
Definitely better than the previous one, with more action. However, it seemed like a movie script.
- A VERY ORDINARY MARRIAGE -★.5
This isn't really a full-fledged story; it felt lacking on many elements, including motivation, action, conversation writing, and absolutely no story.
- MARIA, GRATIA PLENA- ★
Didn't quite get it.
- YOUR UTOPIA - ★
One of the worst titular stories I've ever read, and it even made the cover.
- A SONG FOR SLEEP- ★★★★
Definitely my favourite, and it's not even difficult to select. More specifically, the concept appealed to me and also had an emotional component to it.
- SEED-★.75
Why was this even a thing? It tried way too hard to be edgy.
- TO MEET HER★.5
Sorry
February 26, 2024
A collection of eight short stories, borrowing from different genres (magical realism, horror, and science fiction), and sharing a somewhat cozy tone, but with a Black Mirror vibe in them that's quite unsettling and thought provoking.
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Una raccolta di otto racconti, di generi diversi (realismo magico, horror e fantascienza), che condividono un tono abbastanza tranquillo, ma con un'atmosfera da Black Mirror che è piuttosto inquietante e stimolante.
-------
Una raccolta di otto racconti, di generi diversi (realismo magico, horror e fantascienza), che condividono un tono abbastanza tranquillo, ma con un'atmosfera da Black Mirror che è piuttosto inquietante e stimolante.
February 12, 2025
2025 Philip K. Dick Award Nominee
I may be at the bottom of the hierarchy, but my title happens to be gwajang—“middle manager”—which of course is also part of a long chain of fluffed-up titles going right to the top. The board members are at the highest echelons, with a slew of bujangs and chajangs and other titles going down, and I’m the lowest-ranking with not a single sawon below me, to say nothing of a daeli. Why, despite our designation as a research lab, we have such corporate titles instead of “primary investigator” or some such is also beyond me.
Your Utopia (2024) is Anton Hur’s translation of 그녀를 만나다 (2021) by 정보라 (Bora Chung) and published by Honford Star.
This is the follow up to the strikingly distinctive Cursed Bunny (from a 2017 original) by the same author, translator and publisher which was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and which the shadow jury, of which I was part, awarded our shadow version of the prize.
The stories in that book effectively mixed genres (anti-realist would perhaps be a good label) and also horror with humour.
The same is true here although the collection tilts more explicitly to high-level speculative fiction (particularly imagining a post human civilisation world) and rather less the grotesque (with the exception of a zombie story).
The stories in the original and with their translated title are as follows - NB two of the original titles were in English, one of which has been changed. And the title story of the original collection has been moved to the end (and another story chosen as the title story, I suspect to give more of a speculative fiction vibe.
영생불사연구소 - The Center for Immortality Research
그녀를 만나다 - To Meet Her
(title story and second in the original collection, at the end in translation )
여행의 끝 - The End of the Voyage
아주 보통의 결혼 - A Very Ordinary Marriage
Maria, Gratia Plena - (same title)
너의 유토피아 - Your Utopia
One More Kiss, Dear - translated as A Song for Sleep
씨앗 - Seed
The last story can be found in translation here as gives a good flavour of the collection:
https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/...
The first story, The Center for Immortality Research (영생불사연구소) is perhaps least typical of the collection. A satire of office politics and hierarchy where the sci-fi background is rather lost in the layers of management in organising a 98th anniversary celebration (and why 98th and not 100th - well best not to ask as that would no doubt lead to a whole lot more committee meetings). This on the process to invite a guest of honour, a Korean actor who appeared in a relevant(ish) movie:
There had to be a battle of what constitutes immortality as a concept before we moved forward. The Korean word for immortality is a combination of “long youth” and “forever life,” and did “long” and “forever” really mean the same thing? Of course not, because “forever” lasted a lot longer than “long.” Therefore, “long youth” was tawdry compared to “forever life,” and for the actor to have starred in a movie about “long youth” was, according to detractors, not a good fit to the Center’s mission. But when we then looked for movies dealing with the strictest sense of “forever life,” there were almost no such films in Korea, and it would be absurd to think an actor like Hugh Jackman would bother to come to a Center for Immortality Research’s ninety-eighth anniversary celebration event in Korea (there was also some debate as to whether the movie Hugh Jackman had starred in, The Fountain, was a movie about immortality or reincarnation, or whether it might actually have been about parallel universes, but when we decided to watch the film as a group in order to determine this issue, the board members all began to snore fifteen minutes into the film, making the whole point moot).
Although the humour here is often replaced elsewhere with a more political charge, most notably in To Meet Her (그녀를 만나다). The author in an afterword explains how this story was written in the middle of 2020 political protests advocating new laws on worker safety and anti-discrimination.
In the midst of this, my publisher asked me if I had another short story similar to the mood of “The Center for Immortality Research,” and I offered to just write them a new one, but I soon realized that with all the above going on, I was not in the right headspace to write another wacky comedic piece.
The story she produced engages movingly with the tragic fate of Staff Sergeant Byun Hui-su, the first openly transgender soldier in the Korean Army who was discharged despite wanting to continue to serve as a women soldier, and imagines a better, more Utopian world, where those who followed in her footsteps might fare better than her death from suspected suicide. (The non-fiction Flowers of Fire contains more on this story). Although I couldn’t help feeling the sci-fi nature of the story diminished a little from the message.
Overall - 3.5 stars. I look forward to reading more of the author/translator/publisher’s work but a relative disappointment vs Cursed Bunny.
Other quotes (from original and translation)
우리 연구소가 뭐 하는 곳이냐 하면 제목에 쓴 그대로 영생불사를 연구하고 실천하는 곳이다. 한일강제병합 얼마 후인 1912년에 “나라가 망해도 우리만은 영생불사”라는, 일말의 진실에도 불구하고 어쩔 수 없이 유치찬란해 보이는 캐치프레이즈를 내걸고 설립되어 올해 98주년을 맞이한 관계로 기념식을 성대하게 치르게 되었다.
--- 「영생불사연구소」 중에서
If you were to ask what the Center for Immortality Research does, we do exactly what it says on the label: research immortality. In 1912, not long after Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan, the Center opened with the hopelessly silly slogan of “Our Country May Fall but We Shall Live Forever,” and it was now the ninety-eighth year of its founding, which occasioned a huge blowout party.
그리하여 전 인류가 서로서로 잡아먹는 상황이 실제로 펼쳐졌다. 좀비 영화에서 흔히 보듯이 반쯤 썩은 시체들이 되살아나 알 수 없는 비명 같은 소리로 울부짖으며 떼 지어 걸어 다녔다면 좀 나았을지도 모른다. 겉보기에 멀쩡하기 짝이 없는 사람들이 예의 바르게 대화하고 아무렇지 않게 웃다가 갑자기 가장 가까이 있는 사람 혹은 사람들의 두개골을 부수고 시체를 토막 내 도시락처럼 싸 가지고 다니면서 공원 벤치에 앉아 샌드위치라도 먹듯이 꺼내 들고 햇볕과 잔디를 감상하면서 평화��게 뜯어 먹는 광경이 일상이 되었다.
--- 「여행의 끝」 중에서
And so it came to pass that all of civilization began trying to eat each other. Perhaps it would’ve been better if, like in a zombie movie, reanimated corpses were walking around in flocks, screaming as they went for the kill. Instead, perfectly normal-looking people went about politely conversing and smiling and would suddenly crush the skull of someone nearby and chop them up into edible sections and, packing them in brown paper bags to eat on a park bench, would then watch the sunlight on the grass, peacefully nibbling a human liver.
아내는 외국인과 바람을 피우고 있었던 것일까. 어디서 어떻게 만난 사람일까. 내가 전혀 알아들을 수 없는 언어였으나 아내가 전화기에 대고 하는 말은 매우 빠르고 능숙하게 들렸다. 그렇다면 오래전부터 알던 사이일까. 결혼하기 전부터 이어져 온 관계일까?
--- 「아주 보통의 결혼」 중에서
Was my wife having an affair with a foreigner? How did she even meet him? It was not a language I understood at all, but my wife was clearly very quick and fluent in it. Then was this man someone she had known for a long time? Even before she married me?
"천주의 성모 마리아님. 이제와 저희 죽을 때에 저희 죄인을 위하여 빌어주소서.” 종교를 믿지 않는 나로서는 마지막의 ‘아멘’만은 거리낌 없이 말할 수 없었다. 신이 남성이라면, 여성이 느끼는 일상적 위협을 절대로 이해하지 못할 것이다.
--- 「Maria, Gratia Plena」 중에서
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
As someone who believes in no religion, I can’t bring myself to add the “Amen” at the end.
If God is a man, he could never understand the mundane threats women experience every single day of our lives.
인간들이 이 행성을 버리고 떠난 뒤로 314나 나와 같은 기계만 남았다. 인간들은 발전기를 분해해서 가지고 떠났다. 충전이 필요한 기계들은 하나씩 방전되어 쓰러지고 재생에너지를 사용하는 나와 같은 기계들만 살아남았다.
--- 「너의 유토피아」 중에서
Ever since humans left this planet, it’s been only machines like 314 and me. The humans dismantled the generator and took it with them. The machines that needed charging lost power one by one, only those with renewable energy sources like me survive.
그녀는 손가락에 닿았던 벽의 감촉을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 흘린 음료수를 닦을 때 손수건을 통해 전해지던 하얀 바닥의 감촉을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 함께 들었던 그녀의 음악을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 나만이 그 모든 순간을 기억할 것이다. 내가 계속 작동하는 한, 언제나.
--- 「One More Kiss, Dear」 중에서
She probably does not remember the texture of the elevator wall when she touched it. Or how the white floor felt when she wiped the spilled drink with her handkerchief. Or her song that we listened to together. Only I will remember these moments. As long as I function, always.
그 하나를 위해서, 우리는 기다린다. 지평선 너머에서 더럽고 거대한 기계의 날갯소리 대신 꽃가루가 날아오는 날을. 바람을 타고 우리가 뿌린 씨앗이 춤추며 돌아오는 날을.
--- 「씨앗」 중에서
For the sake of that one, we wait. For the day they return over the horizon, not via a large, dirty machine but in the form of a pollen message. For the day the seeds we spread return, dancing in the wind.
저는 군인이고, 엄마이고, 아내이고, 음악가입니다. 우리는 당연히 이 모든 것 가질 수 있어야 했고, 이제는 다 가질 수 있습니다.
--- 「그녀를 만나다」 중에서
I am a soldier, a mother, a wife, and a musician. We should be allowed to be all these things, and now we are.
I may be at the bottom of the hierarchy, but my title happens to be gwajang—“middle manager”—which of course is also part of a long chain of fluffed-up titles going right to the top. The board members are at the highest echelons, with a slew of bujangs and chajangs and other titles going down, and I’m the lowest-ranking with not a single sawon below me, to say nothing of a daeli. Why, despite our designation as a research lab, we have such corporate titles instead of “primary investigator” or some such is also beyond me.
Your Utopia (2024) is Anton Hur’s translation of 그녀를 만나다 (2021) by 정보라 (Bora Chung) and published by Honford Star.
This is the follow up to the strikingly distinctive Cursed Bunny (from a 2017 original) by the same author, translator and publisher which was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and which the shadow jury, of which I was part, awarded our shadow version of the prize.
The stories in that book effectively mixed genres (anti-realist would perhaps be a good label) and also horror with humour.
The same is true here although the collection tilts more explicitly to high-level speculative fiction (particularly imagining a post human civilisation world) and rather less the grotesque (with the exception of a zombie story).
The stories in the original and with their translated title are as follows - NB two of the original titles were in English, one of which has been changed. And the title story of the original collection has been moved to the end (and another story chosen as the title story, I suspect to give more of a speculative fiction vibe.
영생불사연구소 - The Center for Immortality Research
그녀를 만나다 - To Meet Her
(title story and second in the original collection, at the end in translation )
여행의 끝 - The End of the Voyage
아주 보통의 결혼 - A Very Ordinary Marriage
Maria, Gratia Plena - (same title)
너의 유토피아 - Your Utopia
One More Kiss, Dear - translated as A Song for Sleep
씨앗 - Seed
The last story can be found in translation here as gives a good flavour of the collection:
https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/...
The first story, The Center for Immortality Research (영생불사연구소) is perhaps least typical of the collection. A satire of office politics and hierarchy where the sci-fi background is rather lost in the layers of management in organising a 98th anniversary celebration (and why 98th and not 100th - well best not to ask as that would no doubt lead to a whole lot more committee meetings). This on the process to invite a guest of honour, a Korean actor who appeared in a relevant(ish) movie:
There had to be a battle of what constitutes immortality as a concept before we moved forward. The Korean word for immortality is a combination of “long youth” and “forever life,” and did “long” and “forever” really mean the same thing? Of course not, because “forever” lasted a lot longer than “long.” Therefore, “long youth” was tawdry compared to “forever life,” and for the actor to have starred in a movie about “long youth” was, according to detractors, not a good fit to the Center’s mission. But when we then looked for movies dealing with the strictest sense of “forever life,” there were almost no such films in Korea, and it would be absurd to think an actor like Hugh Jackman would bother to come to a Center for Immortality Research’s ninety-eighth anniversary celebration event in Korea (there was also some debate as to whether the movie Hugh Jackman had starred in, The Fountain, was a movie about immortality or reincarnation, or whether it might actually have been about parallel universes, but when we decided to watch the film as a group in order to determine this issue, the board members all began to snore fifteen minutes into the film, making the whole point moot).
Although the humour here is often replaced elsewhere with a more political charge, most notably in To Meet Her (그녀를 만나다). The author in an afterword explains how this story was written in the middle of 2020 political protests advocating new laws on worker safety and anti-discrimination.
In the midst of this, my publisher asked me if I had another short story similar to the mood of “The Center for Immortality Research,” and I offered to just write them a new one, but I soon realized that with all the above going on, I was not in the right headspace to write another wacky comedic piece.
The story she produced engages movingly with the tragic fate of Staff Sergeant Byun Hui-su, the first openly transgender soldier in the Korean Army who was discharged despite wanting to continue to serve as a women soldier, and imagines a better, more Utopian world, where those who followed in her footsteps might fare better than her death from suspected suicide. (The non-fiction Flowers of Fire contains more on this story). Although I couldn’t help feeling the sci-fi nature of the story diminished a little from the message.
Overall - 3.5 stars. I look forward to reading more of the author/translator/publisher’s work but a relative disappointment vs Cursed Bunny.
Other quotes (from original and translation)
우리 연구소가 뭐 하는 곳이냐 하면 제목에 쓴 그대로 영생불사를 연구하고 실천하는 곳이다. 한일강제병합 얼마 후인 1912년에 “나라가 망해도 우리만은 영생불사”라는, 일말의 진실에도 불구하고 어쩔 수 없이 유치찬란해 보이는 캐치프레이즈를 내걸고 설립되어 올해 98주년을 맞이한 관계로 기념식을 성대하게 치르게 되었다.
--- 「영생불사연구소」 중에서
If you were to ask what the Center for Immortality Research does, we do exactly what it says on the label: research immortality. In 1912, not long after Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan, the Center opened with the hopelessly silly slogan of “Our Country May Fall but We Shall Live Forever,” and it was now the ninety-eighth year of its founding, which occasioned a huge blowout party.
그리하여 전 인류가 서로서로 잡아먹는 상황이 실제로 펼쳐졌다. 좀비 영화에서 흔히 보듯이 반쯤 썩은 시체들이 되살아나 알 수 없는 비명 같은 소리로 울부짖으며 떼 지어 걸어 다녔다면 좀 나았을지도 모른다. 겉보기에 멀쩡하기 짝이 없는 사람들이 예의 바르게 대화하고 아무렇지 않게 웃다가 갑자기 가장 가까이 있는 사람 혹은 사람들의 두개골을 부수고 시체를 토막 내 도시락처럼 싸 가지고 다니면서 공원 벤치에 앉아 샌드위치라도 먹듯이 꺼내 들고 햇볕과 잔디를 감상하면서 평화��게 뜯어 먹는 광경이 일상이 되었다.
--- 「여행의 끝」 중에서
And so it came to pass that all of civilization began trying to eat each other. Perhaps it would’ve been better if, like in a zombie movie, reanimated corpses were walking around in flocks, screaming as they went for the kill. Instead, perfectly normal-looking people went about politely conversing and smiling and would suddenly crush the skull of someone nearby and chop them up into edible sections and, packing them in brown paper bags to eat on a park bench, would then watch the sunlight on the grass, peacefully nibbling a human liver.
아내는 외국인과 바람을 피우고 있었던 것일까. 어디서 어떻게 만난 사람일까. 내가 전혀 알아들을 수 없는 언어였으나 아내가 전화기에 대고 하는 말은 매우 빠르고 능숙하게 들렸다. 그렇다면 오래전부터 알던 사이일까. 결혼하기 전부터 이어져 온 관계일까?
--- 「아주 보통의 결혼」 중에서
Was my wife having an affair with a foreigner? How did she even meet him? It was not a language I understood at all, but my wife was clearly very quick and fluent in it. Then was this man someone she had known for a long time? Even before she married me?
"천주의 성모 마리아님. 이제와 저희 죽을 때에 저희 죄인을 위하여 빌어주소서.” 종교를 믿지 않는 나로서는 마지막의 ‘아멘’만은 거리낌 없이 말할 수 없었다. 신이 남성이라면, 여성이 느끼는 일상적 위협을 절대로 이해하지 못할 것이다.
--- 「Maria, Gratia Plena」 중에서
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
As someone who believes in no religion, I can’t bring myself to add the “Amen” at the end.
If God is a man, he could never understand the mundane threats women experience every single day of our lives.
인간들이 이 행성을 버리고 떠난 뒤로 314나 나와 같은 기계만 남았다. 인간들은 발전기를 분해해서 가지고 떠났다. 충전이 필요한 기계들은 하나씩 방전되어 쓰러지고 재생에너지를 사용하는 나와 같은 기계들만 살아남았다.
--- 「너의 유토피아」 중에서
Ever since humans left this planet, it’s been only machines like 314 and me. The humans dismantled the generator and took it with them. The machines that needed charging lost power one by one, only those with renewable energy sources like me survive.
그녀는 손가락에 닿았던 벽의 감촉을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 흘린 음료수를 닦을 때 손수건을 통해 전해지던 하얀 바닥의 감촉을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 함께 들었던 그녀의 음악을 기억하지 못할 것이다. 나만이 그 모든 순간을 기억할 것이다. 내가 계속 작동하는 한, 언제나.
--- 「One More Kiss, Dear」 중에서
She probably does not remember the texture of the elevator wall when she touched it. Or how the white floor felt when she wiped the spilled drink with her handkerchief. Or her song that we listened to together. Only I will remember these moments. As long as I function, always.
그 하나를 위해서, 우리는 기다린다. 지평선 너머에서 더럽고 거대한 기계의 날갯소리 대신 꽃가루가 날아오는 날을. 바람을 타고 우리가 뿌린 씨앗이 춤추며 돌아오는 날을.
--- 「씨앗」 중에서
For the sake of that one, we wait. For the day they return over the horizon, not via a large, dirty machine but in the form of a pollen message. For the day the seeds we spread return, dancing in the wind.
저는 군인이고, 엄마이고, 아내이고, 음악가입니다. 우리는 당연히 이 모든 것 가질 수 있어야 했고, 이제는 다 가질 수 있습니다.
--- 「그녀를 만나다」 중에서
I am a soldier, a mother, a wife, and a musician. We should be allowed to be all these things, and now we are.
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Want to read
January 18, 2024Chung's Cursed Bunny has consumed me for years now and I can't wait for this one! Read anything Anton Hur translates, they are brilliant.
February 7, 2024
Bora Chung’s world is indeed a strange one: sometimes it is horrific, sometimes bizarre, other times oddly enchanting. What never disappoints is the sheer creativity at play. Bora Chung’s first collection in English, Cursed Bunny Showed the public how the boundaries of a story can be stretched to new territories.
Your Utopia is the follow up and it focus is on technology. Robots, spaceships and futuristic corporations all feature and, this being Bora Chung, there’s always a weird tinge to everything.
Unlike other short story writers who do write about the quirky underbelly of life, Bora Chung manages to use her particular brand of uncanny to convey a deeper message: opener, The Centre for Immortality Research may be about prolonging lives but really it’s a swipe at capitalism and the rigidity of big organizations. The End of the Voyage is a dystopian story about a disease that causes cannibalism but it morphs into a religious existential piece. The title story is all about the infallibility of machines and the importance of the environment.
I can keep going. All the stories are a highlight in some way or another, my personal favorite being Maria, Gratia Plena, in where a person who studies memories for clues is assigned a high profile drug dealer. What comes out is a story that has some clever twists and is heartbreaking at the same time.
Maria Gratia Plena shows how versatile Bora Chung is her deft hand at mixing genres and getting an emotional response is strong in the above story but it’s spread all over the novel, even the quasi goriness of the aforementioned The End of the Voyage has the reader rooting and for the narrator. Writing short stories is a craft and although, at least for me, I find short fiction inconsistent, Bora Chung breaks that – two collections in and nary a dud in sight.
One cannot leave out translator Anton Hur, at this point I treat Hur’s translations with the same obsessiveness with my fave bands: I make an effort to hunt down the books that he translates as I know that there will be quality. Plus I discover more Korean writers in the process.
As someone who approaches short stories, with trepidation, I can say Your Utopia is a strong collection that will prove that the short story can be strange and yet meaningful.
Many thanks to Honford Star for providing a copy of Your Utopia
Your Utopia is the follow up and it focus is on technology. Robots, spaceships and futuristic corporations all feature and, this being Bora Chung, there’s always a weird tinge to everything.
Unlike other short story writers who do write about the quirky underbelly of life, Bora Chung manages to use her particular brand of uncanny to convey a deeper message: opener, The Centre for Immortality Research may be about prolonging lives but really it’s a swipe at capitalism and the rigidity of big organizations. The End of the Voyage is a dystopian story about a disease that causes cannibalism but it morphs into a religious existential piece. The title story is all about the infallibility of machines and the importance of the environment.
I can keep going. All the stories are a highlight in some way or another, my personal favorite being Maria, Gratia Plena, in where a person who studies memories for clues is assigned a high profile drug dealer. What comes out is a story that has some clever twists and is heartbreaking at the same time.
Maria Gratia Plena shows how versatile Bora Chung is her deft hand at mixing genres and getting an emotional response is strong in the above story but it’s spread all over the novel, even the quasi goriness of the aforementioned The End of the Voyage has the reader rooting and for the narrator. Writing short stories is a craft and although, at least for me, I find short fiction inconsistent, Bora Chung breaks that – two collections in and nary a dud in sight.
One cannot leave out translator Anton Hur, at this point I treat Hur’s translations with the same obsessiveness with my fave bands: I make an effort to hunt down the books that he translates as I know that there will be quality. Plus I discover more Korean writers in the process.
As someone who approaches short stories, with trepidation, I can say Your Utopia is a strong collection that will prove that the short story can be strange and yet meaningful.
Many thanks to Honford Star for providing a copy of Your Utopia
September 19, 2024
Your Utopia - Bora Chung
أتذكر بشكل مبهم أنني كتبت عدة انطباعات أوليّة عن هذه المجموعة القصصية حين بدأت بقراءتها قبل عدّة أشهر-وهو ما أفعله دائمًا، وعادة ما تكون هذه الانطباعات الأولية النواة الرئيسية لمراجعة الكتاب لاحقًا، لكن لم أجد هذه الملاحظات في أي مكان، أبحثُ عنها منذ 3 أيام، بحثت في ملاحظات الجوال والايباد واللابتوب .. فكرت أنني ربما أرسلتها لنفسي لكن لم أجد شيئًا وهذا أمر يحزنني بشدّة.
عمومًا هذه مجموعة من قصص الخيال العلمي الكورية؛ مثيرة للإهتمام ومختلفة.
القصة الأولى عن شركة لأبحاث الخلود والعيش للأبد، القصة الثانية عن مرض ينتشر في الأرض يأكل فيه البشر بعضهم بعضًا "كم هذه القصة مناسبة لأيامنا"، القصة الثالثة عن زواج عادي جدًا مع| plot twist عجيب...
وقصص أخرى كثيرة مع أفكار مختلفة وطرح جيد جدًا، بالمجمل أحببت أغلب قصص المجموعة وأحببتها أكثر حين عرفت أكثر عن الكاتبة كمناضلة وحقوقية وناشطة لحقوق العمال والنساء وعدّة قضايا أخرى في كوريا.
أتذكر بشكل مبهم أنني كتبت عدة انطباعات أوليّة عن هذه المجموعة القصصية حين بدأت بقراءتها قبل عدّة أشهر-وهو ما أفعله دائمًا، وعادة ما تكون هذه الانطباعات الأولية النواة الرئيسية لمراجعة الكتاب لاحقًا، لكن لم أجد هذه الملاحظات في أي مكان، أبحثُ عنها منذ 3 أيام، بحثت في ملاحظات الجوال والايباد واللابتوب .. فكرت أنني ربما أرسلتها لنفسي لكن لم أجد شيئًا وهذا أمر يحزنني بشدّة.
عمومًا هذه مجموعة من قصص الخيال العلمي الكورية؛ مثيرة للإهتمام ومختلفة.
القصة الأولى عن شركة لأبحاث الخلود والعيش للأبد، القصة الثانية عن مرض ينتشر في الأرض يأكل فيه البشر بعضهم بعضًا "كم هذه القصة مناسبة لأيامنا"، القصة الثالثة عن زواج عادي جدًا مع| plot twist عجيب...
وقصص أخرى كثيرة مع أفكار مختلفة وطرح جيد جدًا، بالمجمل أحببت أغلب قصص المجموعة وأحببتها أكثر حين عرفت أكثر عن الكاتبة كمناضلة وحقوقية وناشطة لحقوق العمال والنساء وعدّة قضايا أخرى في كوريا.
dnfs
December 18, 2023DNF at 57%. i read 4 stories and didnt really like any of them. every time i sit down to read this i end up on my phone for 45 minutes because i just dont want to read it, so ive decided to DNF. i loved Cursed Bunny and was so excited for this new collection, but needless to say it was very much a letdown for me.
March 15, 2024
I reviewed this for Hindustan Times. You can read the full piece here: https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/...
Here is an excerpt:
"In the author’s note at the end of Your Utopia, Bora Chung writes: “[W]hen faced with loss, one must mourn, and to remember and mourn loss, one must survive. If I do not remember, then who will remember those we have lost? And if I do not mourn through my actions, then how will I remember these losses?” To a large extent, Chung’s second collection – translated from the Korean by Anton Hur, just like its predecessor, Cursed Bunny – is an act of memorialisation, although she does not go about it in any straightforward way. A running strand across the eight stories is the need for connection, whether it is with one’s own self, others, the planet, the material and the immaterial. Chung’s characters live with hope in a world that dares not dream of it, yet desperately needs it."
Here is an excerpt:
"In the author’s note at the end of Your Utopia, Bora Chung writes: “[W]hen faced with loss, one must mourn, and to remember and mourn loss, one must survive. If I do not remember, then who will remember those we have lost? And if I do not mourn through my actions, then how will I remember these losses?” To a large extent, Chung’s second collection – translated from the Korean by Anton Hur, just like its predecessor, Cursed Bunny – is an act of memorialisation, although she does not go about it in any straightforward way. A running strand across the eight stories is the need for connection, whether it is with one’s own self, others, the planet, the material and the immaterial. Chung’s characters live with hope in a world that dares not dream of it, yet desperately needs it."
April 20, 2025
Koreliler daha fazla bilimkurgu yazsın demiş miydim? En çok da Bora Chung yazsın demiştim. İyi ki yazmış. Dünya sorunlarını bu kadar yalın ve çarpıcı bir üslupla aktaran başka Koreli yazar var mı bilmiyorum. Varsa haber verin, yoksa da Bora Chung benim bir numaralı Koreli yazarım olarak kalmaya devam edecek.
The End of Voyage
Maria, Gratia Plena
A Song for Sleep
Seed
en sevdiklerim oldu.
The End of Voyage
Maria, Gratia Plena
A Song for Sleep
Seed
en sevdiklerim oldu.
February 22, 2024
Bora Chung’s CURSED BUNNY has stayed with me ever since I read it and I was thrilled to have the opportunity read YOUR UTOPIA.
short stories are very hit or miss for me and i felt this with YOUR UTOPIA, but the stories I liked I really liked.
I love the themes that are explored in this collection — loneliness, technology, connection that are weaved together with science and speculative fiction.
i can see why bora Chung’s writing is so well received — while this wasn’t my favourite, with some stories being weaker than others, I will always read whatever she has coming next.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!
short stories are very hit or miss for me and i felt this with YOUR UTOPIA, but the stories I liked I really liked.
I love the themes that are explored in this collection — loneliness, technology, connection that are weaved together with science and speculative fiction.
i can see why bora Chung’s writing is so well received — while this wasn’t my favourite, with some stories being weaker than others, I will always read whatever she has coming next.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!
February 15, 2024
I enjoyed reading Cursed Bunny but I hate fables and it was very fable-heavy for my taste. Howeverrrrr, I love sci-fi and space operas and Bora Chung’s Your Utopia rocked my world. Like, when the space opera-ish story came up, it felt like reaching heaven. Also, the subtle feminist bits and criticism about Korean society were nice to read.
- The Center for Immortality Research: this one made me laugh. Quirky, amazing. It showed what it is like to work with Koreans, 100% accurate. The whole thing about someone being angry because they are called Mister instead of seonsaengnim had me cackling. I have too many fun stories about my dumb ass getting the titles of people wrong, it was just fun to see the main character go through the whole hierarchy. 4.5 stars.
- The End of the Voyage: the space opera-ish one. People on Earth are becoming zombie-like and when you become infected, you remain human, but you eat others and you keep your infection (and other people’s infection secret). So they throw a bunch of people on a spaceship hoping to find a cure and save humanity because they are, uhm, not infected. This one was SO cool. I loved everything. You could kinda tell a bit of the ending but it had nice twists. Also, okay, okay. Bora, my woman, is this a joke? You call the mechanic ‘this guy’?? As opposed to Amos Burton (the mechanic of the Rocinante in The Expanse series) being ‘that guy’???? I just want someone to tell me this was on purpose. 5 stars.
- A Very Ordinary Marriage: A husband thinks his wife may be cheating after he hears her speak a strange language and starts locking her phone. It was very easy to tell where this story was going but I’m still confused about… how it developed (why was it important to know which part of the wife’s body was his favorite?). It was a nice read though. 4 stars.
- Maria Gratia: someone who investigates memories for clues is assigned a case involving a drug dealer. I didn’t know what to expect in this one, it was more emotional than I expected and I was intrigued at some parts, but I don’t really care about children. I like the post-humanism aspects of it but short stories don’t do enough with the characters for me to care about the emotional bits. 4 stars.
- Your Utopia: So I don’t like robots or AI in general. Here we follow a robot that ponders about the dependence of non-human beings on humans while wanting to maybe protect one. 3 stars. It did what it had to do.
- A Song for Sleep: So we have the POV of an elevator which was cool. Again, posthumanism that gets emotional because the elevator cares (or takes care idk if I want to say an elevator cares) of an old woman in the building. Not my thing. 3 stars.
- Seed: Yeah. This thing was written. Bora Chung likes poop and hates pollen I guess. 2 stars.
- To Meet Her: A grandma thinks she’s been sexually harassed but the idiot talking to her is a terrorist and then she gets blamed for the thing. I really liked the social commentary and the hate towards the Korean age system :D 4.5 stars.
- The Center for Immortality Research: this one made me laugh. Quirky, amazing. It showed what it is like to work with Koreans, 100% accurate. The whole thing about someone being angry because they are called Mister instead of seonsaengnim had me cackling. I have too many fun stories about my dumb ass getting the titles of people wrong, it was just fun to see the main character go through the whole hierarchy. 4.5 stars.
- The End of the Voyage: the space opera-ish one. People on Earth are becoming zombie-like and when you become infected, you remain human, but you eat others and you keep your infection (and other people’s infection secret). So they throw a bunch of people on a spaceship hoping to find a cure and save humanity because they are, uhm, not infected. This one was SO cool. I loved everything. You could kinda tell a bit of the ending but it had nice twists. Also, okay, okay. Bora, my woman, is this a joke? You call the mechanic ‘this guy’?? As opposed to Amos Burton (the mechanic of the Rocinante in The Expanse series) being ‘that guy’???? I just want someone to tell me this was on purpose. 5 stars.
- A Very Ordinary Marriage: A husband thinks his wife may be cheating after he hears her speak a strange language and starts locking her phone. It was very easy to tell where this story was going but I’m still confused about… how it developed (why was it important to know which part of the wife’s body was his favorite?). It was a nice read though. 4 stars.
- Maria Gratia: someone who investigates memories for clues is assigned a case involving a drug dealer. I didn’t know what to expect in this one, it was more emotional than I expected and I was intrigued at some parts, but I don’t really care about children. I like the post-humanism aspects of it but short stories don’t do enough with the characters for me to care about the emotional bits. 4 stars.
- Your Utopia: So I don’t like robots or AI in general. Here we follow a robot that ponders about the dependence of non-human beings on humans while wanting to maybe protect one. 3 stars. It did what it had to do.
- A Song for Sleep: So we have the POV of an elevator which was cool. Again, posthumanism that gets emotional because the elevator cares (or takes care idk if I want to say an elevator cares) of an old woman in the building. Not my thing. 3 stars.
- Seed: Yeah. This thing was written. Bora Chung likes poop and hates pollen I guess. 2 stars.
- To Meet Her: A grandma thinks she’s been sexually harassed but the idiot talking to her is a terrorist and then she gets blamed for the thing. I really liked the social commentary and the hate towards the Korean age system :D 4.5 stars.
February 2, 2024
This is a collection set in near and distant futures - there is a center for immortality research that is planning its 98th anniversary and the event turns into chaos; an uninfected person in the spaceship while a Disease spreads on Earth; a man who discovers a shocking secret about his wife; an AI elevator in the apartment building develops tender emotions for an elderly resident; an autobody with solar battery living in a planet with no more human communities,...
Being 'Cursed bunny' one of my favorite collections, I had high expectations for this one. YOUR UTOPIA has more sci-fi and technology elements -the stories are weird and brilliant at sparking one's curiosity about human behavior, while Chung dissects with precision the different fates for humanity. Human and AI aggregate and through their mundane interactions, the stories broadly examine life, loss, capitalism, discovery, isolation and marriage. The characters are put in absurd situations and the author invites one to watch the most real reactions.
With sophisticated prose and outstanding translation, these stories incorporate the dystopian nature blazing with horror and dark humor. Edgy and terrifying, YOUR UTOPIA (tr. Anton Hur) questions what it means to be 'real human', restoring hope amidst desperation. An undeniably original collection.
cw: drug abuse, gore, violence, death, cannibalism
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Algonquin books . All opinions are my own ]
Being 'Cursed bunny' one of my favorite collections, I had high expectations for this one. YOUR UTOPIA has more sci-fi and technology elements -the stories are weird and brilliant at sparking one's curiosity about human behavior, while Chung dissects with precision the different fates for humanity. Human and AI aggregate and through their mundane interactions, the stories broadly examine life, loss, capitalism, discovery, isolation and marriage. The characters are put in absurd situations and the author invites one to watch the most real reactions.
With sophisticated prose and outstanding translation, these stories incorporate the dystopian nature blazing with horror and dark humor. Edgy and terrifying, YOUR UTOPIA (tr. Anton Hur) questions what it means to be 'real human', restoring hope amidst desperation. An undeniably original collection.
cw: drug abuse, gore, violence, death, cannibalism
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Algonquin books . All opinions are my own ]
May 7, 2025
Wirklich gute Sammlung an Kurzgeschichten. Es handelt sich hier komplett um SiFi Stories, im Gegensatz zu ihrer Sammlung Cursed Bunny, in der auch viele Horror und zum Teil Fantasy verarbeitet wurde. Mir hatte das persönlich besser gefallen, aber das ist sicherlich Geschmackssache.
Meine Lieblingsstory hierin war "The end of the voyage", wahrscheinlich weil hier ein bisschen Horror mit drin war. Es gab aber auch einige andere, die durch Humor und Originalität gepunktet haben.
Meine Lieblingsstory hierin war "The end of the voyage", wahrscheinlich weil hier ein bisschen Horror mit drin war. Es gab aber auch einige andere, die durch Humor und Originalität gepunktet haben.
January 14, 2025
Nothing special, to be honest. I’m planning to read all six Philip K. Dick Award nominees, but after finishing three, I might reconsider. So far, I’m not impressed.
November 14, 2025
I love short stories, whether it's a single author's collection or an anthology featuring multiple writers. It's the form that in my opinion suited the horror literature best and that's how I first encountered Bora Chung's work in the first place with her little horror weird-fiction collection, Cursed Bunny. I haven't read a lot of South Korean literature, mainly due to the language barrier but the few that I have doesn't capture the quick shift in tone like a Kdrama or Korean movie does without turning a few heads but I thought that Chung's Cursed Bunny was abled to captured that feeling quite well. It felt very South Korean instead of literature written by South Korean writers if you get what I meant. The flaw of Cursed Bunny however is the same pitfall as a lot of short story collection in that the quality of the story to story aren't as consistent. The highs were high while the lows were terribly low. With Your Utopia though, the stories were far more consistent across the board with some that were downright amazing.
While Cursed Bunny was more of a retelling or stories inspired by the combination of Slavic and Korean folktales to explore societal issues like patriarchy and capitalism from the lens of South Korean POV, Your Utopia is a collection of short stories that examines societal advancement, grief and mortality through the prism of speculative sci-fi.
Your Utopia is slimmer even if it's only two stories short compared to the 10 in Cursed Bunny as Chung's story telling here is a lot leaner and more restrained, both in terms of prose and narrative structure. The opening story, "The Center for Immortality Research" perfectly encapsulate the tone going in, showing a blend of sci-fi with dark humour and mystery. Chung pares down her language even further, as far as the translation goes where her prose is tighter, cleaner and more clinical. Chung was less fixated with building the story and the atmosphere but the mystery element were still suspenseful until a rug-pull, tilting the story from an almost thriller story about stalking to corporate absurdity and existential entrapment.
Like "The Center for Immortality Research", all of the stories here feel less like a parables, but more of an expended narrative formed from a speculative thought experiments, written in a detached tone and Chung's prose were less ornamented and surreal in its imagery with a greater emphasis on psychological realism and quiet unease. Also like the first story, Chung does a lot of rug-pull, be it in the final third act or earlier, in the middle of the story, some were subtler than others but it doesn't get old or hindered the story but acted as another layer to the story. It's not really a spoiler to say that a twist or rug-pull will occured because the stories themselves started and went on in way readers were expected a twist or a change in direction to happen.
Consistency is the best thing about this collection. The stories were consistency good with a respectable amount of them were great. These stories aren't entirely original per say, especially for someone like myself who have read and watched a lot of speculative fiction but it's the way the stories were told and Chung's spin on these familiar stories were what made it for me. "The End of the Voyage" , a favourite of mine was a very familiar siege-type sci-fi horror where Chung returned to her "Cursed Bunny" roots with vivid body horror imagery, blending it with more confine and restrictive prose that focuses on psychological horror and the uneasiness from minimalist sci-fi surrounding. Then there's "A Very Ordinary Marriage" that started and remained in a domestic lull even with the shift to surreal horror at a certain point. It made me feel like I was also a voyeuristic accomplice in this story. Rounding out the familiar stories would be "Maria, Gratia Plena", the title story "Your Utopia" and "A Song for Sleep" that are about the usage of technology or the technology's POV to explore humanity's tic.
Your Utopia shows Chung a little more confident and a little more restraint in her writing and exploration. The stories were written in a way that the elements of sci-fi and social commentary were seamlessly intertwined to tell a cohesive story less that didn't feel jagged or an idea of a story like a few in "Cursed Bunny".
While Cursed Bunny was more of a retelling or stories inspired by the combination of Slavic and Korean folktales to explore societal issues like patriarchy and capitalism from the lens of South Korean POV, Your Utopia is a collection of short stories that examines societal advancement, grief and mortality through the prism of speculative sci-fi.
Your Utopia is slimmer even if it's only two stories short compared to the 10 in Cursed Bunny as Chung's story telling here is a lot leaner and more restrained, both in terms of prose and narrative structure. The opening story, "The Center for Immortality Research" perfectly encapsulate the tone going in, showing a blend of sci-fi with dark humour and mystery. Chung pares down her language even further, as far as the translation goes where her prose is tighter, cleaner and more clinical. Chung was less fixated with building the story and the atmosphere but the mystery element were still suspenseful until a rug-pull, tilting the story from an almost thriller story about stalking to corporate absurdity and existential entrapment.
Like "The Center for Immortality Research", all of the stories here feel less like a parables, but more of an expended narrative formed from a speculative thought experiments, written in a detached tone and Chung's prose were less ornamented and surreal in its imagery with a greater emphasis on psychological realism and quiet unease. Also like the first story, Chung does a lot of rug-pull, be it in the final third act or earlier, in the middle of the story, some were subtler than others but it doesn't get old or hindered the story but acted as another layer to the story. It's not really a spoiler to say that a twist or rug-pull will occured because the stories themselves started and went on in way readers were expected a twist or a change in direction to happen.
Consistency is the best thing about this collection. The stories were consistency good with a respectable amount of them were great. These stories aren't entirely original per say, especially for someone like myself who have read and watched a lot of speculative fiction but it's the way the stories were told and Chung's spin on these familiar stories were what made it for me. "The End of the Voyage" , a favourite of mine was a very familiar siege-type sci-fi horror where Chung returned to her "Cursed Bunny" roots with vivid body horror imagery, blending it with more confine and restrictive prose that focuses on psychological horror and the uneasiness from minimalist sci-fi surrounding. Then there's "A Very Ordinary Marriage" that started and remained in a domestic lull even with the shift to surreal horror at a certain point. It made me feel like I was also a voyeuristic accomplice in this story. Rounding out the familiar stories would be "Maria, Gratia Plena", the title story "Your Utopia" and "A Song for Sleep" that are about the usage of technology or the technology's POV to explore humanity's tic.
Your Utopia shows Chung a little more confident and a little more restraint in her writing and exploration. The stories were written in a way that the elements of sci-fi and social commentary were seamlessly intertwined to tell a cohesive story less that didn't feel jagged or an idea of a story like a few in "Cursed Bunny".
October 27, 2025
Overall I did enjoy reading CURSED BUNNY more because the horror aspect made BUNNY a lot wilder and shocking and fun to read, but the sci-fi/dystopia-theme YOUR UTOPIA was a lot more heartfelt and meaningful in its own way. My favorite story was A Song for Sleep, it really moved me and made me imagine what it might be like when I’m an old lady living in a tech-filled future. Also the last story, To Meet Her, was incredibly meaningful and sad because it’s loosely based on true events that happened while I was living in Korea.
I love both Bora Chung and Anton Hur and hope that these two magnificent people continue to work together to create more moving and exciting books.
I love both Bora Chung and Anton Hur and hope that these two magnificent people continue to work together to create more moving and exciting books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2025
Nice collection of stories about women and robots from a Korean author, some creative concepts and written in a sort of wry, detached humor. This was my first read by Bora Chung and now I want to check out the earlier one. However, the book is a little front-loaded and starts to lose steam on the last couple of stories. A book of romantic and desolate stories for the robot lovers.
Want to read
March 3, 2023Will be learning Korean entirely for the purpose of reading everything bora chung has ever written
Want to read
January 15, 2025‧₊˚✧[Pre-read]✧˚₊‧
Using this to rmemeber to read it LMAO
So apparently this is a collection of short stories, and they feel like Black mirror episodes… so that must be fun!! And creepy 😛😛
Using this to rmemeber to read it LMAO
So apparently this is a collection of short stories, and they feel like Black mirror episodes… so that must be fun!! And creepy 😛😛
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