Even after publication, the character of Young kept following me around in my head, which is why I felt there was more story there that needed to be told. These two chapters – one that has to do with friendship and solidarity with women, the other having to do with Young’s mother and a man he meets in a philosophy course – first came about as short stories published in magazines. As you well know, literary magazines in Korea run mostly commissioned work instead of submissions, especially when it comes to new writers. Sang Young Park: I actually started writing the two chapters ‘Jaehee’ and ‘A Bite of Rockfish, Taste the Universe’ at the same time. What was your strategy for piecing together the different facets and fragments of Young’s life? Did you plan out the chronology of the novel as a whole, or write the interlinking stories separately and see how they connected as you wrote? The chapters have a loose chronology that allows for the stretching and looping of time through retrospection and reconnection.

Victoria Caudle for Wasafiri: Love in the Big City is separated into sections that focus on different relationships in Young’s life - first his best friend Jaehee, then the older man and his mother, then Gyuho (Q-ho), and finally Habibi. In this interview with Victoria Caudle, author Sang Young Park and Anton Hur discuss the parts of themselves and their experiences that they brought to their work, the difficulties of being young and queer in Korea, and the limited opportunities for translators to make a sustainable living.

It is a celebration of those who exist on the periphery, and an exploration of the relationships – platonic, familial, and romantic – that change one’s life irrevocably. In a society that still oppresses and ignores its queer citizens, and where it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to survive, Young’s story has a particular poignancy. Written by Sang Young Park and translated into English by Anton Hur, Love in the Big City (Tilted Axis Press) was longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and has been widely praised for its sharp translation and its tender, humorous examination of Korean queer life. On ‘Crying Clowns’ and ‘Scandalous Deviants’: An Interview with Sang Young Park and Anton Hur

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