This is so well-written—immersive, precise, and full of life. The pacing is spot on, and the way small observations build into something larger feels effortless. There’s a natural rhythm to the sentences that makes it easy to read while still carrying real weight. I love how the voice is both sharp and warm. I'm curious, did you write this in English or Korean originally? If translated did you translate it yourself?
I did write the original version in Korean, but the version you've read is more like a rewrite of it in English than direct translation. And I should give much credit to the editor, Lou Bahet, for her fantastic work!
How unusual for a writer to give credit to the editor! Ha! Interesting about the Korean and English. I admire someone so much who can work in two languages. Your writing is quite different from mine and I see a few things I can learn! I hope you plan to put things on substack regularly? Truly enjoyed it.
I really liked the irony of the buttoned-down professor dying while playing a child's game. Despite the Korean pragmatism, the soul yearns to emerge and play...
So sad that the old gentleman died, especially after finding a way into the marshmallow world of acceptance...the mother acting as a national soccer coach was fantastic...and cheeks swelled like those of an ever-discounted rabbit was wonderful...
Does a nice job capturing the impressions of an immigrant, how different American culture is from Korean. All the summary with just the two barbecue scenes makes this look more like the plan for a novel than a short story.
I really enjoyed this. It could easily have been a parade of absurdities (by which point the main one would have been lame), or veered off into bathos in a number of places, but the balance of humor and sensitivity was pretty impeccable.
Also, the mom — good Lord, lol; my mom is definitely not like that, but reading this piece made me half-expect one of those extremely energetic ladies to materialize in my home right in front of me!
The detail that resonated the most, that still haunts me months after I first read this, was the detail of the father bringing out "a mountain of marshmallows". For a lot of immigrants, the American experience is stuffing one's face, and they love it (and their children cringe at it and scold them about prediabetes). And on top of that, which is inherent to the Chubby Bunny game, it's a *mountain*, not a bag, that the dad provides at his own party. That notion that if 1 is good, 100 must be better always struck me as one of the saddest aspects of people who know they provide nothing emotionally but still try to provide materially. Some say it's born of scarcity but I see it most on "fu er dai" (rich second generation, the children of nouveau riche Chinese) social media, with kids making videos of themselves presenting their pets with gifts of iPhones.
I absolutely loved this! I felt involved and immersed every second, I don’t know how you did it, but it was incredible. I’m so glad I found this story. Thank you!
Really liked this, and the paragraph about Jeff and the son was hilarious. Jeff was what the professor imagined for his daughter.
I did wonder why the mother wouldn’t have reconciled with her son, especially if he’d become successful in the film industry. I feel like there could’ve been a chance for a reunion.
This is so well-written—immersive, precise, and full of life. The pacing is spot on, and the way small observations build into something larger feels effortless. There’s a natural rhythm to the sentences that makes it easy to read while still carrying real weight. I love how the voice is both sharp and warm. I'm curious, did you write this in English or Korean originally? If translated did you translate it yourself?
I did write the original version in Korean, but the version you've read is more like a rewrite of it in English than direct translation. And I should give much credit to the editor, Lou Bahet, for her fantastic work!
How unusual for a writer to give credit to the editor! Ha! Interesting about the Korean and English. I admire someone so much who can work in two languages. Your writing is quite different from mine and I see a few things I can learn! I hope you plan to put things on substack regularly? Truly enjoyed it.
I actually keep two newsletters, one where I translate medieval Chinese poems and the other where I post my own stuff. Please feel free to cheak out.
Oh cool! I see there is one by Li Bai! I will give it a try!
Very very good stuff Hyun Woo. The Chekov Gun of the marshmallows is particularly striking.
Love the story! The Asian immigrant experience living in Pacific Northwest is very relatable!
I really liked the irony of the buttoned-down professor dying while playing a child's game. Despite the Korean pragmatism, the soul yearns to emerge and play...
The seoul?!
So sad that the old gentleman died, especially after finding a way into the marshmallow world of acceptance...the mother acting as a national soccer coach was fantastic...and cheeks swelled like those of an ever-discounted rabbit was wonderful...
Does a nice job capturing the impressions of an immigrant, how different American culture is from Korean. All the summary with just the two barbecue scenes makes this look more like the plan for a novel than a short story.
I really enjoyed this. It could easily have been a parade of absurdities (by which point the main one would have been lame), or veered off into bathos in a number of places, but the balance of humor and sensitivity was pretty impeccable.
Also, the mom — good Lord, lol; my mom is definitely not like that, but reading this piece made me half-expect one of those extremely energetic ladies to materialize in my home right in front of me!
Bravo Hyun Woo! Liked this one very much -- will try to circle round with more thoughts in due course.
Very nice story and writing. I like sweet and sour.
The detail that resonated the most, that still haunts me months after I first read this, was the detail of the father bringing out "a mountain of marshmallows". For a lot of immigrants, the American experience is stuffing one's face, and they love it (and their children cringe at it and scold them about prediabetes). And on top of that, which is inherent to the Chubby Bunny game, it's a *mountain*, not a bag, that the dad provides at his own party. That notion that if 1 is good, 100 must be better always struck me as one of the saddest aspects of people who know they provide nothing emotionally but still try to provide materially. Some say it's born of scarcity but I see it most on "fu er dai" (rich second generation, the children of nouveau riche Chinese) social media, with kids making videos of themselves presenting their pets with gifts of iPhones.
I absolutely loved this! I felt involved and immersed every second, I don’t know how you did it, but it was incredible. I’m so glad I found this story. Thank you!
Really liked this, and the paragraph about Jeff and the son was hilarious. Jeff was what the professor imagined for his daughter.
I did wonder why the mother wouldn’t have reconciled with her son, especially if he’d become successful in the film industry. I feel like there could’ve been a chance for a reunion.
Checking the comments to see if the whole story is summary
The story starts here: Professor Park stepped onto Jeff’s lawn with a six-pack of beer in hand.