[K-LIT REVIEW] 'If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light': Sci-fi that tugs at the heartstrings

In Korea, this book has sold more than 400,000 copies. In China, it won the Gold Award in the translated works category at the 14th China Nebula Awards, the most prestigious science fiction accolade in the country. Now, at long last, the short story collection that swept both Korean and Chinese readers off their feet has arrived in English, as Anton Hur’s translation of “If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light” introduces the Anglosphere to science fiction superstar Kim Choyeop. No other Korean sci-fi book in recent memory has broken through the boundaries of its genre to achieve success on an international scale quite like this. What is the secret to the book’s success? What about it is so compelling that readers preface their glowing reviews with, “I don’t usually read science fiction, but…” then go on to sing its praises and profess that they have now been converted into a sci-fi fan? The words “science fiction” bring forth images of spaceships, aliens, robots and — more often than not — a cold, dystopian outlook on the future. Traditional category lines are dr

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