Younghee and James
Author's Note
Interview with writer Kang Hwa-gil

“Those kids look a little crazy, and I find that a little funny.”
Even if the things I loved with all my heart become the past
About the love that remains in place and waits without fading
New works by Kang Hwa-gil: "White Horse" and "The Phantom of the Grand Hotel"

The new short story, “Younghee and James,” by Kang Hwa-gil, author of “White Horse” and “The Ghost of the Daebul Hotel,” has been published by Wisdom House. He debuted in 2012 with the Kyunghyang Shinmun and has won the Hankyoreh Literary Award, the Young Writer’s Award, the Baek Shin-ae Literary Award, and the Yi Sang Literary Award.

'Yonghee' and 'I' are girls living in a small town in the countryside.
After graduating from high school, they go on to college near their hometown, become civil servants or get jobs at local companies, and live in that town for the rest of their lives. What makes these two girls special is their vague, predetermined lives, and the indie band they like.
'Younghee' wasn't a huge star, but they were a band that filled the Hongdae live clubs. In a time before smartphones, "finding a friend in the countryside who liked a seriously serious glam rock band" was close to a miracle, so Yonghee and 'I' became friends just because they liked the same band.

Moreover, when I found out that Yonghee was the owner of the popular blog "My James", which was followed by fans of "Younghee", I was proud of the fact that I was closer to Yonghee than anyone else.
Although I can't muster the courage to take an express bus to Seoul like Yonghee to see a performance and get autographs from the members of 'Younghee', I feel joy when I call 'Younghee' "older sister" with Yonghee, and praise, admire, and love their talents.
In the winter of my nineteenth year, while waiting for my high school graduation, I finally go to see Younghee's year-end performance with Yonghee.
And that night, the two people and 'Younghee' gradually disappear and are forgotten.

“Looking back, yes.
In those days, once we fell into a certain emotion, it was difficult to escape from it.
Couldn't stop.
I think it was because I didn't know how to do it, or maybe I deliberately stayed in that feeling for too long.
“Because I just liked it.” (p. 38)

Even when the things we loved with all our hearts become a thing of the past, when we become “sad for no reason and everything in life becomes disappointing,” when the things we thought would be ours forever finally slip away from us, the love we once had remains undimmed, waiting for us to look back at it at any time.
It may seem a little crazy and feel a little funny, but it is a heart that is filled because ‘we’ like it together and ‘we’ look at it together.
We invite readers to the stage of the novel, “Younghee and James,” about all kinds of love, whether simple and ambiguous or bold and passionate.

A special experience that allows you to breathe deeply into 'a single story'

Beginning in November 2022, Wisdom House will be introducing the most diverse and newest stories of Korean literature, one per week, through its short story serial project, "Weekly Fiction."
Over the past year, 50 stories have been loved by readers, including Gu Byeong-mo's "Shred," Jo Ye-eun's "Waiting for the High Tide," Ahn Dam's "The Girl Grows Alone," and Choi Jin-young's "Aurora."
The Wepick series publishes serialized novels in this way, and rather than the conventional method of binding together several short stories, it takes the unusual approach of composing a book with only one short story, giving readers the special experience of breathing deeply into each story.
Wepick is not bound by any criteria or distinctions such as material or format, and focuses solely on the completeness of a single story.
Through novels by a variety of authors, including novelists, non-fiction writers, poets, and youth literature writers, we break down genres and boundaries, expanding the possibilities and enjoyment of stories.

Following the 50 episodes of Season 1, Season 2 is filled with even more new writers and stories.
Season 2 will feature writers Kang Hwa-gil, Lim Seon-woo, Dan Yo, Jeong Bo-ra, Kim Bo-young, Lee Mi-sang, Kim Ki-tae, Kim Hwa-jin, Jeong I-hyeon, Lim Sol-ah, and Hwang Jeong-eun.
Additionally, Season 2 will include author interviews, telling a variety of stories both inside and outside of the works, further enriching the annual festival of 50 stories.