Today I’m excited to be sharing an interview with one of my favourite short story writers, Bora Chung. Bora is a South Korean writer, as well as a translator. She has a pHD in Slavic literature. I first encountered her work when her short story collection Cursed Bunny was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, translated from the original Korean into English by Anton Hur – straight out of the gate, from the opening line, it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. The first line is “She was about to flush the toilet” – and you’ll hear Bora explain this story later in the interview.

This was her debut collection in English, but this first story was actually first published in 1998. She has since published another short story collection titled Your Utopia, as well as novels Midnight Timetable and Red Sword.

Bora joined me backstage at the Gothenburg Book Festival in Sweden to discuss her work. Please welcome to the Inklings Book Club, Bora Chung!

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