[Korean Literature Club] 'Capitalists Must Starve' by Park Seolyeon

Dear Members and Friends,

For the September meeting, we will read and discuss ‘Capitalists Must Starve: A Novel’, authored by Park Seolyeon and translated by Anton Hur. The meeting will be led by Jeremy Seligson and held IN-PERSON only.

WHEN_ Thursday. September 10, 2026. 7:30PM (Seoul) ** Feel free to arrive early, starting at 6:30PM for socializing and refreshments.*

WHERE_B1, North Terrace Cafe (near Anguk Station or Jongno-3 ga Station (Subway Line 1, 3, or 5))

LEADER_Jeremy Seligson

READ_ ‘Capitalists Must Starve: A Novel’ by Park Seolyeon (Tran. by Anton Hur)

BOOK PURCHASE: [Kyobo](https://product.kyobobook.co.kr/detail/S000218045087)

ABOUT THE BOOK: From the writer and translator duo of A Magical Girl Retires, a powerful historical novel about labour activism in Japanese-occupied Korea.

Set against the backdrop of Japanese-occupied Korea, Capitalists Must Starve follows a sharp-tongued, big-hearted heroine who dares to love, rebel, and carve out space for working-class women in a world determined to silence them. Echoing the unflinching narratives of Alias Grace and the sweeping historical vision of Pachinko, this feminist historical novel balances raw grit with unexpected tenderness and a defiant streak of dark humour.

A stirring portrait of resistance from below: fierce, funny, and full of fight.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Park Seolyeon was born in Cheorwon, South Korea. She made her debut by winning the journal Silcheon Munhak’s New Author Prize and received the 2018 Hankyoreh Literary Award for her novel The Woman Who Climbed on the Roof. Her work includes the novels Martha’s Job and The Shirley Club, as well as the short-story collections Your Mom’s the Better Player and Me, Me, Madeline. She is the recipient of the 2023 Yi Sang Literary Prize and the 2021 Munhakdongne Young Writers Award. She lives in Seoul and writes in a variety of forms and genres, with a focus on gender and labor.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR: Anton Hur was born in Stockholm. He is the author of Toward Eternity and has been nominated for the International Booker Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Dublin Literary Award for his various translations including Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park and A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon. He lives in Seoul.

VENUE: The [‘North Terrace Cafe (Basement)’](https://goo.gl/maps/XGU3ju8C4pwyNjWj7) is located at 12 Yulgok-ro 10-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Go to Anguk Station on the Orange #3 Line. Go out Exit 4 and do an immediate U-turn on the sidewalk. Then take a right in front of the Japanese Cultural Center and walk towards Changdeok-gung, but on the opposite side of the main street (Yulgok-ro) from the palace.