I'm not a huge historical fiction but this is an epic tale spanning generations. There are some trigger warnings for graphic violence, murder, and rape.

I was really impressed with this one. I didn't really have any expectations going in, but this definitely went well beyond what I did have.

This tells the story of Jade, a small girl living in the north of Korea (during the Japanese colonization), who is basically sold to a courtesan by her mother. I can't imagine being so poor that selling your daughter to a courtesan seems like an acceptable thing, but that's how this character's story begins.

The author manages to weave in folk stories about tigers in a really interesting way. Plus all of the Korean history, which is rich and complicated, definitely adds to the narrative.

I definitely recommend this one.

So beautiful! I have to admit, I was a bit worried to start out with. ‘Beasts of a Little Land’ has a large cast of characters, with some of the characters I didn’t understand why they were there (ex: Yamada. He was a good man & soldier but I didn’t understand his place in the story) and some of their names were a bit too alike to my liking (Lotus & Luna / JungHo & YoungGu…), so needless to say, I got confused as to who was who and almost gave up, but I persevered and it was totally worth it.

‘Beasts of a Little Land’ is a gorgeously told story of Jade, sold into the role of courtesan at the tender age of 10 and forced to build her life through the trials and tribulations of her country, Korea, as it forges its place in the ever changing and violent 20th century world.

Once I got past the names, and figured out who was who, the story really got going for me. I love historical fiction, but one of the problems with HF is when an author does all this research and then decides to bore you with all the extraneous information they’ve learned, Ms Kim doesn’t do that. We are able to see how these characters live within their setting, and are shaped by their surroundings, without their world taking over.

Well Done!

A sweeping, beautiful, heartbreaking book set during the occupation and wars in Korea, about the families we’re born into, the families we choose, and the intersection of fate and the decisions we make. If you loved Pachinko, you MUST read this book.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
As a person who loves historical fiction, this book was right up my alley-or so I thought! The storyline is interesting, love, war, hardship-all the things that make a great book. However, the amount of characters to keep up with is exhausting. If you are person who does not mind that sort of thing then this should be your next read. I will be purchasing this title for our library, but will not be including it in my own.

First of all, this is one of the best book covers I have ever seen. Not only would I buy a physical copy of this book, but I would also buy a giant poster of this book cover.

This story has everything. From the first page, you know it is going to be complex, emotional, and moving. It spans decades and explores everything from love to loss, politics to war, devotion to betrayal, and the unseen ties that tether them all. It follows several characters through Korea's fight for independence and teaches history through the lives of those fighting for their own futures. In love and war, you learn what it truly means to sacrifice, and how quickly suffering makes you it's equal. A grand story and a worthwhile read.

Thank you so much to Ecco and NetGalley for an arc of this read in exchange for an honest review.

I loved reading Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim and I would classify this novel as historical fiction, specifically 20th century Korean history. Kim uses limited omniscient point of view with shifts in character storytelling marked by asterisks. I think this is the best way to emphasize the epic magnitude of this particular time in Korean history, that of Japanese colonization of Korea before WWII, during the war and the new era of Korean independence/division following it. Her intertwined characters also straddle different cultures, social classes and political ideologies. It seems that this story is a bit “day in the life” for our characters except that every scene moves us toward their personal/social/political resolutions which parallel Korean history as we know it today. 



The tiger metaphor provides a powerful frame for readers to think about the people and events in the novel. 

I wish I could give this book a 4.5 out of 5.

I am a Koreaphile and have learned much through Korean entertainment, documentaries and Korea-based fiction (written in English). Beasts provided some wonderfully detailed history of this time and through the lenses of varied characters/experiences. The pain and suffering of this time is apparent throughout the narrative but it sits in the background as the characters find and lose love, make peace with situations beyond their control, etc. I deeply appreciated that. 



Finally the reason I don’t give this novel 5 stars is because of the beautiful last chapter. so gorgeously written that it jarred me. I know this is a weird reason but I wanted more of the last chapter. No spoilers from me except to say that the narrative point of view changed and I LOVED THAT CHAPTER and I encourage readers NOT to read it first. It had me wondering how the story would change if told from that POV. Juhea Kim, I hope that is what you are writing next, if not from that exact character, then from one like them. 



I will be posting this review today on Net Galley and Goodreads. I will post this review to the following sites on 12/7, the publication date: Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Instagram. Mahalo to Ecco and Net Galley for the ARC.

Rich with love and friendship, war and death, loyalty and treason, this book was easily the most engaging I've read this year. 'Beasts of a Little Land' revolves between several characters who live through the strain of the Korean Independence movement. From the little villager boy JungHo who becomes an urchin on the streets of Seoul, to Jade and Lotus who grow up training in a courtesan school, to the Japanese General Yamada who leads forces against the Korean resistance, among many others, their stories grip and intertwine and tear apart in heartrending ways. As the author herself notes in her acknowledgements, this story is not so much about who fights and comes out the other side triumphant, but about what all people hold dear: peace. And in its absence, you see how we all suffer for lack of it and how that suffering becomes our great equalizer.

I really appreciated that in the telling of the story, you didn't just follow one character but several. You saw several different experiences and understandings of the political situation that was constantly in motion around them. Reading only the story of the courtesan girls who experienced the upheaval through their daily lives and careers would have deprived me of knowing the complexities faced by those who were involved in the more political realm. And the author had such a subtle, yet enticing way of tying one story to another, even in benign ways that didn't affect the main plot. You didn't just come to care for the characters individually, but you cared also because of how their lives were interwoven in ways they didn't always recognize themselves.

Another great appreciation I had was the realism of the story. This isn't a romanticized version of what it's like to live through wartime. There was the hope of love and attachment at various points in the story, but there was also legitimate loss and fear. It was difficult to face some of those more real moments. Through it all, the author showed how complex, real people would react and adapt, and it was beautifully done.

Anyone looking for a challenging and meaningful read, filled equally with loss and hope, will be beyond satisfied with this book. I couldn't recommend this enough.

I really adored this one, and absolutely fell in love with Jade and Jungho, the leads. The plot itself was phenomal, and I loved the detail included, as it created a really vivid picture of the world our heroine inhabits. I flew threw this book, and would strongly recommend it to anyone who loves Asian culture or history, or magic, or all 3!
This one is an easy 4/5⭐️

Wow I just had to take a day to marinade after reading this book! It had it all and then some - love, war, friendships, motherhood stories, fatherhood stories, inspiration, redemption, the list keeps going! I loved it so much!
Fans of Pachinko and The Sea Women will love this novel yes but also any historical fiction lover and readers who love epic stories where you can’t predict what will happen.
Trust me read this book!
Also this one of my favorite covers ever, so beautiful!

I went into this novel with high hopes. I thought I would be absolutely captivated with the characters and the setting, but unfortunately it never quite got there for me. This story spans over many decades, and there were so many supporting characters that I found it difficult to keep up with. I felt that the characters were also very hard to empathize with. By the end of the story, I only liked a few of them :-(

All that being said, Juhea Kim’s writing is impeccable. Her lyrical prose is truly unlike any other, and the way she was effortlessly able to weave so many different people and relationships was beautiful. The content in this novel was definitely heavy at times, but Juhea Kim never failed to approach it with sincerity and I never felt like these moments were included for shock value.

In addition to the writing, I enjoyed how Korea was treated as if it were a character in the novel, rather than the setting. The vivid descriptions of Korea were so alluring and lovely, it gave the country a magical feel. As someone who wasn’t too familiar with Korea, or the Korean Independence Movement prior to reading, this novel captured its essence in a stunning and alluring way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for allowing me to read this ARC!

CW: violence, rape, sexual assault, animal death, sexism

I have a cursory knowledge of Korean history, so this novel did a great job of explaining everything that was going on during the timeframes covered in the story. I felt like I learned a little bit more about the actual history of the time.

For the most part, I often thought the women in the story were getting hurt more often than the men. There was a fairly ironic ultimate screwing of JungHo that covered things all across the length of the book. The women, mostly, got happy endings more or less by the end, and the men seemed unfulfilled.

I'm very happy that I had the opportunity to read this as an advanced review copy. Thank you so much!

Beast of a Little Land is an epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement. There are many characters all intertwined with each other that you'll meet throughout the book from different backgrounds and who have different ideals.

For background, I know a bit about Korean history, but this is the first book I've read that dealt on the subject. And the book was absolutely amazing. It was poignant and sad but very intricately woven together. The author grabbed my attention from the first chapter, especially with the story about the tiger. It was even more interesting to know that I've visited some of the places in the book, particularly the palace that was turned into a zoo by the Japanese, so having that real life comparison and its significance for the characters were amazing as a reader. I felt the author wove the tiger and it's meaning throughout the story really well and the ending brought it all together.

The book itself is very sad since it deals with the war and what it was like to be living in a. country under colonial rule. The writing felt laced with sadness, but was still somehow hopeful near the end, or at least it felt like everything was content and in place. The author definitely has a way with words. It's a page turner, filled with luscious writing that kept me holding my breath until I finished. This book is now included on my favorites shelf and I absolutely plan on buying a physical copy when it officially comes out. If you want a multicultural book that spans generations and shows the history of a nation in time, this book is definitely for you.

Lots of thanks to Net Galley, Juhea Kim & HarperCollins for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

⋆⋆⋆½

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for allowing me to read this ARC!


Content Warning: graphic violence, murder, graphic rape, sexism, graphic sexual assault, animal death.


Beginning in the snowy mountains of Korea in 1917, Beasts of a Little Land stars two primary characters, the irascible, wily JungHo, and a young girl named Jade. They're both victims of circumstance, thrust into frightening new lives by poverty and the ongoing war, and when by chance they meet in Seoul, it spurs on a friendship that will last for decades.

I can't tell you how highly anticipated this book was for me. The idea of a novel that spans the majority of the Korean War for Independence, going from place to place and following a group of several main characters who all get their own chapters at some point, was thrilling. The first couple of pages are immediately engaging, the descriptions of this snow-encrusted mountainside and the weary hunter vivid and picturesque. There were some truly beautiful similes and turns-of-phrase.

Kim's depiction of the Japanese colonizers is appropriately brutal, leaving you with scenes that are both hard to stomach and yet beautifully written nonetheless. It struck me as being aptly and efficiently done, and while there are many graphic scenes in this book, never did I feel it was used purely for shock value. Like many of the books we read about atrocities in history, this one was both grim and yet beneath the surfaced flowed a current of hope.

I'm afraid to say that I was a touch disappointed, not so much in the book itself, but in my reaction to it! I thought I would be absolutely enamored with the characters and the world, but unfortunately, it didn't quite reach that level for me. I think that because the novel spans so many decades with so many main and supporting characters, it leaves you feeling a bit as if you're rushing through their lives. There were moments when I wanted to spend another chapter in, for example, 1933, but we moved onto the beginning of WWII.

I was also unsure if I was meant to sympathize with JungHo in some parts. At first, I found him very charming, and I rooted for him, but as the novel goes on he does some things that left me feeling quite cold towards him.

However, I by no means would not recommend Kim's beautiful, heartrending showcase of Korea's fight for freedom. If you're a lover of history and fascinated by Korea and its history, I would heartily recommend picking it up and giving it a go. Something to be kept in mind is that the story itself isn't so much about the characters within, but about Korea as if it were its own living, breathing being.

Beasts of a Little Land was a slow burn for me, and I’m glad I gave my review a few days of thought before putting it together. The writing is beautiful and Juhea Kim does an incredible job of setting the scene in her lyrical prose. We follow her characters from 1917 through much of the Korean independence movement.

I read this closely on the heels of Pachinko and actually enjoyed it more as I felt the connections more deeply in this novel. The two cover very different looks at the same time period while holding the same aura of feeling and emotion.

The ending drags on a bit with several runs through the characters after I thought the story had been wrapped up, and I do wish that Jade hadn’t faded quite so much into the background as a person. The resolutions in many cases were heartbreaking, beautiful, and fitting.

It would have been great, but perhaps too on the nose, if the overarching theme from the beginning came through a little more emphatically, but I do have appreciation for fate being both a blessing and a curse on the days I believe in fate at all.

Overall I would recommend this read in a heartbeat with the understanding that the read is about the journey, the history, and powerful human connections with some absolutely gorgeous writing to guide you.

Thank you so much for the this advanced copy of the Beasts of Little Land. What a beautiful book! The descriptive prose expertly transcends time in this story of the love and friendship over the span of decades. If you enjoy historical fiction this book is a work of art, earlier others mentioned a nod to Panchinko and I completely agree. Beautiful novel.

With strong yet dreamlike introductory chapters, Beasts of a Little Land is a historical novel. Reminding myself of that fact got me through the book during a few parts in the middle that just didn't move me. I thought certain characters took woefully predictable turns, but no, the book isn't about them; the book is about the bigger picture that is Korea. Kim also pulls no punches about what sorts of things Japan was up to in Korea, from military "brothels" (it's a history of a lot of rape, but they do not dwell on it in the book) to taking natural resources. The universal truth that loving your country does not mean it will love you back is played out in a subtly tragic manner. Part of me wishes that we revisited Pyeongyang in the story, even if only briefly, but the somewhat unexpected ending chapters were satisfying on their own. (I received a free ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Beasts of a Little Land is an exquisite piece of work that engages all of your senses with its florid writing, intimate characters, and gratifying loyalty to history. The story spans multiple decades, starting from Japan's annexation of Korea at the dawn of the 20th century up to the post-civil war era under a pro-American, anti-Communist dictatorial regime in the 1960s. It's as much about the brutal and dehumanizing colonization that Koreans suffered through as it is about love and the unfortunate, heartbreaking crisscrossing of inyeon, an almost spiritual connection that draws one's life into another. I was a bit skeptical when I saw the word 'courtesan' in the description and worried that it would be another repetition of the "sex worker who finds love" trope that I find too often in books based on this period. I was obviously wrong seeing that I finished the book curled up in bed with a tear (or two) in my eyes.

This book is utterly, unapologetically, obstinately Korean. For that, I am grateful to the author. The sentimentality of generational han underpinning every desperate claw for a chance to feel human, the mesmerizing colors and smells that envelop the land's earth, sky, and mountains, the somber "it is what it is" attitude that sustained battle-worn, oppression-torn people. Kim traverses every nook and cranny of Korea, not as the divided nation we know of now but as the people and land it once was, from Pyongyang to Jejudo, before avaricious forces demanded each of their own pieces. It's so beautifully written, so painstakingly remembered. It's embarrassing to admit that even though I had grown up learning Korean history in school, I had never realized the enormity of time that saturated this period with suffering, loss, and mourning.

Kim sends subtle nods to Korean history throughout the book, from the importance of the Andong-Kim family and the creation myth of Ung-nyeo to the March 1st Movement and Ahn Jung-geun's assassination of Ito Hirobumi at Harbin, without shoving pedantic facts down your throat. You would think that the author would be trying to do too much by packing in half a century's history, but no. The story was told with such magical and rich detail that some of my favorite lines had nothing to do with the characters but everything to do with conjuring up the tactical sensations of the time. I wish I could read the book all over again just to feel the same waves of excitement, disappointment, and yearning for unrealized inyeons.

I really hope this book takes off and reaches a wider audience. Feeling incredibly grateful for such a hopeful story brimming with love and longing.

Beasts of a Little Land

This well-written book was packed with many fables, historical fiction, and a sharp look at women in a subservient culture. The opening of the book was brilliant. Kim told us a story of a local hunter and a Japanese officer. The destitute and freezing hunter saves the Japanese from an attacking tiger. The actions of the tiger was dependent on many forces.

It is 1917. During this time, families sometimes sold off their young daughters to a courtesan. Jade, a bright, young girl was guaranteed a lowly social status with her family’s token for little money. The desperation of the Koreans were legendary. They starved, they were treated worse than animals and the Japanese used their powers to keep them from moving ahead in society. Jade, two other girls and the master courtesans are the main characters and symbolize the intelligence and courage of women.

Battles explode in Manchuria and Seoul where citizens are fighting for their own fates. Persecution is a main theme. The novel was somewhat slow-moving and lacked excitement. Kim’s story touched many areas and she justly did not omit the Japanese cruelty.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Ecco for providing me with this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Beasts of a Little Land tells a story of love, friendship and self-discovery over a period of 50 years. There is history mixed in with fiction (tellings of the war and politics). I enjoyed this book a lot, and it reminded me a bit of Pachinko. Wonderful story!