I recently read an ARC copy of Oxford Soju Club, Jinwoo Park’s debut novel, which will be published by Dundurn Press in late September 2025.

Told through the voices of three main characters, this Korean spy thriller moves quickly and covers a lot of territory in less than 300 pages. I found myself at a disadvantage in following the overly complicated (but also rather . . . thin) plot as I am not familiar with Korean culture, and I struggled to keep track of the various characters. I appreciated the unique perspective and opportunity to learn more about the Korean diaspora, but this was really . . . not my book.

(Note: The Kindle version of this ARC edition had some serious formatting issues that made reading a bit . . . challenging . . . from a visual perspective. I imagine this will be sorted when the book is published in September.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on September 30, 2025.

2.5 stars, but I can't round up to 3

A very tight little novel. I think I personally would have liked a bit more to really sink my teeth into and the time-skipping didn't really work for me, but there is no denying this is very thoughtfully designed and competently written.

As someone who is familiar with Oxford city and enjoys spy movies I was instantly drawn to the premise of this story. I loved being introduced to each of these characters and learning about each of their own journeys was great. The story was fast paced kept me wanting more and full of twists. Although it is a quick read i do feel like the story rounded up very nicely, it had many wholesome and gut wrenching moments. Spy story on the surface but the theme of identity/finding yourself is quite prominent! I have a long list of Korean dishes I want to try now too! :)

The setting: spies from North Korea, South Korea, US, and assorted supporting characters. North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is killed in Oxford [England]. First sentence: "Yohan finds Doha stabbed in an alleway..." --what a beginning!

Korean-American CIA agent, Yunah Choi tries to "..salvage her investigation of the North Korean spy cell in the aftermath of the assassination. At the centre of it all is the Soju Club, the only Korean restaurant in Oxford, owned by Jihoon Lim, an immigrant from Seoul in search of a new life..." [after his mother dies in South Korea. There are many references to Korean cuisine; soju is a Korean drink.]

"Oxford Soju Club weaves a tale of how immigrants in the Korean diaspora are forced to create identities to survive, and how in the end, they must shed those masks and seek their true selves."

As different factions move in with their own agendas, their fates become entangled, resulting in a bitter struggle that will determine whose truth will triumph. Conflicting agendas and vastly different [growing-up] experiences.

Interwoven lives, lies, and trajectories. Loyalties. Families, Secrets. Who is Dr Ryu? Who is Doha? What is one's identity? Who is the blonde? Helmeted man? And so on. Covers and fake identities, backstories, and multiple timelines reveal bits of each person. Consider: Yohan is a North Korean spy posing as a French-born Japanese! Sometimes the jumping around left me confused.

Short and a relatively easy read once one knows how to keep the myriad characters straight!

Is it really a thriller as billed? Not so much to me, but...

Original because how often does one read about Korean spies? {though certainly I have read many spy novels].

3.5, not rounding up.

This is a solid piece of spy fiction, but the thing that really sets it apart is the exploration of North Korean spy networks and the dissonance that comes with the class separation in that country. That is likely the strongest aspect of the book. The writing is solid enough overall; nothing feels forced, which is great because there's a close call with a romantic angle that wouldn't make much sense despite all the teasing throughout the book; and I loved the depiction of American intelligence as so bumbling and ineffective.

The weakest point of the book for me was the fact that Dr Ryu's sections switch to first person while no other section uses that perspective. It just doesn't make sense and felt jarring, especially so late in the book. The trail of deaths felt unnecessary as well, not all of them, but certain casualties didn't add much to the story, although that's life, eh?

I picked up this ARC on a whim, after spending too much time on AUs and suddenly craving a proper book again. At first, I thought the ARC had already expired, but since it hadn’t, I decided to dive in. The hook was intriguing, a North Korean spy in Oxford? Definitely not something I see every day.

I initially expected the story to follow a single straightforward narrative. Instead, each chapter is divided into three perspectives: The Northerner (Yohan, a North Korean spy), The Southerner (Jihoon, who runs a Korean restaurant in Oxford), and The Westerner (Yunah, a Korean-American agent).

From the author’s foreword, it’s clear that Jinwoo Park wanted to explore different facets of the Korean experience abroad. Each character embodies that in their own way. Yohan, the spy, is perhaps the most fascinating, but also the most confusing. He is sent abroad by the regime, but the book never really explains his mission. I expected espionage, intelligence-gathering, or at least a clear directive—but instead, Yohan drifts around with his mentor and Doha, without any real sense of purpose. It left me wondering: why was he sent at all?

Still, through Yohan, we glimpse the life of someone who has no real ties or identity. As an orphan, he survives only by following orders, passive and detached. Jihoon, though very different, shares that sense of disconnection. After losing his mother, the only family he had, he has little reason to return to South Korea. Yunah, meanwhile, embodies the “in-between”: culturally American but raised by very traditionally Korean parents, which creates its own kind of tension.

I appreciated the attempt at weaving these three perspectives together, but I wished the connections were stronger. While there are overlaps between the characters, the storylines often feel too separate, with Yohan’s arc lacking the strength to anchor the others. By the middle of the book, when the focus began to shift, I found myself confused rather than more invested.

This isn’t an easy read, and the plot can feel uneven. Still, if you’re interested in stories about North Korean spies or want a window into the complexities of Korean lives abroad, this book offers some fascinating glimpses—even if it doesn’t fully deliver on its promise.

An interesting concept, and I love a spy thriller but I honestly found it really hard to follow.
May try again when my brain is more switched on?
Thank you for an early copy!

When a North Korean spy is killed, so sparks an evening at the only Korean restaurant in Oxford where his protégé, a Korean American CIA agent and South Korean immigrant convene and their fates entangle.

This book wasn’t for me, although I appreciated many facets of it. I couldn’t call it a spy thriller, but there’s of course plenty of mystery at the heart of Oxford Soju Club. That being said, the author does a great job in creating characters that stand out and that tell the stories of a nation of individuals. It deftly opens up a conversation of what ‘home’ means, how immigrants must forcibly create particular identities in order to survive, and on identity politics. The middle portion of the book feels slow and almost laborious, yet the end chapters bring it right back up. One to pick up if you’re curious about Korean culture, heritage and identity.

This book gave me The Sympathiser vibes but it was easier to grasp. I think reading an ebook I was reading to fast and may have missed some clues. But I liked how everything came together at the end. It’s not an action packed spy book but it does make you think!

Oxford Soju Club is a bold, genre-bending debut that blends espionage with Korean diaspora themes, following three characters tangled in secrets, shifting loyalties, and a mysterious death in Oxford. The writing is sharp and atmospheric, and the premise flips the spy genre on its head by focusing on identity and emotional complexity rather than pure action. But the nonlinear structure and frequent shifts in perspective can be disorienting, and some characters feel more like archetypes than fully fleshed-out people. Intriguing and intelligent, but uneven—solidly a 3-out-of-5-stars read.

The natural enemy of a Korean is another Korean.

When North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is mysteriously killed in Oxford, his protege, Yohan Kim, chases the only breadcrumb given to him in Doha’s last breath: “Soju Club, Dr. Ryu.” In the meantime, a Korean American CIA agent , Yunah Choi, races to salvage her investigation of the North Korean spy cell in the aftermath of the assassination. At the centre of it all is the Soju Club, the only Korean restaurant in Oxford, owned by Jihoon Lim, an immigrant from Seoul in search of a new life after suffering a tragedy. As different factions move in with their own agendas, their fates become entangled, resulting in a bitter struggle that will determine whose truth will triumph.

Oxford Soju Club weaves a tale of how immigrants in the Korean diaspora are forced to create identities to survive, and how in the end, they must shed those masks and seek their true selves.

This was an interesting debut novel from Jinwoo Park, the story centres around three Koreans, all with different backgrounds, and the Soju Club in Oxford. A mysterious figure called Dr. Ryu binds them all. It's an interesting premise. Jinwoo has stated that the book is about Korean immigrants and the masks they wear in society and I can see that.

It was slightly confusing at times, I didn't find it engaging so it took me a while to read, however I gave it 3 stars as it did make me stop and think. There was lots of character growth and I did enjoy reading some of the POVs.

Thank you Netgally for this advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great debut from Jinwoo Park. Not sure what compelled me to request this book, as spy thrillers are usually not my thing at all, but I think I sensed that this book had many layers to it! The themes of parental loss, cultural identity (especially as part of a diaspora or as part of a culture that one feels ethically disconnected from) and the personal side of international politics were all really well explored and interesting.

The reader follows the stories of several characters originating from North Korea, South Korea and the USA as they converge in Oxford, England. I loved the choice of setting and the way the authors feelings about Oxford shine through (in one of the characters in particular, I think).

There were some heart rending twists that I didn't see coming and several interesting character-relationship dynamics that turned out to be more than they first seemed. It is a sort of "chosen one" story at its core, but it uses this vessel well, taking some unexpected turns along the way.

Everything is woven together neatly and I didn't find the changing narrative confusing at all (I mention this only as a couple of other reviews suggest it is hard to follow - but I think the use of paragraph titles, along with context cues and tone of voice, were sufficient in indicating which character I was following at any given time).

Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an emotional but gripping read.

4 stars

This was as much a spy thriller as it was an exploration of identity from the perspective of three Koreans, from both the North and South and US, who’ve lived their own versions of the immigrant/diaspora experience. Set in Oxford, Yohan Kim is a sleeper agent from North Korea living with his mentor, Doha. When Doha is killed, leaving behind final words for Yohan to meet someone at the Soju Club, Yohan sets out to meet them and figure out who killed Doha. Jihoon is the owner of the Soju Club, the only Korean restaurant around Oxford, working hard everyday while avoiding painful memories from South Korea, where he came from. Yunah is a Korean American working undercover as a spy for the FBI, though after discovering her mark Doha dead, she has to figure out what happened to her other North Korean target. Over a day, their lives intertwine, as each confront the masks they put on and the relationships they have.

This feels fast-paced like a spy thriller would be but also ruminative and reflective, as each POV character has flashbacks. As the author’s note says, the novel explores the different masks people part of a diaspora have to put on to survive, and there were a lot of subtle insights and nuances I could relate to. The characters were revealed to us slowly, and while the main POVs could relate to each other in some way, they had their own unique perspectives and struggles, from blending in, meeting expectations, filial piety. Lots of Korean mixed throughout, but I felt like there was enough context to figure out what they meant, and the food sounded delicious.

There are several POVs, but the voices do sound pretty similar to each other, so without their labels I don’t think I could tell people apart. The writing was on the stiff side, though I’m not sure if it’s because most people are spies so they’re supposed to be rational and on the unemotional side, or if because a couple of these characters probably think in Korean rather than English. I do wish there was a bit more variety in the voices, as it felt a bit weird for Yohan and Yunah to use the same nicknames for people when they have different relationships to them. Also, the non-Korean characters were all a bit unbelievably short-sighted and stupid. They were kinda there to show the micro-aggressions and probably ignorance that people have towards the diaspora, but it was kind of unrealistic to me, that they would think an America-raised Korean American could pose as someone who’s supposed to be a Korean immigrant but doesn’t speak fluent Korean. Someone’s gonna figure it out. I’m also a little curious in how accurate the North Korean elements are, as sometimes it did feel a bit generalized and like what you imagine the place is like based on Western media.

Overall, I enjoyed this! A short read that does move decently fast. If you’re looking for a genuine spy thriller, then this book might not be for you. But if you’re looking for elements of a spy thriller that also has plenty of slower introspective moments to explore the Korean diaspora in depth, then you’ll enjoy this.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dundurn press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I tried to read this on my kindle but it was completely jarbled up and most of the time i was confused in the bit i did read. Hopefully I can read the digital copy from the library via the libby app so I can understand the chapters I did read better. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication

This book really worked for me as a spy novel. One thing that detracted from my experience is that the novel is told from different perspectives and I am not sure if it is because I read it as an arc but the formatting made it is hard to tell the different perspectives apart. Overall, I liked the tone of the book. I found the writing confident and polished.

pretty effective book in general, although it's not super accessible as a novel and depends on you knowing your history. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

The concept of this book was so interesting to me. The fact that it's a mystery/thriller that leans more towards literary fiction, appealed to me so much, and so I was super excited to read this one.
Overall I'd say this was a really good debut novel, though I did have some things that didn't work for me.
Mostly, I wish it had been longer. We had three really interesting characters, but I needed more time with them to get them fully fleshed out and pull me into this story more.
Having said that, I did enjoy this book and I'm interested what will come next from this author.

3.5/5

The death of a North Korean spymaster sets off an avalanche of events, not in the way we think - Oxford Soju Club slowly peels back the onion layers to reveal identity politics, human instinct for hope and a deep, silent tragegy of what's home. Set over the course of an evening, with intermittent flashbacks we glimpse spies and their different alliances, Park shows us the fate of indivudals moulded under different ideals - those staunchly devoted to their nation against "a nation full of individuals wanting to go their own way".

I enjoyed the last few chapters that showed us Yohan's relationship to Dr. Ryu and Doha, it's a sentimental and bittersweet callback to his mentors' choices - exercising what little free (illusionary as it was) will they had, in deciding to save one soul for the many they couldn't.

It was also interesting to see that despite living in the free world, the South Koreans emigrée don't fare much better, Jihoon's escape from grief and Yunah's conflict of who she is painted a complex and frustratingly sad story, even for those we think will be unscathed in the global war between rulers and bureacracy that abandons them when it matters the most.

Don't get put off by the transliteration and names - this book is a chameleon of spy thriller poking into literary discourse on discovering yourself in a mad and crazy world.

Yohan, a North Korean spy posing as a French-born Japanese man, is plunged into the unknown when his mentor is killed in an Oxford alley. He is also a lot more interesting than even he knows. South Korean Jihoon runs the city’s only Korean restaurant, Oxford Soju Club, a tribute to his mother. Yunah is Korean-American and works for the CIA.
I recommend Oxford Soju Club if you fancy a spy caper that throws a little light on North and South Korea, and shows Oxford through foreign eyes; I also recommend you try soju.