A word-of-mouth phenomenon turned cult classic in Korea, Hunger is a visceral, psychologically daring novel that reveals how love and money shape, wound, and consume us.

“A feast for the literary senses.”—Anton Hur, Judge of the International Booker Prize

On an ordinary afternoon, a woman sees her partner murdered in the street. Time freezes. She lifts his body from the pavement, cradles him home, disinfects each inch of skin—and sits down to begin.

As he witnesses his own funeral from beyond, their two voices—living and dead—lament a lifetime of bone-grinding labor in a society that devours everyone whole. But the woman is no longer willing to bow before law, God, or money. In an act of love and rebellion, she transforms his body into her own, entombing him within her flesh so that he may live again.

Raw, furious, and unflinchingly intimate, Hunger is the Korean underground phenomenon that indicts capitalism, mourns lost love, and pushes the boundaries of what the body can endure for justice and survival. A psychologically and philosophically thrilling novel, it cuts to the core of how we are consumed by the world—and how we might consume it back.

“An instant cult classic… You have to read it.”—Harper’s Bazaar

TARGET READERSHIP
- For readers of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, Agustina Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh, Aoko Matsuda’s The Woman Dies, Chelsea G. Summer’s A Certain Hunger, K. Anis Ahmed’s Carnivore.
- Fans of K-thrillers like Parasite and Squid Game
- Feminist readers looking for a fresh voice; readers interested in body horror/the politicization of the body
- Fans of philosophical novels and powerful, musical prose that makes the grotesque beautiful.

KEY SELLING POINTS
- Prizeworthy writing: Choi Jin-young is widely acknowledged as one of the best writers at work in Korea, having won most of the country's literary prizes.
- The enthusiasm for Korean fiction continues to boom; fellow Korean lit-horror author Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- A cult classic; sold 350,000+ copies
- Hunger led the bestseller charts for over half a year, breaking records for literary fiction in Korea.