We live in Seoul, yet we do not know Seoul. Each day we open our eyes, skip breakfast, rush to work with feet always pounding as if being pursued, compulsively check our subway maps, and plunge into a writhing crowd of uncaring, unfeeling strangers to become strangers ourselves. This is a day in Seoul. I am shocked when strangers to the city—perhaps deceived by the “Global Korea” slogan—claim to admire life here. “Seoul” as created by Hallyu in the proliferation of K-culture seems to be some completely alien space-time that shares our city’s name, a period and place we have never experienced. Are we really talking about the same city?

The cover feature “A Day in the Life of a Seoulite” shows different facets of the city. Namkoong Ihn, a doctor of emergency medicine, looks back on the era of “Gangnam School District 8” and thoroughly examines the intersection of middle-class educational aspirations and the desires for specific careers. Novelist Lee Seo Su, who has reflected on the despair of young people, exposes a paradoxical moment in the process of modernization  by examining the Guro District’s transformation from Korea’s production hub to the scene of consumption for cutting-edge products and services. Novelist Park Seon Woo’s realization that he’d always thought the distance between Jongno 3-ga and Myeongdong was as long as the subway route between them, when walking would actually take only a third of the time, is surprisingly chilling. I hope that the stories by these three writers, all born in or near the city, provide a raw, genuine look at the realities of Seoul.

Featured writer Son Bo-mi is a trailblazer in the new style of writing that emerged in the 2000s. Translator Janet Hong’s discer-ning interview and critic Lee Kwangho’s insightful commentary serve as a guide into Son’s literary universe. As for the Bookmarks section, the fiction pieces by Ryu Si-eun and An Boyun, and the poetry by Ko Sunkyung and Im Yu Yeong, are sure to enrich our reader’s autumn. May this issue of KLN transform our lives in Seoul, connecting us with our own strange selves in a moment of pure magic.

— Shin SooJeong

Editorial Board Member, KLN