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K-Fiction Series
Dinner with Buffett 버핏과의 저녁 식사
This Series represents the brightest of young imaginative voices in contemporary Korean fiction. Each issue consists of a wide range of outstanding contemporary Korean short stories that the editorial board of Asia carefully selects each season. These stories are then translated by professional Korean literature translators, all of whom take special care to faithfully convey the pieces’ original tones and grace. We hope that, each and every season, these exceptional young Korean voices will delight and challenge all of you, our treasured readers both here and abroad. He’s just wearing a sweat shirt and sweat pants. “Sweat...” Debbie’s voice tapered off. “Since he said he was staying nearby, I thought he was planning to go and change. But he said no. He said that he was comfortable in them, that they were his formal attire because he always wore them. Won’t this be a problem?” Carrie asked. Debbie blinked. She felt she might need some more information to clarify her thoughts. Smith & Wollensky was a restaurant that had once had a whites-only policy. They’d once hung a No Dog and No Coloreds sign... But that had been a very long time ago.
95 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
22 people want to read
About the author
Min-gyu Park
10 books26 followers소설가 박민규
Born in 1968, Park Min-gyu published his first book Legend of the World's Superheroes in 2003, for which he was awarded the Munhakdongne New Writer Award.
Born in 1968, Park Min-gyu published his first book Legend of the World's Superheroes in 2003, for which he was awarded the Munhakdongne New Writer Award.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2025
Watch my review on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq7dj...
Watch my other review on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS3m_...
If you are looking for an interesting, distinctive, possibly even unique literary voice or you simply want to sample and find a way into modern Korean literature, you could do far, far worse than the occasionally controversial, frequently eccentric novelist Park Min-gyu’s wonderfully translated short stories “Is That So? I’m a Giraffe” and “Dinner with Buffet.” Park was born in Ulsan in the southeast of South Korea in 1968. He made his literary debut in 2003 when he published two novels, both of which won highly respected literary prizes. His unconventional writing style sent shockwaves through the Korean literary scene and he very quickly established himself as both a talented stylist and as a writer seemingly deeply committed to investigating the political, economic and cultural developments that have taken place in Korea in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Although his writing style has been very influential, according to Korean literary critics, it has also proven to be remarkably difficult to mimic and even, some would argue, to characterise. One of his contemporaries, fellow novelist Kim Young-ha, perhaps sums up his appeal best when he says that Park “has written peculiar, delightful sentences that have never existed before in Korean literature.” A recurring theme of his work is the effect capitalism has on the individual.
“Is That So? I’m a Giraffe” takes place around 1989 during a downturn in South Korea’s economy and finds a vocational high school student taking a number of low-paying part time jobs to help support his family. Whilst his family disintegrates in the background, he becomes a “pusher man” working on the subway, responsible for packing people into subway cars during rush hour. Park’s subject here is really the modernisation project that the South Korean government was pursuing at the time and the effect it had on human relationships.
“Dinner with Buffet” uses a similar blend of tones and styles to tell a story about Warren Buffet first meeting with the president and then having dinner with a young Korean man who won the lottery. Both stories have a strange, compelling mixture of tones and styles which Park weaves seamlessly together; at times satirical, surreal and humorous whilst often poignant, bleak and then finally absurd. They are each published by Asia Publishers in fantastic bilingual editions that also come with additional essays, reviews and critical perspectives.
Watch my other review on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS3m_...
If you are looking for an interesting, distinctive, possibly even unique literary voice or you simply want to sample and find a way into modern Korean literature, you could do far, far worse than the occasionally controversial, frequently eccentric novelist Park Min-gyu’s wonderfully translated short stories “Is That So? I’m a Giraffe” and “Dinner with Buffet.” Park was born in Ulsan in the southeast of South Korea in 1968. He made his literary debut in 2003 when he published two novels, both of which won highly respected literary prizes. His unconventional writing style sent shockwaves through the Korean literary scene and he very quickly established himself as both a talented stylist and as a writer seemingly deeply committed to investigating the political, economic and cultural developments that have taken place in Korea in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Although his writing style has been very influential, according to Korean literary critics, it has also proven to be remarkably difficult to mimic and even, some would argue, to characterise. One of his contemporaries, fellow novelist Kim Young-ha, perhaps sums up his appeal best when he says that Park “has written peculiar, delightful sentences that have never existed before in Korean literature.” A recurring theme of his work is the effect capitalism has on the individual.
“Is That So? I’m a Giraffe” takes place around 1989 during a downturn in South Korea’s economy and finds a vocational high school student taking a number of low-paying part time jobs to help support his family. Whilst his family disintegrates in the background, he becomes a “pusher man” working on the subway, responsible for packing people into subway cars during rush hour. Park’s subject here is really the modernisation project that the South Korean government was pursuing at the time and the effect it had on human relationships.
“Dinner with Buffet” uses a similar blend of tones and styles to tell a story about Warren Buffet first meeting with the president and then having dinner with a young Korean man who won the lottery. Both stories have a strange, compelling mixture of tones and styles which Park weaves seamlessly together; at times satirical, surreal and humorous whilst often poignant, bleak and then finally absurd. They are each published by Asia Publishers in fantastic bilingual editions that also come with additional essays, reviews and critical perspectives.
November 7, 2020
After Pavane for a Dead Princess I can't really say I enjoyed this as much. I feel like it wanted to be much more shocking than it really was, and the story wasn't nearly as nice as PFADP. 2.5 stars.
http://4201mass.blogspot.com/
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Upon second reading, I think I might raise my score a bit, say to 3 stars. It is an interesting topic, although by no means original (novels against capitalism have existed since before capitalism existed). What is more original is the way the author goes about it; both the capitalist (Buffett) and the non-capitalist (Ahn) are likable characters and they get along.
http://4201mass.blogspot.com/
------
Upon second reading, I think I might raise my score a bit, say to 3 stars. It is an interesting topic, although by no means original (novels against capitalism have existed since before capitalism existed). What is more original is the way the author goes about it; both the capitalist (Buffett) and the non-capitalist (Ahn) are likable characters and they get along.
November 11, 2025
Anti-capitalistic story with experimental, quirky writing. I don't really know what to make of this story. The writing is definitely alive and fun, but the story itself was just...okay. It's one of those stories that have more style than substance in my opinion. The "meat" or message of the story felt pretentious in the way it presents itself. The writing is definitely the highlight of this book: the word choices felt quirky and weird yet unusually apt and accurate.
The book is set during the Occupy Wall Street protests, with anti-capitalistic messages heavily spread during this period of time. Throughout the story, the idea of "value" is repeated and emphasized. Buffett and the president were afraid of losing this "value", of no longer being in a position of power. Inspired by the real-life Warren Buffett, Dinner with Buffett pokes fun at the lunches Warren Buffett himself held, where people bid millions of dollars just to have the opportunity for a lunch with this infamous billionaire. Buffett's investment advice is what these people are buying, and having the time to sit with Buffett is itself a golden ticket to a world of riches and golds. It feels incredibly dystopian that people are paying money that could feed an entire nation to talk to one guy, and this is what Park is trying to satirize in this story.
Park subverts this million-dollar lunch idea by making the winning bidder, Ahn, a simple, working-class guy who bought the dinner simply to eat dinner with Buffett. In Ahn's words, his intention to have dinner was:
"You know,
eating together at the same table like this
is a good thing."
The formatting above is how it was written in the translation and the original text, which is a unique stylistic choice repeatedly used in this book. The choice of using small texts and huge spaces and indentations, as if cutting off words and sentences, seem to serve no purpose other than style. Park also played around a lot with using religion, culture, and language as metaphors to the message of the story, which I felt was creative. These unusual narrative choices were, though mostly purposeless, charming and witty, giving the whole story a rather humorous tone.
The story seems to question the idea of "value" in a capitalistic society, and how capitalism creates jarring gaps in society that cause some people to have a higher worth than others. Park suggests a future where people like Ahn, who do not care about capitalism and its arbitrary values, fill this capitalistic society – might this money-minded hierarchy collapse, and would people like Buffett lose their "value"? It's a fascinating question to ask, but the idea felt more interesting than the execution, which I found rather ambitious yet failing to become anything substantial. It felt like it was designed to impress rather than being impressive itself, similar to my view on Pengembaraan Shell-Searching Seekor Umang-Umang Rock n’ Roll dan lain-lain cerita and Seven Samurai Swept Away in a River. The writing is definitely one to watch, so I'm interested in reading Park's other works now.
Some parts I liked:
"As time went by, Buffett's brow furrowed more and more, like a rippling waterfall. It was as if God's hand had suddenly descended, shifted all of the Niagara Falls aside, and substituted it for Buffett's forehead."
"The president nodded and said nothing more. He looked like a Moses who had lost his faith."
"He thought that people were like sailors on a ship, sailing across time itself, and that he had been living in the great age of investment. That age was not yet over. But, he also wondered if he was perhaps, still carrying out the business of the past century, the sweet flavor of which had already vanished. He was still chewing his gum."
"This was no ordinary traffic jam, either. It felt as if God had rendered judgement on the city by drenching New York's streets in glue–especially the channels connecting Queens and Manhattan."
3.5 stars.
The book is set during the Occupy Wall Street protests, with anti-capitalistic messages heavily spread during this period of time. Throughout the story, the idea of "value" is repeated and emphasized. Buffett and the president were afraid of losing this "value", of no longer being in a position of power. Inspired by the real-life Warren Buffett, Dinner with Buffett pokes fun at the lunches Warren Buffett himself held, where people bid millions of dollars just to have the opportunity for a lunch with this infamous billionaire. Buffett's investment advice is what these people are buying, and having the time to sit with Buffett is itself a golden ticket to a world of riches and golds. It feels incredibly dystopian that people are paying money that could feed an entire nation to talk to one guy, and this is what Park is trying to satirize in this story.
Park subverts this million-dollar lunch idea by making the winning bidder, Ahn, a simple, working-class guy who bought the dinner simply to eat dinner with Buffett. In Ahn's words, his intention to have dinner was:
"You know,
eating together at the same table like this
is a good thing."
The formatting above is how it was written in the translation and the original text, which is a unique stylistic choice repeatedly used in this book. The choice of using small texts and huge spaces and indentations, as if cutting off words and sentences, seem to serve no purpose other than style. Park also played around a lot with using religion, culture, and language as metaphors to the message of the story, which I felt was creative. These unusual narrative choices were, though mostly purposeless, charming and witty, giving the whole story a rather humorous tone.
The story seems to question the idea of "value" in a capitalistic society, and how capitalism creates jarring gaps in society that cause some people to have a higher worth than others. Park suggests a future where people like Ahn, who do not care about capitalism and its arbitrary values, fill this capitalistic society – might this money-minded hierarchy collapse, and would people like Buffett lose their "value"? It's a fascinating question to ask, but the idea felt more interesting than the execution, which I found rather ambitious yet failing to become anything substantial. It felt like it was designed to impress rather than being impressive itself, similar to my view on Pengembaraan Shell-Searching Seekor Umang-Umang Rock n’ Roll dan lain-lain cerita and Seven Samurai Swept Away in a River. The writing is definitely one to watch, so I'm interested in reading Park's other works now.
Some parts I liked:
"As time went by, Buffett's brow furrowed more and more, like a rippling waterfall. It was as if God's hand had suddenly descended, shifted all of the Niagara Falls aside, and substituted it for Buffett's forehead."
"The president nodded and said nothing more. He looked like a Moses who had lost his faith."
"He thought that people were like sailors on a ship, sailing across time itself, and that he had been living in the great age of investment. That age was not yet over. But, he also wondered if he was perhaps, still carrying out the business of the past century, the sweet flavor of which had already vanished. He was still chewing his gum."
"This was no ordinary traffic jam, either. It felt as if God had rendered judgement on the city by drenching New York's streets in glue–especially the channels connecting Queens and Manhattan."
3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews