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Banned Book Club

Kim Hyun Sook,

Ko Hyung-Ju,

Ryan Estrada (Goodreads Author)

3.99 · Rating details · 1,414 ratings · 381 reviews

When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family’s restaurant. But literature class would prove to be ...more

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Paperback, 204 pages

Published May 19th 2020 by Iron Circus Comics

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Rating details

· 1,414 ratings · 381 reviews

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Jun 22, 2020 MissBecka Gee rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-books-read, bio-first-personish-tbr, comics-graphics-and-manga, z2020-books-i-read, edelweiss-books

The intentions in this historical fiction graphic are impressive.
The illustrations are not as exciting as I wold have liked, but it almost seemed on purpose...
whether it was or not...don't tell me.
Despite this taking place in Korea, the content is highly relevant to North America right now.
Give it a whirl and get down with some Korean revolutionaries.
Thanks to NetGalley & Letter Better Publishing Services for my DRC. ...more

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Apr 21, 2020 Alexander Peterhans rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss

It's 1983 in South Korea, and a brutal militaristic regime wields power. A group of university students hold secret meetings, where they discuss books that are forbidden by the regime and political news that is being suppressed. This means that they have to be careful of the secret service, who are constantly on the lookout for 'communists' and other subversives.

Kim Hyun Sook is a freshman, who becomes a part of the group, first thinking they're a regular book club. She soon finds out how danger ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Romie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-releases, manga-graphic-novel, new-adult, non-fiction, read-as-an-arc, poc

Now THIS is a graphic memoir I want to put in everybody's hands. It's such an important one! It's important to learn about history, and not just about your own country's. It's important to learn about what happened and what is still going on in the world. This graphic memoir does this so brilliantly. It talks about fighting for democracy, fighting for what is right, fighting every single day because there's always something to work on. The fact that I also absolutely adored the art made this rea ...more

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Jun 10, 2020 Rod Brown rated it liked it

The art and storytelling is clunky, but the importance of the topic carries the day for me. I do love me a triumph over censorship story.

I have reservations about the veracity of this book as the marketing seems to present it as a memoir. I dislike that the back cover says that this is a "dramatic true story" while the text buried at the back of the book says the writers took "ingredients" of true stories and "sliced, diced, and blended them into one narrative starring a handful of amalgamated c ...more

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May 14, 2020 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: from-publisher, netgalley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hi, I'm an ignorant American who was raised in the American public school system. I'm not dumb, and I try to learn on my own via reading books, magazine articles, web-based news (with a grain of salt) and watching various videos/documentaries online, but there are HUGE gaping holes in what I know. This graphic novel exposed one of those areas of lack of knowledge to me.

I had NO IDEA that South Korea wasn't magically a democracy after the Korean War. I had no clue that there was a dictatorship an Hi, I'm an ignorant American who was raised in the American public school system. I'm not dumb, and I try to learn on my own via reading books, magazine articles, web-based news (with a grain of salt) and watching various videos/documentaries online, but there are HUGE gaping holes in what I know. This graphic novel exposed one of those areas of lack of knowledge to me.

I had NO IDEA that South Korea wasn't magically a democracy after the Korean War. I had no clue that there was a dictatorship and that the people of South Korea had to fight and revolt for democracy. I just assumed they always were democratic after the war.

You know what I think would be a good high school/college class? One about democracy around the world and how the people had to fight for it, and the places where they are still fighting for it. This book would be required reading for that class.

Honestly, I think it should be required reading for all Americans in the school system. When I went to school at least, we didn't get a lot about other countries, at least, not that I remember. To be fair, that was a while ago. Also to be fair, I don't recall most of what I learned back then. Or at least I can't differentiate it from what I just "know" and don't know where I picked it up. Maybe from school, maybe from a book, who knows?

So, back to the book. It was amazing and terrifying and I can't imagine living in fear of the Government and having to fight for basic rights like voting and reading what you want to read. Yes, America has it's issues, but I'm not afraid I'm going to be dragged to prison by the police, beaten to give up my friends and locked up without due process because I was seen reading 1984 or the Handmaid's Tale.

America isn't perfect and it is always possible to go in the reverse re: human rights, but I think there are a lot of people who are extra vigilant about making sure we don't lose our rights, so we haven't back-slid to dystopia, yet.

This book is a good way to keep us awake and aware and not take our rights for granted. Yes, they got violent. I'm not pro-violence at all, but I am not judging what they did to get the freedoms they deserved as human beings. I think they were immensely brave and they did things I don't know I would be able to do if I was in that situation.

So thank you Kim Hyun Sook, for sharing this with the world. It needed to be said and shared and I am glad that I was able to read this book. This is one I will be recommending to everyone. 5, life isn't always how we think it is and sometimes we need to fight for it to be the way it should be, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Letter Better Publishing Services/Iron Circus Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review. ...more

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Dec 18, 2020 Elizabeth☮ rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, young-adult

A great way to learn about growing up in South Korea during a tumultuous time. Hyun Sook matriculates to her local university and hopes to have her world open up to new knowledge. The knowledge she obtains isn't just the kind you find in books. She learns to look closer at what is happening in the machinations of the government. She surrounds herself with young adults eager to change their country and open their minds to new ideas.

I wanted more detail, but it is a great beginning to this part o ...more

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Jul 23, 2020 Sarah Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, standalones, mind-blown-from-the-awesomeness, young-adult, provided-by-author-publisher, ebook, arc, favorites, great-heroine, historical

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, & Ryan Estrada

4.75 stars

This is a fictionalized account of Kim Hyun Sook’s time in college during the strict and oppressive rule of South Korea’s Fifth Republic. During this time in 1983, riots were common at the universities and protests occurred to fight against the censorship and dictatorship that was occurring. This graphic novel is based on real events, but blended together to protect the identity of many real people who fought for things to c

...more

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Feb 04, 2020 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs

Thanks to Iron Circus Comic and Edelweiss for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this comic so much I swallowed it in one sitting. I'm always moved when authors take history and bring it to a level that people can easily read and understand. This story follows Hyun Sook as she leaves for college against her parents wishes. While at college, she gets sucked into a secret banned book club led by a group of student protestors.

I appreciated everything about this book. The story reflec ...more

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May 27, 2020 Camille Oquendo rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, graphic-novels-and-manga, read-in-2020, nonfiction

Based on a true story, Banned Book Club tells of Kim Hyun Sook, a South Korean woman who finds herself joining an underground banned book club in the 1980's. During this time, the political climate in South Korea consisted of a corrupt government that banned Western literature and a military regime that obtained power through censoring, torturing and murdering protesters that were involved in consuming such content.

We see Sook come into college with the mindset that she's only there to study, le Based on a true story, Banned Book Club tells of Kim Hyun Sook, a South Korean woman who finds herself joining an underground banned book club in the 1980's. During this time, the political climate in South Korea consisted of a corrupt government that banned Western literature and a military regime that obtained power through censoring, torturing and murdering protesters that were involved in consuming such content.

We see Sook come into college with the mindset that she's only there to study, learn and read. Soon enough, she finds out that it's not all that simple as she's exposed to the realities of the environment she's around. I enjoyed seeing her growth. In the beginning, she starts off closed off and blinded to the ideologies of the protesters and members of the BBC but as she uncovers and finds out the truth, she understands the power of having a voice, taking action and being part of something revolutionary.

The book brings up a great discussion about censorship-- Why do people ban books? Is it purely because of the content? Do they see danger in the authors that create the content? Or is it because there's a possibility that they see themselves in the "villains" or characters of the story and they're too ashamed to admit it?

I loved the ending message. Progress isn't just a straight shot. It's filled with twists and turns but in the end, that doesn't mean we should stop fighting for what's right.

My only gripe with this book is that it moved too fast for me, in a way that felt as if I was missing information. There were so many characters thrown at once that it felt hard for me to distinguish between each of them at times. It's not easy to condense history and real-life events into a certain format, especially in graphic novel form so it's understandable.

Although marketed as YA, I would definitely recommend this book for adults who enjoy reading nonfiction graphic novel memoirs as well. I think this book would also be great reading material for Banned Book Week.

Thank you to Netgalley and Letter Better Publishing Services for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Oct 15, 2019 Rachel Hyland rated it it was amazing

I am ashamed to say I knew next to nothing about South Korean politics before reading this most excellent graphic novel -- just that once the nation was under the thumb of China, and that the US waged a war there in the 1950s, fighting against the communist regime in the north.

It did not go well.

But this account of the naive Hyun Sook, newly at university in 1983 and learning about her own nation's political travails for the first time, changed all of that. In just 200 or so short, informative ...more

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Sep 10, 2019 Ryan rated it it was amazing

What a lovely way to experience history. This book takes multiple real life stories to give the reader a fictionalized “true” version of the protests in 1983 lead by college students. Most of it is the story of the author, but for privacy reason has changed many names and consolidated some stories.

It all starts with the government banning certain literature. Particularly Western literature. Kim wants to read these stories. She wants to study literature. But her mother is not happy. She should be What a lovely way to experience history. This book takes multiple real life stories to give the reader a fictionalized “true” version of the protests in 1983 lead by college students. Most of it is the story of the author, but for privacy reason has changed many names and consolidated some stories.

It all starts with the government banning certain literature. Particularly Western literature. Kim wants to read these stories. She wants to study literature. But her mother is not happy. She should be working and finding a husband. If anyone is going to go to school it should be her brother. But with help from dad, Kim goes to classes, and learns about things outside her little home world. While she loves to read she never realized that people could be thrown in jail for what they read. And for what they right. No one pressures her to join any resistance movement, they just say “hey why don’t you read what those in power don’t want us to read”. It’s eye opening. And while trying to stay neutral, she actually ends up joining protests, and helping lead more people to this literature that the government says is bad for people.

I have to give snaps to the author for the ending. We never get a clear picture of what all happen. We follow Kim though her getting involved, and then jump to 2017 where she reunites with her friends in modern protest for their land and their government. The reader gets snippets of what the characters when through, like jail time, being teachers, evening staying involved in politics to make their world a better place.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and learned quite a bit. There are parts that are a bit confusing, but I think that is from taking a long and varied history and converting it to graphic novel form. I think this book isn’t only interesting to read, but to discuss. I think it should appear on banned book lists, even if it itself has not been banned. It opens up a wider discussion on why people and governments police what others read.

#BBRC #AuthenticVoice
#ReaderHarder #journalism
#GondorGirlGNChallenge. ...more

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Sep 29, 2020 Scottsdale Public Library added it

Shelves: historical-fiction, graphic-novel

#BannedBooksWeek
Kim Hyun Sook is a freshman at college. Much to her excitement, her love of reading gets her invited to a book club. But it turns out this club reads books that have been banned by her government(early 80s South Korea). Even though that makes her very nervous, she stays in the group. She ends up making friends in the club, and soon starts attending student protests with them.
Banned Book Club is a portrait of Korea in the 1980s, being young and realizing that not everything you ha ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Tory rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019, arcs, graphic-novels

DANG I had no idea this shizz was going on in South Korea! I thought they were the SANE Korea! So, very historically enlightening, but I apparently do not like manga style. Gave it a shot and it bothered me the whole time. BUT I learned a lot!

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Jun 13, 2020 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography-memoir, june-2020, book-club, graphic-novel, net-galley, non-fiction, 2020, she-spoke

I received this book through NetGalley last week Thursday. I tried to read it with the Virtual Silent Book Club but our power went out. (knocked down power lines - no worries there.) I only mention this because I wanted - no needed - to finish this book so badly that I read it through the early morning hours with a head lamp. This book is actually a composite biography/memoir about the military regime in South Korea. Which is kind of funny because typically when we in the United States hear the I received this book through NetGalley last week Thursday. I tried to read it with the Virtual Silent Book Club but our power went out. (knocked down power lines - no worries there.) I only mention this because I wanted - no needed - to finish this book so badly that I read it through the early morning hours with a head lamp. This book is actually a composite biography/memoir about the military regime in South Korea. Which is kind of funny because typically when we in the United States hear the words Korea and political regime in the same sentence, we think about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. South Korea is not really on our media's radar. So we do not hear of the political unrest or human rights violations in South Korea on our TV. Most of us also never learned about South Korea in the classroom. So Banned Book Club was an enlightening endeavor for me. Choosing to teach about this time in history through a graphic novel was a nice way to represent the people and their struggle without being too overwrought. That does not lessen the value of the story however; my physical copy is laden with flags and highlights.

One aspect of the book that I liked was that it shows throughout history how books and art were used as a form of protest. The author not only declares books as political, but goes further to address the reasons why those in power censor books. The reason is not just because of possible messages of dissent, but rather that they can see themselves as the villains of these novels. Their fear that others may recognize this is what drives them to ban books. They want to control their image, to control the political narrative: "Chun needed a distraction. A crisis. An imminent threat for people to fear. Something only HE could "Protect us" from." With this referral to the fabricated Gwangju invasion Banned Book Club hits rather close to home:"How can Chun trick everyone? How do people not see what's happening? -- "He doesn't care if we believe him or not. He created such a divide between the people who believe his lies and those who don't that the country is too torn apart to come together and properly oppose him."

In Banned Book Club the main character is a young woman setting off to college. Her mother opposes her going. She complains about the cost and tells her that money would be better spent on her brother. She also fears that her daughter will get caught up in the student led protests. Her father wants her to have this experience. It is an opportunity he didn't have. He also wants her to have the chance to make her own decisions. For her part, Hyun Sook just wants to go to college to learn. In her mind learning is book knowledge not life experience. When she arrives at the college it seems as if everybody is trying to make her decisions for her. It takes Hyun Sook quite a while to realize this. It is not until the end of the book where she say to herself You know what? You decided what group I was going to join. And you decided whether we were going to be in a relationship. No one asked me what I wanted. When do I get to make the decisions about my life?

I have read a few reviews where they faulted the author for Hyun Sook being sorted pushed around and led from one decision to the other. But just remembering from when I was younger it was hard when I first left home for college. It was the first time in my life that I was responsible for myself. I was still trying to figure out who I was while being bombarded with all of these new sets of ideas and meeting different types of people that I would have never encountered if I stayed in my home town. That time in one's life is one of discovery and experimentation. It takes a while for you to settle down into who you truly are and what you will become as an adult member of society. So I understand why it takes time for Hyun Sook to come into her own truth.

Although Banned Book Club is billed as YA I would say that it definitely holds something for an adult audience. It reminds me of other powerful graphic novels like Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Iron Circus Comics and the authors for access to this book. ...more

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Sep 18, 2020 Elizabeth A rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020, kids-ya, graphix, memoir, non-fiction, translated

What reader can resist a book with a title like that?

This YA graphic memoir is set "during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protesters."

The author overrides he mother's wishes and attends college to study Western Lit. Things do not go quite as she planned, and she's soon swept along with a protest group.

The illustration style is a tad too sketchy for my taste, and the narrative thrust is often uneven, but I ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Diz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels

This graphic novel presents university life during the democracy protests in 1980s South Korea. A group of university students go through hardships, arrest, and torture in order to fight for what they believe. This story is inspiring. To see what the students go through to stand up for what they believe make you reflect on how much you are willing to do to do the same. Well worth reading.

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Jun 01, 2020 J rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, biographies-memoirs, young-adult, middle-school

This graphic novel was AMAZING and a book that everyone should read. The book is timely and relevant. I saw so many similarities between what was happening in Korean in 1983, currently around the world and what is happening in America today: a narcissist leader creating his own laws, dividing the country, attacking and discrediting the media and journalists, creating fake news, censoring people and media, a scapegoating and creating a common "enemy" to detract people.

Highly, highly recommended. ...more

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Apr 05, 2020 Rich in Color rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical, graphic-novels, non-fiction

Review copy: Digital ARC via Edelweiss

As long as there have been books, there have been people trying to control them. In this graphic novel memoir, we’re able to see this in play during the 80s in South Korea. College students continued to read banned materials even when the consequences for being caught were quite grim.

The story opens with a family argument. Hyun Sook’s mother does not understand why the college students, and her daughter specifically, feel that things need to be different. Sh Review copy: Digital ARC via Edelweiss

As long as there have been books, there have been people trying to control them. In this graphic novel memoir, we’re able to see this in play during the 80s in South Korea. College students continued to read banned materials even when the consequences for being caught were quite grim.

The story opens with a family argument. Hyun Sook’s mother does not understand why the college students, and her daughter specifically, feel that things need to be different. She characterizes protesting as complaining. The public in general has accepted that things are as they are and while not content, they are willing to keep the status quo in return for peace. Initially Hyun Sook really does seem to want to be at college to learn and has no interest in activism, resistance, or protest. She is alarmed by the defiance her peers are showing, but that soon changes.

This is a timely book with activism and dissent as a central theme. Young people take learning into their own hands. When a government entity is telling you not to read something, it begs the questions, why? What does the government have to fear? And if they fear these books and words, they must be powerful.

Hyun Sook’s story is compelling and hard to look away from so it reads really quickly. This would be an excellent book to pair with the 2017 movie A Taxi Driver which features the Gwangju incident mentioned in this story. I had recently watched the movie and it helped to have that context since Korean history is not taught very thoroughly (meaning not at all) in U.S. schools. For readers unfamiliar with this time in South Korea’s history, some of the details may be a little confusing, but even then, readers will still be able to follow the storyline.

Recommendation: Banned Book Club has appeal for many, many readers. As a graphic novel memoir dealing with activism it’s sure to intrigue many. As a book celebrating the revolutionary act of reading, I’m guessing many book lovers will want to dive in. History fans will likely want to grab it too. And of course, those who keep asking for college aged characters may find this one to their liking. Get it soon! ...more

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Aug 27, 2019 Gabriel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-reviews

ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review

Banned Book Club is definitely a story of our time while being told about the past. In the political climate of today's world this is an incredible look back to a time of censorship and fascism in Korea. Hyun Sook is invited to join a banned book club and while apprehensive at first she realizes over time that being apathetic about politics can be more detrimental than not. Her and her friends use her colleges tools and clubs as means to secretly defy the ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Julia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, international, graphic-novels, nonfiction, south-korea

I started college in 1982, one year before Kim Hyun Sook. Our college experiences were totally different. On the other side of the world, she was working with fellow students to effect change in her country. Her story is amazing. The narrative was interesting and fast paced. I finished the book in a little over an hour. There is so much I never knew about the political situation in South Korea. This book really opened my eyes to a world so different from my own. It is a must-read, and I highly r ...more

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Jun 18, 2020 Briar's Reviews rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels, comics, non-fiction, comics-graphic-novels, netgalley, biography, historical, ya-obsessions, 80s, asian

Yay for another graphic novel to add to my list! One of my 2020 goals was increasing the amount of graphic novels I've read (and have on my shelves) and this book seemed perfect!

Our lead, Kim, goes off to college to learn bright and new things. Suddenly, she's found herself apart of a book club but not just any book club... it reads banned books, which is quite the scandal in South Korea during the 80s. This political true story is an incredible read and I think it's in the perfect format to te ...more

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Jun 13, 2020 Jessica Haider rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-about-books, netgalley, memoir, bipoc-author, graphic-novels

In this graphic novel memoir, Kim Hyun Sook tells of her time in college in South Korea in the 1980s. During this time there was much unrest and the college students frequently protested against corruption in the police force and the government. Hyun Sook was studying literature and a fellow student approached her about joining a banned book club. At first she was nervous about joining because students from another university had recently been arrested for being in a similar club. Many books tha ...more

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Dec 28, 2020 Sara rated it liked it

Shelves: non-american, semi-autobiographical, graphic-novel, political

And once again (hi Pachinko! hi Please Look After Mom!) I learn that I know next to nothing about South Korean history. ...more

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Jun 13, 2020 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphics-comics, npr2020, history

Not only was this wonderfully done, well told and illustrated, but I was pleased by how very timely the book seems still, as we ourselves are in the middle of protests. The specific time and place matter in this book--and it is a thing I did not know about at the time! But also the fear of police, the friendships bolstering courage, the need to keep fighting and even demonstrate in the future--all this seems very much like what we need to see today, and so does the choices of the young woman pro ...more

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May 28, 2020 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, fascist, south-korea, civil-unrest, civil-protests

This book takes a look at the corruption in South Korea in the 1980s, when the author was in college. Based on her life, but with peoples experiences and names moved around and mixed up, we get a good idea about what was going on in those times.

Yum Sook joins a banned book club, because reading banned books gives you a good idea what the authorities don’t want you to read about.

This looks at one year of her life, int he group, and what they’d I’d with their time, and how they help protests. At ...more

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May 14, 2020 Janis Kay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfic-bio, middle-grade, ya-lit, graphic-novel, arc-or-proof, older-ya-20-somethings, manwha

This was thrilling. I know almost nothing about South Korean history, save for the general stuff, and this has me itching to learn more about this crucial time period in their history. I generally new that student protests were commonplace back then, but I never knew that the South Korea that we know had a very uphill battle towards the democracy that they have now. Kim Hyun Sook is just your average university student when she gets swept up in a tidal force that helped shape her country into wh ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 delph ✨ rated it really liked it

Find my full review on my blog: here

An e-ARC was provided by the publisher through Edelweiss+ in exchange of an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.

There are a bunch of book I want people to read. First, the books I love so much and mean everything to me. Then, books like BANNED BOOK CLUB. I mean, it’s not my favorite book ever but it’s a book everybody should read because it’s an important one, because we should know more about history and what happened even if it didn’t h ...more

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Nov 14, 2019 Emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-bio-memoir, rep-poc, theme-law-justice-system-crime, theme-social-justice-activism, theme-politics, special-review-copy, rating-4-star, 2020-releases, collection-non-fiction, format-ebook

A quick but very affective read! Banned Book Club is a manhwa (Korean comic) memoir following Kim Hyun Sook, who began attending university in South Korea in 1983 intending to stick to studying, but got drawn into political protest through a banned book club instead.

Not knowing much about Korean history, all of the events contained in this book were new to me, but the authors did a great job of explaining the key points to understand the plot. The Korean political climate as shown here reminded ...more

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Apr 23, 2020 Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* rated it liked it

Shelves: advisable, graphic-novel, high-school

Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, 197 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Iron Circus Comics, 2020. $15.

Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

All Hyun Sook wants is to go to college and continue her education. With protests all over the campus, her mom tries to get her to stay home by saying it’s too dangerous to go. Nevertheless, Hyun Sook enrolls in classes and even looks into extracurricular activities -- ...more

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Feb 18, 2020 M.L. Little rated it really liked it

@kidlitexchange Partner: Banned Book Club by @ironcircus and @ryanestradadotcom. Releases TODAY! Happy book birthday! 📚 🎂
Banned Book Club is an autobiographical graphic novel (I’ve always loved that concept) by Kim Hyon Sook. Suitable for high school or college students, Banned Book Club describes Hyon Sook’s experiences as a college student during President Chun’s era in South Korea. A literature student, Hyon Sook quickly found herself swept up into the political fervor of college, joining a ...more

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About Kim Hyun Sook

Kim Hyun Sook

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Kim Hyun Sook was born in Changwon, South Korea. She became a member of a banned book club in the 1980s while studying English Language and Literature. She has co-written comics for websites including The Nib and Oh Joy Sex Toy and she translated Lady Rainicorn's dialogue for Adventure Time comics. She now runs a new banned book club in Busan, where she lives with her husband and her cat, Dog Baby ...more