Simple Heart - by Cho Haejin (Paperback)

About the Book

"In this moving exploration of dual identities reminiscent of Past Lives, a Korean writer's pregnancy raises questions about her own childhood abandonment. Nana, a Korean playwright, was adopted as a child by a French couple. Before she was Nana, she was Esther Pak, a girl growing up in a Korean orphanage. And before she was Esther Pak, she was Munju, an infant abandoned on the railway tracks of Cheongnyangni station in Seoul. Pregnant with the child of her ex-boyfriend, Nana receives a request from a Korean filmmaker who wishes to make a documentary about her life. Following a sudden compulsion to learn more about her own roots, she heads to Seoul as she prepares to bring a new life into the world. There, through unexpected encounters, the dark threads of her memory gradually begin to unravel. Simple Heart delves into profound questions about identity and belonging, with a focus on family connections and motherhood that recalls Kyung-Sook Shin's Please Look After Mother. It also shines a necessary light on issues such as international adoption and the historic US military presence in Korea"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

In this moving exploration of dual identities reminiscent of Past Lives, a Korean writer's pregnancy raises questions about her own childhood abandonment.

Nana, a Korean playwright, was adopted as a child by a French couple. Before she was Nana, she was Esther Pak, a girl growing up in a Korean orphanage. And before she was Esther Pak, she was Munju, an infant abandoned on the railway tracks of Cheongnyangni station in Seoul.

Pregnant with the child of her ex-boyfriend, Nana receives a request from a Korean filmmaker who wishes to make a documentary about her life. Following a sudden compulsion to learn more about her own roots, she heads to Seoul as she prepares to bring a new life into the world. There, through unexpected encounters, the dark threads of her memory gradually begin to unravel.

Simple Heart delves into profound questions about identity and belonging, with a focus on family connections and motherhood that recalls Kyung-Sook Shin's Please Look After Mom. It also shines a necessary light on issues such as international adoption and the historic US military presence in Korea.

Review Quotes

Praise for I Met Loh Kiwan

"Cho's novella moves beyond ideological bifurcations and the Korean peninsula to offer a compelling meditation on human suffering, empathy, and desire...this is a must-read for anyone interested in the exciting world of contemporary Korean literature." --Theodore Hughes, Columbia University

"Cho has created an idealized vision of the North Korean refugee around whom is organized a quest for truth and authenticity in human relations. Her work is both captivating and moving." --Janet Poole, University of Toronto

About the Author

Cho Haejin began her writing career through the literary magazine Munye Joongang in 2004, after receiving an MA in Korean Literature from Ewha Womans University. Since then, she has won several important literary awards in South Korea, including the Shin Dong-yup Prize for Literature, Yi Sang Literary Award, Daesan Literary Award, and Hyeongpyeong Literary Prize. Her novels are celebrated for bearing testimony to the existence and lives of those on the margins of Korean society. Her other novels include My Name Is Loh Kiwan, a film adaptation of which was released on Netflix in 2024.

Jamie Chang is an award-winning literary translator. Her translation of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was long-listed for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature. She is the recipient of the Daesan Foundation Translation Grant and a three-time recipient of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea Grant. She lives in Ontario, Canada.