Krys Lee Book Reading at What The Book?


On a warm early summer evening I joined some friends for a book reading at What The Book?, in Itaewon. There the author Krys Lee shared a few stories and thoughts from her book, "Drifting House." I mostly came to the event because it was something different to go to, from the usual line up of weekly things to do. I didn't know who this author was, but was interested anyways.


Krys Lee was born in Seoul yet raised in California and Washington. This book of hers portrays stories of Korean immigrants who come from North Korea or head outside of the Korean peninsula. The stories in her book have been called dark, and she even mentioned this herself.

The stories she selected for reading dealt with an arranged marriage and also the experiences one have when reuniting with family. During the Q & A session I could tell she spent a lot of time thinking about the issues surrounding the hardships of refugees from North Korea. She mentioned having many friends who were North Korean defectors.


I didn't pick up a copy of her book, but you can if you like on your next visit to What The Book?. Altogether, it was a fun event to attend and from what I hear there aren't many book readings at this site. I think it would be nice to have this more often, even it were in Korean.