[Books] Honmono
Products to buy together
"Why watch Netflix? Just read a book or do something productive."
— Words recommended by actor Park Jung-min
“This novel house is a party of ‘immersion.’ Just look at the cover of the book by Seong Hye-na.”
- Actor Na Kyung-min
2024-2025 Young Writers Award, Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award Outstanding Work Award,
Included in This Season’s Award-Winning Short Stories Collection
Now the most vivid and hottest name, Seong Hye-na’s powerful world
[Image: Cover of the book "Honmono" showing a halved fruit, one half white, the other red]
Honmono
“It no longer matters.
Whether it is a masterpiece, forgery, imitation, repetition,
or something in between real and fake.”
What is real and what is fake?
In this boundary, “Honmono” stands.
A story weaving without rest,
The arrival of a story with a new dimension and tone,
An intense and compelling single volume novel.
He used to call himself a man who looked inward deeply.
Now he is a person who opens a new path at the edge.
“Honmono”
2024 Young Writers Award, Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award Winner,
2023 Literary Prize Winner
‘A novel that unraveled the mystery of authenticity and fake’
A cleanly written and captivating novel,
so it does not feel exhausting even while reading.
“Kilt Green: A Story of Unknown Youth” was also chosen as a strong work of this season’s novel.
2025 Literary Award Winner
Author: Seong Hye-na
“I want to introduce what I read recently.
If you have a chance, please read it together.”
‘Spoon’
2025 This Season’s Novel
Author: Cha Tae-il / From the book ‘Long Distance Drive’
The most threatening sensibility created by intertwining harsh reality,
Conflict and uncertainty of life, and the psychology of fate.
“Green Power: Thanksgiving 98 Years Later,” the first novel by Park Seung-Ah, winner of the Munhakdongne Literary Award, a brilliant debut in the literary world,
Is a story to be remembered in Korea’s modern literary history.
It is a story driven by a problem without fraud or forgery.
Park Seung-Ah strongly rejects simple categorization of true or false.
He expresses the boundaries of truth and fake through a story filled with suspense and mystery.
“Once you pass the line, you won’t come back,”
You have to ask yourself what it really means to be authentic. This is the essence of “Honmono.”
[Translator’s note: “Honmono” is a Japanese word meaning “genuine” or “authentic.”]
“When the end is near, I no longer stop,”
She is an advanced nature among storytellers,
Unabashedly blaming human mistakes and even challenging fate.
“Unstoppable and sharp,”
Park Seung-Ah writes with subtle tension and strong willpower.
“If I lost my mind, if I were really tired, it would be hard to finish the story.”
‘Interval’
Writer Seong Hye-na’s service that makes the world vivid
Her writing does not falter and dives into the question of reality.
Her method is very sophisticated and yet can be blunt.
‘Red,’
By Choi Seon, author of ‘The Invisible Fish’ and ‘Night Sky’
Words of Recommendation
This short story collection is filled with sharp language and intense passion.
The unshakable psychological descriptions and subtle literary skills flourish with richness.
(…)
The selected writers skillfully lead the readers through a world of profound experience and artistic exploration.
- Na Kyung-min (Actor)
Words from the Author
This collection embraces the fragility and beauty of everyday life, revealing the hidden stories within the folds of daily existence.
My hope is that each reader will find a piece of themselves in these pages and feel connected to the shared human experience.
[Image: Photograph of author Seong Hye-na sitting at a table, looking at something off-camera in a thoughtful pose]
Books by Seong Hye-na, the book witch
For all humanity’s hearts and souls
“A Distant Summer” — A novel set in the countryside
“Honmono” — A novel by Seong Hye-na
What is real and what is fake?
Book Introduction
The author Seong Haena, who has been receiving attention from both critics and readers for her unique characters and intense yet cool narrative based on meticulous research and intricate structure, presents her second collection of short stories, "Hommono," paving the way for a new generation of realism.
In her first collection of short stories, "Walking in the Light" (Munhakdongne 2022), she captures the attempt to understand others with a gentle and warm perspective, and in her debut novel, "The Summer I Left Behind" (Changbi 2023), she sought to send a heartfelt greeting to a past stained by misunderstandings and breakups. With "Hommono," she delves into various boundaries that divide us—such as region, politics, and generations—through a more acute awareness of issues and an engaging narrative, vividly illustrating the landscape of contemporary society.
In particular, this collection includes the title piece "Hommono," which has been constantly mentioned and has swept the literary scene last year, as well as "Guilty Club: Petting the Tiger," which awarded the author the Young Artist Award for two consecutive years, and "Smooth," which was selected as a novel of the season and a significant novel of the year, drawing even more attention. As the author is referred to as having "divine inspiration" (recommendation, Lee Gi-ho), "Hommono," shining with "envy-inducing talent" (recommendation, Park Jeong-min), embodies the long-awaited future of Korean literature that has just arrived before us.
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Review
Some reviews contain AI-generated translations.
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