Capitalists Must Starve : A novel

by Park Seolyeon / translated from korean by anton hur

Winner of Hankyoreh Literature Award 

Set against the backdrop of Japanese-occupied Korea, Capitalists Must Starve follows a sharp-tongued, big-hearted heroine who dares to love, rebel, and carve out space for working-class women in a world determined to silence them. Echoing the unflinching narratives of Alias Grace and the sweeping historical vision of Pachinko, this feminist historical novel balances raw grit with unexpected tenderness and a defiant streak of dark humour.

A stirring portrait of resistance from below: fierce, funny, and full of fight.

praise

‘The exuberant, self-determined protagonist who worked, fought, and loved, captivates readers the whole time.’ —Seo Young-In, literary critic

‘World-class translator and author Anton Hur delivers an intelligent, edifying, razor-fine translation of Park Seolyeon’s Capitalists Must Starve. Park’s feminist historical novel, set during Japanese-occupied Korea, urges us to look closely at the words Heinz Insu Fenkl has expressed: “Even when the possibility of death is real, approaching your fear, embracing it, hoping someone might be able to use your dead body as a stepping-stone to move forward toward freedom.” Park dares to ask this century’s most critical socio-political, economic, and ethical questions. This novel is a part of Korean history that is vital to Americans, and a global consciousness. Among the piercing cicadas, the winds of West Gando, a bellyful of gunpowder, a rubber factory, the taste of chestnut, one feels the pounding hearts of the mothers, daughters, and wives of Korea.’ —E. J. Koh, author of The Liberators

‘Hur’s taut, masterful translation wisely refuses to pander to what anglophone readers might not know, but maintains the brittle tension of Seolyeon’s spare prose, and brilliantly succeeds in conjuring a time, a place and a movement and a pioneering activist who became a catalyst for change from within her cell.’ —Frank Wynne, The Irish Times

‘It’s a story that can find comparisons the world over through the struggle for humane working conditions within the unrelenting capitalist machine.’ —Rachel Brittain, Book Riot

‘A thrilling, pugnacious and impossibly inspiring historical novel about a young woman who becomes a 'modern girl' and workers' tribune, and a scourge of Japanese colonialism and Korean capitalism - a strike leader hailed by awe-filled intellectuals as the 'Korean Kollontai'. A novel to send shivers down the spine of anyone who has ever been called 'comrade' by somebody who has really meant it.’ —Owen Hatherley, The Alienation Effect - how Central European Emigres Transformed the British Twentieth Century

’Elevated by Anton Hur’s masterful translation, Capitalists Must Starve is a blistering saga of Kang Juryong, one of the most remarkable women of 20th-century Korea. With a voice as bold, energetic, and indomitable as its heroine, Park Seolyeon composes a battle hymn for the oppressed, echoing across time to remind us that against cruelty and injustice, the only answer is to fight with all our heart. Fearless and uncompromising, the novel strikes with the force of a clenched fist.’ —Jinwoo Park, author of Oxford Soju Club

‘With fierce and unflinching prose, Park Seolyeon tells the story of a Korean woman born to fight: against the occupation of her land, against the exploitation of her people, against repeated blows and losses of those she loves. Shining a light on Korean resistance against the Japanese as well as the union movement among Pyongyang factory workers, this exquisitely restrained novel is a visceral reminder to readers that for those stripped of everything, the spirit to fight with one’s life is the most dignified, heart-wrenching possession that remains.’ —Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West

for A Magical Girl Retires:

‘As a millennial and lover of all things magical girls, I adored this celebration of all things magical girl and how they might play out in the real world. The illustrations by Kim Sanho took me back to all of my favorite manga I read growing up. This one was such a fun read.’ —Book Riot 

‘A weird, delightful little book, simultaneously grim and breezy…A very entertaining read.’ —Locus

‘Park pictures a world on the brink of collapse, with no one paying the price—and shows what it might take for a millennial to not only survive, but to capture her own dreams and make her life worth living.’ —Den of Geek 'Best Books of 2024'

contributors’ details

Born in 1989 in Cherwon, Park Seolyeon made her debut winning the Silcheon Munhak New Writers Prize in 2015 for her short story “Mickey Mouse Club.” Her books include the novels The Job of Marta, The Shirley Club, A Magical Girl Retires, Project V and Capitalists Must Starve, which won the 2018 Hankyoreh Literature Prize, as well as the story collections My Hormones Made Me Do It, Your Mom’s the Better Player, and Me, Me, Madeline. Her stories have been translated into Japanese, French, German, and English. She lives in Seoul, South Korea.

Anton Hur was born in Stockholm. He is the author of Toward Eternity and has been nominated for the International Booker Prize, the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Dublin Literary Award for his various translations including Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park and A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon. He lives in Seoul.

more information

• Publication date: 7 (US) & 21 (UK) October 2025

• Extent: 224pp

• Format: B-format paperback (198mm × 129mm)

• Rights held: WEL

• ISBNs: 978-1-917126-21-2 (paperback) / 978-1-917126-22-9 (ebook)

• Price: £14.99 | $16.95 US (paperback) / £7.99 (ebook)