Capitalists Must Starve : A novel (forthcoming)

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

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 October 2025 (UK & US)

• Extent: 216pp

• 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)