Where Destiny and History Meet

Nestled at the convergence of three world superpowers—Russia, China, and Japan—is the fabled Korean Peninsula. The region has a history that spans millennia. Stone artifacts extracted from archaeological sites across the peninsula show habitation as early as the Paleolithic period. Bronze wares and pottery from different periods have also been discovered throughout the region, signifying continued habitation. According to the mythic account in the Samguk Yusa (1281), the Gojoseon (Old Joseon) kingdom was founded in the Taedong River basin, in the northern part of the peninsula, in 2333 BCE. Gojoseon developed into a league of tribes around the Taedong and Liao rivers in the fourth century BCE. Around 194 BCE, Wiman, said to have defected from China, became ruler of Gojoseon. Wiman’s Gojoseon was overthrown by the Han conquest of Gojoseon and replaced by four Chinese colonies in 108 BCE.

Other tribal states also developed in different parts of Korea. Buyeo rose in the Sungari River basin of Manchuria, while Jin emerged south of the Han River in the second century BCE and later split into three tribal states—Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan. These states then formed leagues stretching from the Sungari basin to the southern Korean Peninsula. These leagues, or tribal federations, centered on a leading state and eventually evolved into three rival kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Legend has it that Goguryeo was founded by Chumo in 37 BCE, Baekje by Onjo in 18 BCE, and Silla by Bak Hyeokgeose in 57 BCE. Actual state-building, however, began for Goguryeo under King Taejo (reigned 53–146 CE), for Baekje under King Koi (reigned 234–286), and for Silla under King Naemul (reigned 356–402). Together, they would comprise the renowned Three Kingdoms of Korea.

These three kingdoms were eventually united by Silla in 676. With China’s support, Silla conquered and subjugated Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668. The Silla kingdom then drove out the Chinese by 676 and gained sole control of the Korean Peninsula. This set the tone for the rest of the peninsula’s checkered history, as power passed from one dynasty to another. The most prominent dynasty was the Joseon (Yi) dynasty, which ruled from 1392 until the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. Hanyang, now Seoul, was made the capital. In the contemporary period, the most seminal historical event on the peninsula was its division after the Second World War. The northern region was protected by the USSR, while the southern section came primarily under United States protection. In 1948, after negotiations for a unified government failed, the partition resulted in the modern states of North and South Korea.

Everyone dreams, but only some people are dreamers. The non-dreamers, by far more numerous, are those who see the world as it is. Then there are the few dreamers, who see the world as they are. The moon, the river, the train station, the sound of rain, and even something as mundane as porridge become something else with many layers. The world feels like an oil painting rather than a photograph, and the dreamers are forever seeing hidden colors where others just see the top shade. The nondreamers look through glasses, and the dreamers through a prism.

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land

It is to this once-troubled region that Juhea Kim transports the readers in her debut novel, Beasts of a Little Land. The novel commences in 1917, when a starving hunter, Nam KyungSoo, stalked what he believed was a leopard through the mountains of PyongAhn province. However, what he tracked was not a leopard, but a young tiger. He was then reminded of a caveat his father gave him. He was never to kill a tiger unless it attacked first. When he descended, he collapsed in the snow. He was found and revived by a young Japanese officer named Captain Yamada Genzo. Captain Yamada was part of a hunting trip headed by Major Hayashi. However, they got lost. As payback for reviving him, Kyungsoo guided the Japanese soldiers down the mountain. When a tiger charged, he drove it off with his command. Back in safety, Yamada argued for KyungSoo’s release. He also privately handed over an engraved silver cigarette case and told him to use it if he ever needed help.

Kyungsoo’s story, however, serves merely as a prelude to the larger narrative, though both he and the Japanese soldiers reappear later in the novel. A year after this fateful encounter, ten-year-old Jade is brought by her impoverished mother to the Pyongyang household of Silver, a celebrated courtesan, or gisaeng, who trains young women in the traditional arts. Gisaengs occupy one of the lowest social classes in Korean society, yet they are highly trained in fan dancing, music, poetry, art, and literature. Silver agrees to take Jade as an apprentice for fifty won, and Jade’s mother accepts, knowing that the payment could transform the family’s fortunes. When her mother departs, it is with the tacit understanding that Jade must never return home. In her new environment, Jade befriends Lotus, Silver’s cheerful younger daughter. Lotus’s older sister, Luna, is a striking beauty.

The courtesan school, however, is unlicensed, and the threat of a raid by Japanese officers looms constantly over the household. Inevitably, the raid occurs. The school’s fragile harmony is shattered by violence, leaving fifteen-year-old Luna pregnant with Major Hayashi’s child. When her pregnancy is confirmed, Silver’s cousin Dani—a renowned Seoul courtesan kept by a powerful Japanese judge—takes all three girls to the capital. On that same day, a twelve-year-old orphan named Nam Jungho arrives in Seoul. Jungho is Kyungsoo’s son. After his father dies of starvation, he flees his village so that his older sister can accept a marriage proposal that excludes him. He carries with him his father’s cigarette case and his mother’s silver ring, both of which serve as talismans. Soon after arriving in Seoul, he joins a band of street children and defeats their leader to assume command.

Dani soon becomes entangled in a love triangle. Lee Myungbo, an independence activist, enlists Dani’s help in 1919 to rally Seoul’s courtesan guilds in support of the resistance movement. Political activism is nothing new to Dani. During their time in Pyongyang, Silver had secretly funneled money from courtesans to independence fighters abroad. In Seoul, Dani persuades her former lover, the publisher Kim Sungsoo, to print ten thousand copies of the Korean Declaration of Independence. On March 1, a massive peaceful demonstration erupts across the city, only to be violently suppressed by Japanese troops armed with rifles and swords. Dani is arrested but later released through the influence of her patron, the Japanese judge who keeps her as his mistress. Myungbo, meanwhile, becomes disillusioned by the Americans’ passive response to the massacre of students during the peaceful protests. He is eventually imprisoned and tortured.

Perhaps this was why her mother had warned against the corruptive power of education-even without any man in sight, language itself seduced her. She fluttered with the knowledge that certain words in a certain order could rearrange her on the inside, like moving furniture. Words changed and remade her constantly, and no one else could even sense a difference.

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land

As fate would have it, Jade and Jungho meet and quickly become friends. Their friendship blossoms amid a period of political upheaval. However, fate soon intervenes. When Dani discovers that Jade has given Jungho a silk comforter, she forbids further contact between them, and their lives diverge. At the same time, both characters become increasingly aware of the harsh realities surrounding them. Each encounters the different “beasts” that roam the streets of Korea. Jade eventually rises to become a courtesan of growing renown. During a benefit performance, her sword dance, combined with Lotus’s singing, earns standing ovations, and a theater director offers the pair starring roles. Meanwhile, Jungho falls under the mentorship of Myungbo, who has by then become a committed Communist. As the story unfolds, the novel traces the emotional and ideological growth of its two protagonists. The lingering question remains whether fate will once again bring the two childhood friends together.

Beasts of a Little Land ultimately emerges as a coming-of-age story centered on Jungho and Jade, both of whom are forced to forge their own paths during a period of immense national upheaval. Born into the lower rungs of society, they endure tremendous hardship before finally gaining the opportunity to pursue their destinies. In doing so, the novel highlights Kim’s exploration of inyeon (인연), a profound Korean philosophical concept concerning destiny and human connection. Inyeon suggests that human lives and encounters are preordained, linked by invisible karmic threads that extend across generations. The novel vividly demonstrates how even small acts of kindness can ripple through time. Kyungsoo’s encounter with the Japanese soldiers serves as one example, as the silver cigarette case given to him by Yamada later becomes a lifesaving object. At the same time, the novel suggests that betrayal and cruelty likewise return in karmic fashion.

In keeping with the concept of inyeon, the characters’ lives repeatedly intersect, separate, and weave back together over the course of more than half a century. This becomes particularly compelling because the characters come from vastly different social backgrounds: courtesans, intellectuals, politicians, street criminals, and revolutionaries. As the narrative progresses, it becomes clear that the novel is as much about survival as it is about suffering. The story begins with a hunter desperately searching for food to sustain his family while battling starvation and hypothermia in an unforgiving landscape. This opening establishes the tone for the rest of the novel. Those who come after him, including his son, must navigate drastic shifts in both society and social status. Each character is compelled to make difficult choices to survive. Upward mobility itself often pushes them to the brink. Yet because kindness and cruelty alike frequently return in karmic fashion, social capital becomes a valuable currency in a deeply unequal world.

The characters’ individual struggles for survival also function as microcosms of Korea’s broader struggle for national survival. The story of Jungho and Jade unfolds alongside the story of a nation yearning to free itself from the forces that have long kept it shackled. As they pursue their own survival, the characters must also navigate sweeping political, social, and economic transformations. Kim paints a vivid portrait of Korea under Japanese occupation, a society ravaged by brutality, hunger, and political upheaval. These conditions ultimately drive Jungho to evolve from a petty criminal into a revolutionary. He devotes himself to the dangerous struggle for Korean independence, embodying the larger fight against oppression and colonialism.

He never blamed his circumstances or thought regretfully about the past. He was like an empty vessel, but in the best way: it was true he didn’t hold a lot of knowledge, but his mind was free to flow in whatever direction, and he didn’t nurture pain. Whatever he did keep permanently, Jade was certain that he would protect firmly in the bottom of his jangdok pot. He might never fling himself far from where he’d landed, Jade thought, but he would nonetheless be happy for the simple reason that he refused to be caged.

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land

Danger, however, is not unique to Jungho. Throughout the novel, bonds formed through hardship emerge repeatedly. Jade, for her part, confronts a different set of dangers. Her rapid ascent as an elite performer exposes her to the societal expectations imposed upon women. In this respect, the novel subtly explores gender dynamics and social dichotomies. The tiger hunt that opens the novel unleashes its masculine energy, while much of its feminine power emanates from the courtesan houses. This contrast subtly underscores the struggles women faced during the era. Not only are they expected to conform to rigid social expectations, but they must also contend with deeply patriarchal structures. Significantly, the fight for independence is often associated with men. Women such as Jade frequently find themselves forced to weigh love against ambition and personal safety, while men are rarely confronted with the same dilemma.

Beyond serving as a source of masculine energy, the tiger also emerges as one of the novel’s most powerful recurring symbols. On one level, the tiger represents the many different “beasts” the characters must confront throughout their lives. On another, it carries a deeper symbolic connection to Korea itself. The tiger comes to embody both the spirit of the nation and the dream of a unified Korea—powerful, elusive, and enduring. According to Korean mythology, the Korean people descended from tigers. Ironically, however, tigers were systematically hunted during this era, leading to their tragic decline. This decline parallels Korea’s own loss of sovereignty and fragmentation under colonial rule. The symbolism reaches its climax during the Second World War, when the last Korean tiger is killed. Metaphorically, this moment shatters any lingering hope that Korea might once again become fully unified.

Beasts of a Little Land is ultimately a sweeping epic told through the intertwined lives of characters bound together by inyeon. Through Jungho and Jade, along with the novel’s rich cast of secondary characters, Kim captures the beauty of human connection and the invisible threads that bind lives together. As the characters come of age, so too does Korea itself. The novel offers a vivid and compelling portrait of a nation struggling to rise from the ashes of colonialism and war. Nevertheless, Kim occasionally leaves noticeable narrative gaps. Because the story frequently leaps forward in time, certain historical developments feel abbreviated, requiring readers to fill in the missing details themselves. Even so, Beasts of a Little Land remains a captivating work and a searing literary debut that powerfully depicts resilience, survival, and the enduring struggle to rise above circumstance—much like the story of modern Korea itself.

The concept of a nation is a pure construct. It serves to hold up our reality, we need it for government et cetera, but it is neither self-evident nor natural, and becomes more meaningless when you think of it in historical context. For all of human history, nations have been destroyed, absorbed into others, reborn, or forgotten, and that makes no difference to the well-being of the posterity.

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land
Book Specs

Author: Juhea Kim
Publisher: ECCO
Publishing Date: 2022 (2021)
No. of Pages: 399
Genre: Historical, Magical Realism

Synopsis

In 1917, deep in the snowy mountains of occupied Korea, an impoverished local hunter on the brink of starvation saves a young Japanese officer from a tiger attack, instantly connecting their fates in a saga that spans half a century.

In the aftermath, a young girl named Jade is sold to Madame Silver’s courtesan school, cementing her place in the lowest social status, where she befriends JungHo, an orphan who begs on the streets of Seoul. As they come of age, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence, and Jade becomes a sought-after performer with a new romantic prospect of noble birth. Soon Jade must decide where she will risk everything for the one who would do the same for her.

Immersive and elegant, Beasts of a Little Land unveils a world where friends become enemies, enemies become saviors, heroes are persecuted, and beasts take many shapes.

About the Author

Juhea Kim was born on May 9, 1987, in Incheon, South Korea. When she was nine, her family moved to Portland, Oregon. She attended Valley Catholic School in Beaverton, Oregon, before pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Art and Archaeology at Princeton University. Her fiction, nonfiction, and journalism have appeared in prestigious publications such as Granta, The Guardian, Slice, Zyzzyva, Catapult, Times Literary Supplement, Joyland, Shenandoah, Guernica, Sierra Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, Catamaran, The Independent, and Portland Monthly, among others. Her translation of the Yi Sang Award-winning author Choi In-Ho was published in Granta.

In 2013, she founded Peaceful Dumpling, an online magazine covering sustainable lifestyle and ecological literature. She has received fellowships from numerous organizations, such as Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and Arizona State University. She also taught a class on ecological fiction as a 2020 Desert Nights Rising Stars Fellow at Arizona State University. She has also given lectures at Seoul National University, UC Berkeley, Cambridge University, Yonsei University, the American University of Paris, the University of São Paulo, and UNESCO, among others.

In 2022, Kim published her long-awaited debut novel, Beasts of a Little Land. It was a finalist for the 2022 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. It won the 2024 Yasnaya Polyana Award, the largest annual literary prize in Russia, awarded by the Leo Tolstoy Museum-Estate. Her second novel, City of Night Birds, was published in 2024. In 2025, she published A Love Story from the End of the World, her first collection of short stories. She has donated a portion of the worldwide proceeds of Beasts of a Little Land to the Phoenix Fund. She has also been donating associated royalties and prize money to tiger and leopard conservation through the Korean Tiger Leopard Conservation Fund 한국범보전기금. Meanwhile, a portion of the worldwide proceeds of City of Night Birds is donated to Caritas Somalia.

She is based in London and Portland, Oregon. 

It’s an uncanny thing – inyeon. If it’s not meant to be, you can’t hold on to people no matter how hard you try. Some people you love deeply will turn into a stranger in an instant, if the inyeon has run its course. And sometimes people will be attached to you forever despite all likelihood.

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land