‘A  stunning achievement’ TLS

‘Unforgettable’ Nguy?n Phan Qu? Mai, author of The Mountains Sing

As the Korean independence movement gathers pace, two children meet on the streets of Seoul. Fate will bind them through decades of love and war. They just don’t know it yet.

It is 1917, and Korea is under Japanese occupation. With the threat of famine looming, ten-year-old Jade is sold by her desperate family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school in the bustling city of Pyongyang. As the Japanese army tears through the country, she is forced to flee to the southern city of Seoul. Soon, her path crosses with that of an orphan named JungHo, a chance encounter that will lead to a life-changing friendship.

But when JungHo is pulled into the revolutionary fight for independence, Jade must decide between following her   own ambitions and risking everything for the one she loves.

Sweeping through five decades of Korean history, Juhea Kim’s sparkling debut is an intricately woven tale of love stretched to breaking point, and two people who refuse to let go.

‘Spectacular’ Lisa See, author of The Island of Sea Women

‘I loved it’ Brandon Hobson, author of The Removed

‘Unforgettable’ Nguy?n Phan Qu? Mai, author of The Mountains Sing

An epic story of love and war, set during the turbulent decades of Korea’s fight for independence

It is 1917, and Korea is under Japanese occupation; the country is yet to be divided into north and south. With the threat of famine looming, a young girl named Jade is sold by her family to Miss Silver’s courtesan school in cosmopolitan Pyongyang, an act of desperation that will cement her place in the lowest social class. But the city’s days as a haven are numbered.  

Jade flees to Seoul where she forms a deep friendship with an orphan boy called JungHo, who scrapes together a living begging on the streets. As Jade becomes a sought-after performer with unexpected romantic prospects, JungHo is swept up in the revolutionary fight for independence. Soon, Jade must decide between following her own ambitions or risking everyone for the one she loves.

From the perfumed chambers of the courtesan school to the glamorous cafés of a modernising Seoul, the unforgettable characters of Beasts of a Little Land unveil a world where friends become enemies and enemies become saviours, where heroes are persecuted and beasts take many shapes.