Translator: Joheun Lee
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
18-year-old Soop - stigmatized due to her brush with Akanta, which causes VR-rejection – is bullied at school for having to live solely in the real world. Her only solace comes from the K-Pop music she listens to on repeat. When a chance encounter brings Soop face-to-face with her idol, Yichae, a super-star whose new music video is being filmed at Soop's high school, she dares hope for a real connection.
But Yichae has her own troubles. She is one of the few remaining ‘real’ human idols. In a K-pop world where virtual stars dominate, Yichae is forced to live up to unattainable beauty and body standards, under the guise of being celebrated for her supposed authenticity.
The Forest Called You is a love letter to K-Pop, romance and high school politics – a novel about staying true to our passions and loving ourselves and each other in an increasingly artificial world.
“Klara and the Sun meets Mean Girls in this queer love letter to K-pop fandom from award-winning Korean writer-translator Amil, translated by Lee”
- The Bookseller, Books Spotlight“If you are a K-Pop fan, love a dystopian, want something that’s easy to read but still packs a punch, this could be the book for you!”
- ReadsBeforeBed, via Instagram
Translator: Joheun Lee
Genres: Fiction, Young Adult
18-year-old Soop - stigmatized due to her brush with Akanta, which causes VR-rejection – is bullied at school for having to live solely in the real world. Her only solace comes from the K-Pop music she listens to on repeat. When a chance encounter brings Soop face-to-face with her idol, Yichae, a super-star whose new music video is being filmed at Soop's high school, she dares hope for a real connection.
But Yichae has her own troubles. She is one of the few remaining ‘real’ human idols. In a K-pop world where virtual stars dominate, Yichae is forced to live up to unattainable beauty and body standards, under the guise of being celebrated for her supposed authenticity.
The Forest Called You is a love letter to K-Pop, romance and high school politics – a novel about staying true to our passions and loving ourselves and each other in an increasingly artificial world.
“Klara and the Sun meets Mean Girls in this queer love letter to K-pop fandom from award-winning Korean writer-translator Amil, translated by Lee”
- The Bookseller, Books Spotlight“If you are a K-Pop fan, love a dystopian, want something that’s easy to read but still packs a punch, this could be the book for you!”
- ReadsBeforeBed, via Instagram
Original Korean Publisher
Hubble (2023)
UK Publisher
Harvill (PRH)
Publication Date
June 4th, 2026
