Kim Young-ha returns with most intimate work yet

Kim Young-ha (Bokbok Seoga)

Star literary writer Kim Young-ha of “I Have the Right to Destroy Myself,” “Black Flower” and “Diary of a Murderer” has returned with his most “personal” work to date: a memoir-style essay collection titled “One Life Only.”

This is Kim's first essay collection in six years, since “Reasons for Travel,” which sold more than 600,000 copies here.

Drawn from and heavily revised from his 2024 subscription email newsletter “Young-ha’s Weather” (which can also be interpreted as “Below Freezing”), the collection signals a turning inward — toward memory, loss and the questions we ask when confronting the singularity of life.

“This is the kind of book a writer might only write once in a lifetime. And for me, I think this is that book,” said the 56-year-old author.

"One Life Only" by Kim Young-ha (Bokbok Seoga)

The book opens at the funeral of Kim's mother. She died after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s, and in the aftermath of her death, a long-held family secret comes to light. From there, Kim revisits early memories — his first hopes and disappointments with his father, as well as the “tender antagonism” and “ordinary hospitality” of his school days. Kim reflects on how these moments quietly shaped him.

The book asks: “How did I become who I am? And how should we live this one life we’ve been given?" “One Life Only” can be read as Kim’s attempt to put his answers down in ink and paper.

While Kim’s previous essay collections often leaned outward and focused on the present — travelogues like “The Reasons for Travel” or “A Long-Prepared Answer” — this memoir delves deeply into the past, the personal and the unresolved. Though episodes from his life have appeared in earlier works, this is the first time Kim fully places his own story at the center.