Oxford Soju Club

A killing of a North Korean spymaster triggers a game of espionage involving Yohan Kim, a North Korean intelligence operative; Yunah Choi, a Korean American CIA agent stationed in Oxford; and Jihoon Lim, a Korean restaurateur who runs the Soju Club.

The natural enemy of a Korean is another Korean.

When North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is mysteriously killed in Oxford, his protege, Yohan Kim, chases the only breadcrumb given to him in Doha's last breath: "Soju Club, Dr. Ryu." In the meantime, a Korean American CIA agent , Yunah Choi, races to salvage her investigation of the North Korean spy cell in the aftermath of the assassination. At the centre of it all is the Soju Club, the only Korean restaurant in Oxford, owned by Jihoon Lim, an immigrant from Seoul in search of a new life after suffering a tragedy. As different factions move in with their own agendas, their fates become entangled, resulting in a bitter struggle that will determine whose truth will triumph.

Oxford Soju Club weaves a tale of how immigrants in the Korean diaspora are forced to create identities to survive, and how in the end, they must shed those masks and seek their true selves.

On top of crafting a clever spy thriller, Park uses its vernacular of shifting alliances, donned masks, and the training one undergoes to assimilate to deftly probe questions of diasporic identity and how we decide where we belong. Elaine U. Cho, author of Ocean's Godori
Wildly inventive, fast-paced, and glowing with heart, Oxford Soju Club is an unforgettable debut. A spy thriller interlacing the paths of three individuals embroiled in what threatens to become an international incident, with a breakneck plot and a poignant way of describing trying to exist between worlds and to carve a place of your own in between. Jinwoo Chong, author of Flux
Oxford Soju Club is a gripping spy thriller that, at its core, tackles fundamental questions of identity and our place in the world. Park writes with stark honesty, deftly unraveling the inner turmoil of those caught between duty and self. A wonderful debut. Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are The Best Part
A tangled trident of three intense storylines, Oxford Soju Club is more than a spy thriller. Exploring the limits of nationality, loyalty and race, Jinwoo Park’s debut invites important conversations surrounding Korean diasporic identity and belonging in a modern geopolitical world obsessed with national security. Jamie Chai Yun Liew, bestselling author of Dandelion
With a web of cunning characters and their murky pasts, one never knows who to trust in Oxford Soju Club. Jinwoo Park’s clever debut offers a fresh and propulsive examination of Korean identity. Eddy Boudel Tan, author of After Elias and The Rebellious Tide

Jinwoo Park's debut is sharp, and evocative, conjuring Oxford’s moody cobblestones and shadowed alleyways with cinematic clarity. The pacing is expertly calibrated, balancing kinetic action with contemplative depth. His reimagining of the spy novel favours psychological tension over bombast, more Le Carré than Bond, yet distinctly infused with the emotional gravity of diaspora narratives. It recalls the introspective weight of The Sympathizer and the emotional resonance of Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You. Oxford Soju Club marks Jinwoo Park as a literary voice to watch. This kicks the doors open for other Korean diasporic writers while raising the bar for genre-bending fiction that is as thrilling as it is thought-provoking. The spycraft will make you quickly turn the pages, but the richly crafted characters will linger well after the final page—a haunting, intelligent, and resonant read.

Oxford Soju Club is an astute examination of identity, diaspora, and longing cleverly masquerading as a spy thriller. Against the backdrop of political intrigue and covert espionage, Jinwoo Park peels back the layers on the many masks immigrants and those with multiple identities must contend with to form a kaleidoscopic picture of what it means to be Korean in today's modern world.

Oxford Soju Club is an intelligent, riveting, and poignant exploration, asking ‘what makes you who you are?’ and ‘do you determine your own identity?’ It’s a novel full of yearning, like the eponymous drink—but also, ultimately, of hope.

Spare in style but elaborate in design, Oxford Soju Club is both a classic tale of spy versus spy and a deep meditation on Korean immigrant identity. Through an intricate cast of characters, this penetrating debut novel asks how each of us might shed our assigned aliases and throw ourselves into "the waves of life." Jinwoo Park is a writer to watch.

Oxford Soju Club glitters with ferocious intelligence and propulsive action, as it is both a fast-paced spy-thriller and disarming exploration of the Korean diaspora. With bold confidence, Park offers readers a fresh and cerebral perspective that explores the existential and physical unmoorings of three very disparate characters. Asian diasporic literature is often reduced to stereotypes, tropes, and trauma, but Park skillfully reinvents the genre, with his masterful storytelling and meticulous prose. The novel’s themes are certainly dark, but this is a highly original and page-turning tale that grapples with the thornier aspects of identity, loyalty, duty, patriotism, and survival in perilous times.

Fast-moving and dexterous, Oxford Soju Club is an innovative espionage story that exposes the boundaries of assimilation, diaspora, and loyalty, and what we do to survive.

Oxford Soju Club kicks the doors open for other Korean diaspora writers while raising the bar for genre-bending fiction that is as thrilling as it is thought-provoking. The spycraft keeps the pages turning, but it is the richly crafted characters who will stay with you long after the final chapter. This is a haunting, intelligent, and resonant read.

Jinwoo Park is a Korean Canadian writer based in Montreal. He completed a master's in creative writing at the University of Oxford. In 2021, he won the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award. He is also a literary translator and received the LTI Korea Translation Award for Aspiring Translators in 2023. Oxford Soju Club is his debut novel.

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