As the main character in this story is about to turn 100, a nursing home worker offers her the opportunity to tell her life story. Thus begins 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster (Virago, 2023) by Mirinae Lee, a journey through the major events in Korean history from the Japanese occupation during World War II to the present day, which has earned praise from critics worldwide. With her decision to write a character who represents an entire generation of silenced and invisible women, Mirinae Lee shows us that literature is also a tool for making memories.

At Kosmopolis, Mirinae Lee talks with Manel Ollé, a writer and professor specialized in the history and culture of modern and contemporary China, to reflect on how the wounds of the past continue to shape South Korea’s cultural and political present, as well the taboos that still persist in the country.