On this episode of Everything is Canon, Steve talks to Sarah Suk all about her debut novel Made in Korea which is a rival-to-lovers story about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens, Valeria Kwon and Wes Jung, who butt heads while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.
Here’s the summary…
There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.
Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…
What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.
Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.
But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.
Teen drama is definitely a big part of this book, but at the heart of Made in Korea is family, and how we don’t get to choose who we are related to, but we find ways to love them, nonetheless. Sarah’s love of her culture also shines very bright as she deals with Korean diaspora with a thoughtfulness and emotional resonance.
Steve and Sarah talk about the excitement of releasing a debut novel, Korean culture and her work with the non-profit group Liberty in North Korea, how this book almost went down a different path, Made in Korea of course, and much, much more.
To order a copy of Made in Korea or find out more information about Sarah Suk, click HERE!
To find out more information about the non-profit group Liberty in North Korea, click HERE!
