Fiction. Southeast Asia Studies. Melanie Steyn's new novella, ONCE AROUND THE SUN, marks a rare and insightful attempt by a foreign writer to recreate characters and lives in Korea's most intimate social unit: thefamily. Published at the end of September this year by English-language publisher Seoul Selection, ONCE AROUND THE SUN takes place in a seaside village in southwestern Korea's Jeollanam-do Province. It introduces the family of Yi Chang-joon, a fisherman; his wife, Yun-hwa; their daughter and son, Ji-young and Dong-ju; and Chang-joon's mother, Kyu-ah. In the course of the book's four chapters, each one relating to one of the four seasons, Steyn introduces episodes in the lives of each family member with the exception of Chang-joon himself. One year thus passes, and the earth revolves once around the sun.

Author City: Sunchon KOR

Melanie Susan Steyn was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1945. Her mother was an actress until she married, and her father was a politician who later became South Africa's ambassador to the United Kingdom during the apartheid era. She grew up within the dichotomy of a loving family and the detestable system, which she argued and battled against. She mostly chose to teach English to people of color, avoiding the comfortable white "club" offered by the system of job reservation. Melanie wrote plays for community theater and a youth novel, Theo and Blikskottel. Melanie came to Korea in 2002 and now teaches in the Department of English Education at Suncheon National University. Her eldest son is also teaching English in the South Jeolla Province, and she has two sons in Cape Town.

Reviews and Other Links
Claire Lee in The Korea Herald
Chung Ah-young in The Korea Times