Crowdfunding for the 2026 First Kim Hak-cheol Literary Award Anthology

Hwang Jeong-eun, from “A Day Without Problems”

Young-in took the enamel cup to the sink in her studio apartment and rinsed it out. She set the cup down next to the grimy coffee maker that Manager Kim used to brew his coffee every morning and, without addressing anyone in particular, spoke to the people still in the office. “I just watered the money tree. You don’t need to water it for a while.” “Money tree?” Manager Kim asked if such a thing existed, then stood up and rubbed his face. Leaning his head in the direction Young-in was pointing, he went over to look at the plant. Section Chief Jeong, who had been staring at his monitor, also went over to join him.

Choi Jin-young, from “Uluru-Kata Tjuta”

And Hye-seong really did get that score. She’d never gotten a perfect score before. I was surprised and asked, “What? So you can get a perfect score if you set your mind to it?” Hye-seong just gave a meaningful smile. I saw Tae-hoon in that smile. Their smiling faces looked so much alike—not only that, but also Tae-hoon’s temperament, where he wasn’t particularly greedy but had to have whatever he wanted, and his keen interest in fashion. Hye-seong didn’t like being told she took after her dad. Whenever she heard that, her expression would harden. In that expression, too, I could see Tae-hoon. In any case, Hye-seong would grow up to be Hye-seong—a completely different person who resembled Tae-hoon.

Jeon Chun-hwa, from “Welcome to Villa”

That day, Hye-ju gently hinted at a future I hadn’t even imagined. She mentioned that many missionaries and pastors of small churches live in poverty their entire lives without any retirement savings, and she hinted at a shift in the Christian community—namely, that these days, many pastors’ wives are becoming working moms. “Ae-ryeong, you’ve lived in Korea for a long time. This society is set up so perfectly that it seems like an apartment is the only right answer. Living in a large apartment complex is synonymous with stability; it seems to reflect one’s social standing, and sometimes even becomes a source of self-esteem. A neat and tidy home can even shape how I feel. Reunification may be a distant prospect, but an apartment is something we need right now.”