Photo by mel-eonni, April 2018 And so the virtuous cycle goes. This wise saying is literally carved in stone outside Kyobo Bookstore’s flagship location at the southern end of Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. Kyoto Books was founded in 1980 and has ten stores in seven South Korean cities.

I penned this letter to my sixteen-year-old self while editing an early draft of my debut novel, Our Fifth Season. It recounts my writer's journey up to that point. I read it on April 13, 2014, at the Women Writing Letters Series organized by the remarkable Tara Goldstein, Professor at the University of Toronto. Dancing on Gwangwhamun Plaza, Seoul 2012 - the woman in the centre is dressed as a gisaeng My dear Josée, What I remember most clearly about being sixteen is wonderin