Jang Ryujin, translated by Sean Lin Halbert
To the Moon
“This modern-day fairy tale is centred on a very modern-day premise: the rollercoaster world of cryptocurrency”
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025
In Seoul, three women in their thirties meet while working mundane jobs at a snack manufacturer. They become fast friends, taking their conversations out of the group chat as they bond over their 'average' employee report cards, the incompetence of their male team leader, and a mutual longing for financial freedom amid mediocre raises.
Eun-sang, the eldest of the group, is always looking for ways to earn extra money, but faces trouble at work after she opens a mini mart at her desk.
Jisong, the youngest, dreams of a perfect romance with her Taiwanese boyfriend and spends her low salary on trips to Taipei.
Meanwhile, Dahae is struggling to support her injured mother, and searches endlessly for a better apartment she can actually afford.
One day over lunch, Eun-sang announces a plan to make enough money to quit her job, by investing her life's savings in cryptocurrency. What's more, she thinks the others should join her. All they need to do, she says, is hold on tight and wait for the price to skyrocket – to the moon. But as the market begins to fluctuate and spiral out of their control, the fate of their friendships – and their futures – soon hangs in the balance.
The bestselling South Korean phenomenon, To the Moon is a bittersweet tale of wealth and class, female friendship, and the promise of the future when good fortune seems to be just around the corner.
About the Author
Jang Ryujin has a BA in Sociology from Yonsei University and later studied Korean Literature at Dongguk University. She worked in the IT industry for eight years before writing full-time. In 2018, she won the prestigious Changbi Prize for new Figures in Literature with her acclaimed short story The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, and her 2019 debut collection went on to sell over 140,000 copies in Korea. To the Moon is her first novel.
About the Translator
Sean Lin Halbert is a PhD candidate in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University where he received his MA in modern Korean literature. He received his BA in Korean language from the University of Washington. He is a recipient of the 2018 GKL Translation Award, the 2018 LTI Korea Award for Aspiring Translators, and the 2018 Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Award. His translations have appeared in Azalea and Guernica. His major translations include Kim Un-su’s The Cabinet and Ewhan Kim’s The Black Orb. He lives in Seoul with his wife and daughter and teaches at LTI Korea Translation Academy.
