Art on Fire

Yun Ko-eun (trans. Lizzie Buehler)

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

‘The forces pitched against Yona reveal their true scale and monstrosity in a frothy-seeming satire that, in the end, shreds the very idea of commerce to bleeding tatters. I’d say this was a perfect short novel for reading on the beach, but given what’s in store ...’

Simon Ings, The Times

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

‘Throughout The Disaster Tourist, there is a sense of impending catastrophe, of something huge and uncontrollable swallowing up those who spend their lives packaging, controlling, and creating these macabre tours ... Phenomenal.’

The Spectator

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**Praise for The Disaster Tourist:**‘A fresh and sharp story about life under late capitalism … an entertaining eco-thriller.’

The Guardian

A darkly humorous and compelling satire of the art world from the author of The Disaster Tourist.

An Yiji’s career had been stalling for some time when a representative of the illustrious Robert Foundation offers her a spot on their all-expenses-paid artist residency in California. The residency has launched many famous artists’ careers, so she knows she can’t waste this opportunity. Still, she feels reluctant to accept, and with good reason: the foundation’s patron is a small dog named Robert, known for both his talent as a photographer, but also his arrogance. Moreover, the offer comes with a condition: on the last day of the residency, one of An’s paintings must be incinerated, and Robert gets to select which one.

When An reaches California, she finds the state ablaze with wildfires, but at the Foundation all is calm. She navigates awkward dinners with Robert, tries to find inspiration while being bombarded with sponsors who all want their business to be the subject of her art, and despairs at the prospect of her work being set on fire. Was coming to California a huge mistake?

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

Simon Ings, The Times

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

The Spectator

View all reviews

Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 198mm × 129mm

Extent:256pp

ISBN (13):9781915590909

RRP:£9.99

Pub date:14 Aug 2025

High-res cover:Download Image

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AUTHOR

Yun Ko-eun

Yun Ko-eun was born in Seoul in 1980. In 2004, the year she graduated from university, her short story ‘Piercing’ won the Daesan Literary Award for College Students. In 2008, she received the Hankyorek Literature Award for her novel The Zero G Syndrome. In 2010 she published a collection of short stories entitled Table For One, and in 2011 her short story ‘The Sea Horse Flies’ won the Yi Hyo-seok Literary Award. Her novel The Disaster Tourist was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2020.

TRANSLATOR

Lizzie Buehler

Lizzie Buehler is the translator of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun and Korean Teachers by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Princeton and Harvard.