K-LIT REVIEW Reality TV becomes reality in Soyoung Park's sci-fi YA novel 'Snowglobe'
The cover of "Snowglobe" by Soyoung Park / Courtesy of Penguin UK
"Snowglobe," written by Soyoung Park and translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort, is a sci-fi YA novel about uncovering the secrets of a climate-controlled city called Snowglobe. It was originally published in Korean in 2020. The sequel will come out in spring 2025.
The novel features strong worldbuilding. Also, it is effectively surprising to the reader when what you thought the entire book was built on was really something entirely different. However, the book leans heavily on its plot, and I feel more character development is needed.
The author included a lot of details to make this dystopian world seem plausible. The world is frozen over except for Snowglobe, where actors and directors make reality TV shows for the rest of the world to watch. However, the directors pull the strings behind the scenes. The background actors, called ‘the licorice’, also get paid a lot of money, even though they are just in the background. I like how it reflects the real world more realistically than other sci-fi stories I’ve read — it explores the complexities of both high society and the lower classes.
On the other hand, the book was a bit slow in the beginning, and, rather than going into more depth, it started developing higher and higher stakes to make it more interesting. The character does go through some emotional growth, but the story is mostly driven by the plot. Sometimes you're in the middle of a big action scene, and something dramatic suddenly happens, without giving the reader much time to take it all in. So it would have been nice if the novel was evened out a bit more, where there were more emotions and more complex aspects of the characters.
At the same time, the twists were really interesting to me and shed some light on the themes. At first, it seemed like the world was building itself upon a proverb that said, “there’s three people who look like you in the world, and you are one of them.” But then the book pulls the rug out from under you and makes the story entirely new.
The protagonist, Jeon Chobahm, is a regular citizen who looks eerily similar to the celebrity Goh Haeri, who hangs herself. The directors don’t want anyone to find out, so they find the protagonist and strike a deal so that she takes Goh Haeri’s place for one whole year. The protagonist thinks that all of this is possible due to the proverb.
In conclusion, it shows that you shouldn’t really put your entire faith in famous people, even if watching their television shows is one of the few things that can distract you from your life sometimes. Greed takes over people, and there are some hidden secrets in people’s lives, so we should bond together. "Snowglobe" was an OK book with good twists. However, I felt it was too action-driven, and I hope that in the next book, there will be more character depth.
"Snowglobe" is available on dbbooks.co.kr.
Beatrice Nickolai, 13, is a student at Daejeon Shinil Art Middle School. She recently completed her 200th comic in her series “The Annoying Dad.” She was in her annoying dad’s play “What is this?” and will return to the stage playing a Korean-speaking cat this spring. You can contact her at her mom’s email at monicanickolai@hongik.ac.kr.