'Wizard's Bakery' redefines young adult literature

Author Gu Byeong-mo / Courtesy of Literature Translation Institute of Korea

The cover of The Wizard's Bakery

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Gu Byeong-mo's fantasy fiction "The Wizard's Bakery" has changed the perception about young adult literature. The book describes a 16-year-old's exploration of a bakery selling cookies, scones and muffins baked by a wizard for certain medicinal purposes.

Before the book, teens were considered passive readers who needed guidance from their parents or teachers who selected what they were to read. Naturally, many writers here observed and portrayed the growing pains of children and rebellious teens in puberty who are pressured to achieve higher academic goals from their parents.

Gu, 40, switched the gears of the genre, however. She put herself in their shoes and went deeper into the hearts of teens and searched through their curiosity and wishful thinking.

The critically acclaimed book struck a chord with young readers. It has sold 300,000 copies since it was published in 2009.

Gu said she wanted to challenge the perception of young adult literature in Korea.

Previously, in the selection of young adult books, parents and teachers were the decision-makers and they chose books for their children based on their preferences after checking content they felt appropriate," she said on April 6. "They seemed to feel that selecting the right books for their children or students was part of parenting and teaching. So they tried to guide the teens to move in the right direction until they become adults. I am against such a notion and my challenging spirit drove me to write the book."

Unlike many writers who have certain messages for their readers, Gu said she has never had any such intention.

"I'm wondering why people are trying to draw lessons or find messages when they read," she said. "Is it inappropriate if readers say the books they have read are interesting and enjoyable without commenting on any lessons or messages they got from them? If there are no lessons to draw, does this mean that the books are meaningless or useless?"

The Wizard's Bakery guides readers to a mom and pop bakery run by a wizard. It has an online shopping mall selling some 20 kinds of scones, biscuits and muffins designed to have certain medicinal benefits for the people once they eat them. For example, there are raisin scones labeled as Making Peace which helps people make up with others after a fight. "Encourage the person you had the fight with to take it. The scone will make you two become friends again," reads the description of the scone posted on the website of the bakery.

The story, written in the first person, tells of a teenager's experiences in the bakery and the customers who purchase the therapeutic bakery goods. The 24-hour bakery becomes the boy's hideout after he was accused of raping his stepsister, Moohee. The book elaborates on the boy's traumatic childhood and uneasy relationships with his stepmother, a nagging teacher who mentally abused him.

The Wizard's Bakery has captured the hearts and minds of young readers since it won the Changbi Young Adult Literature Award in 2008 and was published a year later. Changbi Publishers said the sale of 300,000 copies is something phenomenal, given it is a book for young adults. Gu became one of the most popular writers for young readers after her first book project became successful.

Lee Young-ran, a middle school student, wrote on her blog that the book interested her because it was based on reality but also has some fantasy in it, too. "I think it is a great book for people who dream that magical things can happen in their lives," she wrote. Another Internet user Byeol-I wrote that the author chose the right topic for teens.

Gu has published many books for young adults, including "Red Shoes" (2015), since she made her literary debut at 34. "I'm not quite sure when I first wrote a story. But I do remember that I was writing stories when I was 11 years old. So it's safe to say I have written stories since then," she said.

Korea's problematic literary debut system, however, delayed her official debut as a writer.

"In Korea, we have a unique system that allows hopeful writers to make their literary debut, called Deungdan," she said. "I applied for the competition since I was 18 and finally won it over a decade later."

The debut system is kind of a qualification test through which a group of critics and writers review the writings submitted by aspiring writers to literary competitions through which they select those they feel should make their literary debut.

Aspiring writers have two options through which to make their literary debut. They can apply for the spring literary competitions hosted by a few media groups and then win the competitions. But only the winners are allowed a debut. Or they can contribute their stories, poems or essays to literary magazines. Critics and writers there will review their work to give them a "pass or fail." Recently Deungdan came under fire as some raised issues of fairness and criteria.

Kim Young-seon, a staffer at Changbi Publishers, said that The Wizard's Bakery is a phenomenal book in young adult literature.

"The book guides readers to the magical world of imagination. It is fun, enjoyable and creative. It is also an attractive story. It stirs young readers to imagine a world that doesn't exist," she said.

Prior to The Wizard's Bakery, Kim said most books for young adults dealt with the dark side of growing up. However, she said Gu turned the focus into a magical, creative world and this fascinated young readers.

The Wizard's Bakery has begun to capture the hearts of young Mexican readers. Since it was translated into Spanish and published as "La Panaderia Encantada" by Mexican publisher Nostra Ediciones in December, the book has sold some 10,000 copies there over the past three months.

According to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, this record is impressive, given that few books written by Korean writers have appealed to Mexican readers before.

"A wizard and a bakery are two universal topics and this seems to make it easier for foreign readers to follow the story," the LTI Korea said.

Dozens of Mexican teens posted favorable reviews about the book on the Internet and recommended that their friends and fellow bloggers read it. One of the bloggers said he had never read Korean fiction before The Wizard's Bakery but he was fascinated by the novel. "It is a great story not only for children but also for adults," the blogger wrote.

LTI Korea, which sponsored the Spanish translation of the book, said that the Mexican publisher's effective marketing through social media helped the book draw the attention from young readers. Nostra Ediciones advertised the book through YouTube, which went viral.

Earlier, The Wizard's Bakery was translated into Chinese and French, and both editions were published in China and France before the Spanish edition was published in Mexico.

The publication of the English translation is expected to come later this year. LTI Korea said the translation is in its last stage and the institute will find interested publishers sooner or later.

Since the 2000s, the Korean government has provided financial support for translations of chosen literary works in several languages to make them more accessible to global readers.