About the book: 2020 / The fragility of human existence, the inexorable transience of the earthly time allotted to each of us, the inability to penetrate into the inner world of another person and fully understand him - We feel all this in the plots of the 26 short stories included in this book. Each story is colored with humor, an ironic, but sympathetic attitude towards a person and his problems and gives hope that much in our lives can be changed for the better if we listen more closely to ourselves. Shin Kyungsuk was born in 1963 into a peasant family. Her childhood occurred during the period of the so-called “economic miracle” of South Korea, which occurred after the devastating Korean War of 1950-1953. From a young age she worked at a factory, where she witnessed the workers' revolt that shook South Korea. In her youth, the future writer herself participated in protests and rallies and lived through an era of terrible political upheaval and repression. In his works, the author often depicts a generation traumatized by those events. Shin Kyungsuk is a prominent representative of modern South Korean literature. Her work, full of lyricism and subtle psychologism, is highly appreciated by South Korean and foreign critics, and this recognition was expressed in the fact that she became the first woman in the world to receive the prestigious award - the Man Asian Literary Prize).