China-South Korea women's sci-fi anthology becomes bestseller

A new science fiction anthology titled "Body, Again," featuring works by six women writers from China and South Korea, has become a bestseller in both countries since its release last month.

Writers, translators, editors and publishing representatives for "Body, Again" pose with readers at a book promotion event in Beijing, Aug. 16, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Future Affairs Administration]

The anthology is a collaboration between South Korea's Influential Inc., Shanghai Translation Publishing House and Future Affairs Administration. It features stories by three Chinese writers, Cheng Jingbo, Zhou Wen and Wang Kanyu, and three South Korean writers, Kim Choyeop, Kim Cheonggyul and Cheon Seonran. All stories explore themes of embodiment. Kim Yisak and Chun Xi served as translators.

"After years in the sci-fi industry, I had found diminishing novelty in the genre until I discovered what female authors bring," said Ji Shaoting, founder and CEO of Future Affairs Administration, at a Beijing book event on Aug. 16. "They have revitalized this 200-year-old genre born from Mary Shelley, bringing fresh perspectives, particularly in writing about the body. That's when I realized this centuries-old genre still has room to grow."

The Korean edition became an instant hit upon its July release, going through four reprints within a month. The Chinese edition debuted at the Shanghai Book Fair on Aug. 13 and topped Shanghai Translation Publishing House's bestseller list the following day, with readers forming long lines at book-signing events in Shanghai and Beijing.

Kim Yisak, who has introduced numerous Chinese literary works to South Korea, initiated the project by approaching sci-fi editor Choi Jiin with a proposal for an all-female collaborative anthology. Choi recommended centering works around "the body" and physical human experience, given the growing academic and literary focus on artificial intelligence.

"For women, the body is both a cage of social oppression, sexual objectification, biological dualism and normative constraints, as well as the foundational identity through which they perceive their existence. It is, moreover, the inviolable core of human dignity," Choi said. "This theme can encompass a wide spectrum, from societal discrimination to universal human experiences."

"Women spend their entire lives exploring their own bodies, the gaze society casts upon them and the physical changes that come with different life stages," explained Kim Choyeop. "Since we're ultimately destined to live within these physical forms, we might as well regard them as sources of endless discovery and wonder."

Though the project is composed entirely of female writers, translators and editors, Cheng Jingbo said their gender "is not a selling point for a book; what truly matters is women's act of expression, and what they choose to express."