TWO WOMEN LIVING TOGETHER

A pair of Korean 40-something housemates document their shared living arrangements.

In 2019, Hwang and Kim published this book in Korea to much notice and acclaim. It has since been followed by a successful podcast and other spin-off ventures, and now, a translation and update for U.S. readers. In it, they take turns in over 50 brief chapters to describe the workings of what they call W₂C₄—the apartment the two women share with four cats in what sounds like a charming Seoul neighborhood. They each began as individuals who really loved living alone but, as Hana describes it, about 10 years into it, the charms of solitude began to fade. Neither was interested in looking for a husband, partly because in their country the institution of marriage is ruled by rigid patriarchal tradition and burdensome obligations to one’s in-laws. So…they got a loan and bought a house together! The book is mostly devoted to describing how two people with many radically opposed habits (including the big one: neat/messy) have managed to cohabit successfully, though this point is made way too many times. For U.S. readers, the real interest of the book is less about the magic of sharing a home and more about revealing peeks into modern Korean culture, which seems to include unabashed enthusiasm for the joys of alcohol (“My best drinking pal lives in the same house as me,” reports Hwang gleefully) and pop-up social organizations like the “Frivolous Knowledge Club” (rebranded as the “Frivolous Foodie Club”) and the “Mangwon Sports Club” (which evolved into the “Mangwon Ping Pong Club”). Kim herself was the editor-in-chief of Catchball Weekly, which was both a blog and a club, devoted to the sport of tossing a ball printed with anime characters among players wearing velcro gloves. “The club essentially consisted among a group of people bonding over the motto, ‘Let’s while away the hours, friends!’” Yes, let’s.

Charming and heartwarming, if a bit longer than necessary.