Korean dystopian thriller 'Snowglobe' to be published in English in February

“Snowglobe,” the first book in a two-part dystopian series by South Korean author Park So-young, is set to be published worldwide in English in February 2024, announced Random House Publishing on Friday.

Park’s debut novel, originally published in Korea in 2020 by Changbi Publishers, has been translated into English by US-based translator Joungmin Lee Comfort. The translated book is scheduled for publication by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Delacorte described the book as “a powerful young adult dystopian thriller” with “cutting-edge commentary on climate change, socioeconomic inequality and personal identity.”

CJ Entertainment, the production company behind acclaimed films "Parasite" and "Snowpiercer," has optioned the book for a film adaptation. The publisher said that production is currently underway.

Described as a thrilling and multilayered adventure, “Snowglobe” is set in a frozen world of perpetual winter.

The privileged residents of an enclosed domed city called Snowglobe enjoy fame, fortune and above all, safety from bone-chilling temperatures that reach minus 41 degrees Celsius. However, Snowglobe residents must exchange their privacy for their privileges -- their lives are broadcast to less fortunate citizens outside the dome to give them hope.

Outside the confines of the dome, citizens endure the harsh cold as they toil to get jobs at a power plant which sustains Snowglobe with energy. Their only solace comes from a televised program streaming the lives of Snowglobe residents and hopes of becoming “actors” themselves.

When the city’s biggest star and newly appointed weather announcer Goh Hae-ri is found dead, her lookalike Chobahm is thrust into her role. This unexpected opportunity propels Chobahm into the lives of the privileged inside the dome. However, she soon uncovers a chilling truth -- the society she once idolized is hiding a perilous secret.

In the author’s note on the Korean edition, Park described a dystopian world where others have "editorial rights" over individuals in a system where one must expose his or her private life to thrive.