JjajangmyeonOther

The first short story collection on jjajangmyeon, a Korean soul food.

"Murder in Gonghwachun" by Jung Myeong-seop
Incheon, 1920s. A murder takes place in Gonghwachun, a restaurant known for jjajangmyeon, noodles in black bean sauce. Lawyer Hong Juwon, a Joseon man, investigates the case by the restaurant owner's request. At first it appears as though illegal Chinese laborers committed the murder in a closed room, but nothing's as it seems.

"One, Two" by Eun Sang
Sixteen-year-old Kang Darae is from Marado Island, the southernmost island in the Korean Peninsula. She came to Seoul to become a model. At the boxing gym she started going for fun, she spars with the extremely weak Choi Sol. Even though she specifically asks Sol not to punch her in the face because she has an audition coming up, Sol's fist comes straight to her face, and Darae punches Sol in the nose. Ever since that day, troubles keep happening.

"Murder in Cheollyunggwan" by Chou Dong-shin
Cheollyunggwan is a restaurant known for their own black bean sauce. But our protagonist is more interested in Hyejin, the owner's daughter and server, than the taste of the food. When he leaves his phone at the restaurant on purpose and returns, Hyejin screams. The entire staff at the restaurant hems in the protagonist and says, "Could this be the curse of Cheollyung?"

"Deus ex Machina" by Kang Ji-young
Professor Yu Su-hyeon is an ordinary professor by day, but at night he drives a taxi for ghosts in order to find the spirit of his missing student. One day, he hears a shocking news from a ghost--a man with a snake tattoo is using necromany to hold his student's spirit and make money with it. Professor Yu and his company visit the Ghost Spot in search for the man.

"A Fantastic Day" by Jang Ah-mi
It's an unusual day for Min-yeong. Nothing's going as she hoped. It's the seventh anniversary of her father's passing, and her tactless boyfriend makes a confession. She runs away and goes into a bookstore where a "Meet the Author" event is taking place. Like a loosely clasped pair of hands, fantasy meets the reality, and the past meets the present.