‘Without readers, I wouldn’t have come this far’: Actor-writer Cha In-pyo returns with 5th novel
For Cha In-pyo, an actor and writer, his fifth full-length novel, “Our Neighborhood Library,” is about what has motivated him to keep writing for 17 years: an abiding sense of gratitude to his readers. “A novel is started by an author, but it is the readers who complete it,” Cha said at a press conference in Jung District, Seoul, on Wednesday. “I poured that gratitude into this book.” The book is Cha’s first novel in two years. This time, he turns to metafiction, following a contemporary writer referred to as “I,” who writes about a painter in Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom that existed from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. In doing so, he contemplates desire, death and the meaning carried by records. At the press conference, Cha opened with modesty and gratitude — an echo of the theme running through his new book. “There are so many excellent writers in Korea,” Cha said. “I don’t think what I’ve done is anything particularly special. That makes me all the more grateful to be here.” “Our Neighborhood Library” opens with a writer i
May 28, 2026By Hankookilbo
