Are you in the mood for a dual POV and a delightfully lighthearted romcom that also touches on serious topics?
Title: Made in Korea
Author: Sarah Suk
Published: May 2021
Pages: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Rating: 8/10
First posted in Dutch on May 16 2022 and updated on November 22 2024.
There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.
Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…
What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.
Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.
But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.
Are you in the mood for a dual POV and a delightfully lighthearted romcom that also touches on serious topics? Then Made in Korea is exactly what you’re looking for! The storyline is very dynamic and funny due to the he-said/she-said storyline of two Korean-American teenagers.
Valerie is ambitious, resourceful with a sharp business sense. While Wes is much less assertive and a tad socially awkward, but completely sharp in his own way.
The plot of Made in Korea is over-the-top in a K-drama way, with twists and turns that increase the tension as the story unfolds. But what really made the book for me is that the lighter romcom elements are based on more serious themes. Although Valerie and Wes may seem different on the surface, they both crave the approval and support of their parents. Valerie’s mother constantly compares her to her perfect-on-paper older sister and dismisses her K-beauty business as child’s play. Wes’ father demands that he find a stable career and abandon his dreams of becoming a musician. The conflicts in the story give depth to the motivations of the main characters in their competing businesses and create a common ground between them for their blossoming friendship.
The strength of this romcom also are the supporting characters who all have their own voices: Charlie, Valerie’s cousin and business partner; Pauline, who works with Wes on his business as a way to connect with her Korean roots; and Taemin, who is trying to find a new path.
All of these characters help to give the story several twists and turns, unlike many stories where the main characters seem to be the only catalysts.
If you had told me that the author had written multiple books, I would have believed you, but this is only her debut! I am very impressed with her writing style. Light-hearted, serious, and yet she knows how to build up the suspense. I laughed out loud several times while reading Made in Korea, and it has made me eager to read future works of the author! I would like to say that her book is a real page turner, but I listened to it as an audiobook. And honestly, I could listen to the story for hours on end.
Love,
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