#53: How Pride and Prejudice Inspired 'Behind Five Willows' With June Hur
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
So I actually pitched it initially as Pride and Prejudice, but with murder. She reminded me, and she was like, you've never written a full-on romance novel. Initially, I was really scared. I was like, I don't think I could write a book without murder in it. But I'll give it a try. I remember the last half of this novel, I actually added in a sword fighting scene and murder. And then my editor was like, Jojo. So I had to rewrite it all. You got it.
Yeah.
Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Off the Shelf. Today's guest considers each of her books to be love letters to Korean history and an opportunity to research more about her Korean roots. After growing up between South Korea and the U.S. and Canada, she attended the University of Toronto and is now the New York Times bestselling author of incredible books, including The Red Palace and her newest release, Behind Five Willows, June Hur. Welcome to Off the Shelf.
Thank you so much for having me. Of course.
Thank you for coming in. Now, you, I just found out, attended a Jane Austen seminar in university where I found out that you guys had like a very heated debate and a divide between the Pride and Prejudice like TV drama from the 90s and the 2005 movie. Which side did you fall on?
So I'm probably older than you think So I actually my first time seeing Pride and Prejudice was the 1995 edition Okay, and I fell so madly in love with the that adaptation that I printed out Colin Firth's face He was like Mr. Darcy stuck it on my journal and like I wrote fanfiction because I was just so obsessed and with that adaptation.
Wow. Okay. Now let's dive right into that. Why Pride and Prejudice fan fiction? Was it just like that TV show that just like started it for you?
So during that time, I was 13 and I did not like English class. I thought books were boring.
How did Pride & Prejudice and fanfiction launch June Hur's writing journey?
And so my dad was, my dad who really loves books was just like, I can't, this is not acceptable to me. And so he would bring me books after books, like really hoping that I'd find the book that would kind of win me over. Okay. And then he finally brought me Pride and Prejudice. And around this time, there was also the Black and White adaptation on TVO. So I was reading and then watching. And then I think something about Austin just awoke in me this like aha moment where I'm just like, oh my gosh, books are really fun. Wow. Yeah. And I, I never experienced this before, but it's just like when you love a story and a world so much, you want to stay there for as long as possible. And so my dad had like this stack of recycled paper because he was working on a thesis.
So it's like a lot of paper. And so I would just take that and then flip it over and I would write a fan fiction of Pride and Prejudice. You were writing it, right? Yeah, I was writing. I had no computer back then. I was just writing.
Interesting. Now, okay, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit this. I've never read a classic.
let alone an austin book if i'm gonna start somewhere where am i starting okay it depends if do you like the trope enemies to lovers or the second chance romance those are my two there's like two awesome books that i really i think are like okay if you had asked me this maybe a year ago i might say enemies to lovers these days i love a second chance romance so i'll say second chance then i would highly recommend persuasion okay So that one is with Anne Elliot. She's like this wallflower. She feels like she's past her bloom. And then there's this ex-boyfriend who kind of shows up in her life again. And she thinks he's over her. And, you know. Romance, blossoms from there. Sold.
I just need to get, like, the writing style is tough. I know. It is. It is. Because I know I'm going to love the stories at their core. It's just the way that the English is written that I just get a bit stuck.
I mean, you could begin by watching the adaptions.
Okay. Okay. Now, how do you feel about the new Pride and Prejudice movie coming out? Are you excited or is nothing going to beat the love you have for the original?
I don't know. It's like you have the very iconic 2005 adaptation with Keira Knightley and then the very iconic 1995 edition.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:00
2
How did Pride & Prejudice and fanfiction launch June Hur's writing journey?
2:00–26:54
3
What was June Hur's experience growing up between Korea, Canada and the U.S.?
26:54–39:30
4
How did working in a library shape June Hur's relationship with books and readers?
39:30–40:18
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Off The Shelf with Morgann Book
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