We Do Not PartWe Do Not Part
What it's about
One winter morning, Kyungha gets an urgent message from her friend Inseon, who is in a hospital in Seoul after an accident. Inseon begs her to go to her house on Jeju Island to save her pet bird. As a snowstorm hits the island, Kyungha's journey leads into a hidden chapter of Korean history: the massacres on Jeju after the Second World War.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Han Kang, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, writes with haunting beauty about grief, memory and friendship.
You'll love it if you liked
Good to know
It's dreamlike and slow, more poetry than plot. It deals with mass killing and its aftermath.
By the numbers
- Readers58 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics56 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller18 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz72 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
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Quick answers
Is We Do Not Part worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. It ranks #617 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 76.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is We Do Not Part about?
One winter morning, Kyungha gets an urgent message from her friend Inseon, who is in a hospital in Seoul after an accident. Inseon begs her to go to her house on Jeju Island to save her pet bird. As a snowstorm hits the island, Kyungha's journey leads into a hidden chapter of Korean history: the massacres on Jeju after the Second World War.
How long does it take to read We Do Not Part?
About 7 hours (272 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has We Do Not Part won?
NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (2025).
What should I read after We Do Not Part?
If you liked it, try The Vegetarian by Han Kang, The White Book by Han Kang or Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.