Bora Chung on horror, revenge, and writing ghost stories for a broken world

In this episode of Sick Sad Lit, I sit down with acclaimed South Korean author Bora Chung: the brilliant mind behind Cursed Bunny and her haunting new collection, Midnight Timetable. Known for blending horror, humour, and political satire, Bora’s stories blur the line between the grotesque and the profound, using the supernatural to explore the most human of emotions.

We talk about her journey from university lecturer to internationally celebrated writer, how Cursed Bunny changed her life after being shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, and why she believes horror can be an act of empathy - a way of writing ghost stories for a broken world.

Bora shares the inspirations behind Midnight Timetable, from Polish and Russian literature to Korean folklore, and reflects on the intersections of revenge, grief, and survival in her fiction. We discuss the challenges of translation, the politics of horror, and the strange comfort of stories that look directly at fear, and still find hope inside it.

If you love literary horror, speculative fiction, or beautifully strange stories that linger long after you’ve finished reading, this episode is the perfect listen for spooky season. 👻

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