Living fully in a land of slim expectations - The Korea Herald
After moving to South Korea, “Plus Size in Paris” author Erin Zhurkin found unexpected inspiration for her sequel
Three years ago, author Erin Zhurkin moved to South Korea, and her fictional heroine came with her.
Abby Allerton, the plus-size influencer at the heart of “Plus Size in Paris”, had already taken on Parisian fashion and cultural expectations in the first book. Now, in a Seoul-set sequel currently in the works, she’s about to face an entirely different set of beauty standards.
The push for a Korean story didn’t come from publishers or agents, she said. It came from Korean readers.
“It’s a sequel, and it was inspired by launching the (first) book here in Seoul, during my first year in Korea,” Zhurkin said during an interview with The Korea Herald.
At the book launch event in Seoul, one the attendees raised her hands and asked, "Are you going to write a version set in Korea?’”
At first, Zhurkin wasn’t sure. “I said, ‘Do you think I should? I don’t know if it would be accepted.’”
The response was immediate.
“They told me, ‘It’s a big problem here: girls with anorexia, girls not eating, girls feeling really bad about their bodies,’” she said. “They said it would be powerful to have a book from an outsider’s perspective.”
