* Chosen by Stylist as one of the best memoirs of 2026 *
An addictive, tell-all memoir about what happens when you try to make your dreams come true - as well as a love letter to Korea
'Brings to life a country as complex and vibrant as its many gochujang-laced dishes. A delicious reminder that we can find "home" in the most unexpected landscapes, people, and flavors' KIM SUNÉE, author of Everyday Korean and A Mouthful of Stars
Aged twenty-one, fuelled by a love of K-dramas and a need to find herself, Alice Amelia moves to Seoul. She knows no one in her adopted country, doesn't speak the language, and hasn't tried kimchi, let alone grilled cow intestines or Korean corn dogs. But she soon realises that real-life Seoul isn't the romanticised city she'd watched on television - and it doesn't have subtitles.
Determined to follow her dream, Alice becomes everything she wasn't in England: adding spicy gochujang sauce to every meal, dancing in K-pop videos, dating famous models, and even injecting salmon sperm into her eye bags. But as she breaks into the Korean entertainment industry which she idolised from afar, and finds a group of new friends as well as a chance at love, her life spirals in ways she never could have imagined. Wanting to stay true to herself, she wonders, will she ever belong in Korea? And what price will it cost her to stay?
'Shocking, hilarious, and swooningly romantic, Alice Amelia's memoir reads like one of the best rom-coms - and yet it all actually happened. It's also a love letter to Korean food, culture, men and women. By the time I reached the final page, I was ready to book a flight' EMILY CHAPPELL, author of Where There's A Will
'A fascinating deep dive into the world (and the seedy inner workings) of k-pop and k-drama, an insider's guide to the hidden heart of Seoul; also an honest account of the author's turbulent twenties and affairs of the heart' SARRA MANNING (on Substack)
