The Trunk: A Novel

NOW A NETFLIX TV SERIES

The English language debut from bestselling Korean author Kim Ryeo-ryeong – an edgy, arresting drama about a secret marriage service for Korea’s wealthy elite, and one unlikely couple in the thick of it all.

Meet Noh Inji: almost thirty years old, with five wedding rings and counting, she's never once been in love.

When Inji first accepted a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service that’s taken Korea by a storm, she never imagined her role would be with NM, their secret marriage division that rents out “husbands” and “wives” to their wealthiest clientele. Just like a real marriage, Inji's assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a bit of housework, all tailored exactly to the client’s desires and length of time before they go their separate ways – no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage.

After several marriages, Inji has become an old hand. She certainly isn’t interested in finding real love, despite everyone trying to convince her otherwise (her brazen neighbor Granny, her flirtatious best friend Shi-jeong, and her failed blind date, Tae-seong, who won’t take no for an answer).

Then one of Inji's old husbands, a mysterious high profile music producer, requests her back for another year. Over the course of their marriage, the secrets of Inji’s past begin to unravel – as well as the dark, sinister underbelly of NM’s management team, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation… and their clients…

KIM RYEO-RYEONG was born in 1971 and studied creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts. She received the Munhak Dongne Children’s Literature Prize in 2007 for A Seahorse Lives in My Heart, the Ma Hae-song Literary Award in 2007 for The Child Who Brought Memory, and the Changbi Prize by academics, students, and professionals, all united by a passion for literature and for Young Adult Fiction in 2007 for Wandeuk (published by Changbi). She lives near Seoul. The Trunk is the inspiration for a high-profile Korean TV series to be streamed on Netflix this autumn, directed by Kim Kyu-tae and starring Seo Hyun-jin and Gong Yoo.