Hong, Y. Euny 1972(?)- (Youn-Kee Euny Hong)

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Hong, Y. Euny 1972(?)- (Youn-Kee Euny Hong)

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1972; daughter of Dr. Hwi-Shin Chun-Hong (president of Cerik) and Dr. Sung-Woong Hong (a biochemist); divorced. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1995. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, travel.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Berlin, Germany; New York, NY; South Korea.

CAREER:

Writer and journalist. Previously worked at Teach for America, New York, NY, director of development operations; Financial Times, U.S. edition, New York, NY, television columnist; freelance journalist for publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright Young Journalists Award.

WRITINGS:

Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, New Republic, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal Europe. Author of blog, Euny Hong Blog.

SIDELIGHTS:

Y. Euny Hong received her undergraduate education at Yale University, where she was one of the founders of the magazine, Rumpus, a humorous tabloid-style publication that caused controversy during Hong's tenure. After graduating with a degree in philosophy, Hong went on to work as a director of development operations with Teach for America in New York, and then eventually became a journalist. Her work has appeared in distinguished publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, and the New Republic, her fluent language skills in French, German, and Korean enabling her to work both in the United States and abroad. Hong was also the first television columnist for the U.S. edition of the Financial Times. Her efforts earned her a Fulbright Young Journalists Award.

Hong's first novel, Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners, tells the story of Yale-grad Judith Lee, who finds herself going through job after job, her financial situation precarious, and unsure what to do with her life. Descended from Korean royalty, Judith feels there must be some appropriate way for her to support herself. After meeting the mysterious Madame Tartakoff through her aunt, Judith decides to become a courtesan, but though the life seems like a perfect choice, Judith finds it causes nothing but problems when she suddenly meets the man of her dreams. Allyssa Lee, in a review for Entertainment Weekly, called the book "haughty chick lit posing in a serious book's dust jacket," while a contributor for Kirkus Reviews remarked: "Hong captures narrator Jude's narcissism and her moral equivocations with wicked skill."