Hello Baby

A feminist cult Korean novel, Hello Baby is a gripping portrait of motherhood, fertility and what it means to be a woman for fans of Butter and Breasts and Eggs.

In a group chat, six women share the anxieties and absurdities of undergoing IVF treatment. They first met visiting Baby Angel Hospital, an elite fertility clinic in Seoul, and for two years they have confided in one another. Bonding over stories of their journeys to motherhood, they know that it is unlikely that they will all get their happy ending. When 46-year-old Jeong-hyo suddenly announces that she has stopped treatment and goes silent, the other women are sad to see her go.

One year later, on Lunar New Year, Jeong-hyo drops a message in the group announcing the birth of her baby daughter. But how did this miracle come to pass? As the women count down to their visit to meet her and her new baby, they each must reckon with their own journeys and hope that this happy news holds fresh promise for all of them.

Reviews

Praise for Hello Baby:

'The stories of the women in Hello Baby sing like a Greek Chorus about the pain of longing, of unknown futures, and of relentless hope. As much a study of the yearning and process of having a baby through IVF, this novel illuminates the essentiality of female friendship and mutual support through it all. I loved it' Anna Hogeland, author of The Long Answer

About the author

Kim Eui-kyung is a novelist and essayist from Korea. Her debut novel, Youth Bankruptcy (2014) won the Korea Economic Daily Youth Literary Contest, and her second novel Call Center was awarded the 6th Soorim Literary Prize. Hello Baby is her first novel translated into English.