Actor-director-writer Cha In-pyo’s novel Once We Look at the Same Star is set to be a class textbook for the Korean Studies Department at Oxford University. Prior to the announcement, Cha delivered a lecture on the novel and his literary perspective as part of the first annual Oxford Korean Literature Festival on June 28th. Cha, a famous actor known for his roles in several dramas from the 1990s and 2000s, has written three novels. Once We Look at the Same Star is based on the JAPANESE MILITARY SEXUAL SLAVERY DURING Japanese colonial rule and follows the story of Suni, who is discovered on a small Philippine island 70 years after leaving her homeland.

According to Cha, the book originally included the male protagonist saving the female protagonist and punishing Japanese imperialism with the intention of catharsis. Instead, the finished novel features a Japanese captain trying to rescue a Korean girl who had been taken into the Japanese military sexual slavery. Cha explained that the story was devised after seeing a grandmother who had been taken to Cambodia as a Japanese military sexual slavery and that despite his anger about the issue, writing with only negative emotions was fruitless. “I believed that if Japanese people with a collective moral sense empathized with the suffering of their grandmothers, eventually, it would culminate in a genuine apology, paving the way for forgiveness,” Cha said.

The novel was published as Goodbye Hill in 2009 and reprinted in 2021 with its new alternate title. Although Goodbye Hill received attention, it was mainly centered around the author rather than the work itself. At the bookstore, Cha found that rather than being placed in the new releases section, his novel was being sold alongside other celebrities’ works. Cha said, reminiscing about the book’s first release. “I was very depressed.”

However, throughout his struggles, Cha’s wife, Shin Ae-ra, continued to show her undying support. “I hope that the annual Oxford Korean Literature Festival will continue to introduce Korean literature and authors to Europe,” she shared on social media. Hosted by Professor Cho Ji-eun of Oxford’s Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Faculty, the festival aims to showcase noteworthy Korean literature and author lectures. Professor Cho also plans to translate Once We Look at the Same Star into English, German, and French.