80 pages in and I thought I was never going to make it to the end of this book. It was very mundane. The last half of this book punched me in the face and I’m still reeling. And the punches just kept coming, twist after twist after twist. I could have never told you how this book was going to end, but I enjoyed it immensely. It was thought-provoking, it was engaging, and it shocked me to my core. Please pick this book up!

From the cover and blurb, I was originally expecting a very different book. Described as a ‘horror-comedy,’ the realisation of what that meant dawned on me as I read on. It turned out to be one of the most horrific stories I’ve ever read but written in a way that felt almost calm. Ko-eun has a beautiful way of writing. One particular section describing the colour of sands found in the desert really stuck with me throughout. I also enjoyed how they primarily referred to characters by their job/role as it really fit with the theme of the book. Given the nature of the story, having few chapters is understandable but as someone who prefers more it affected how readable I found it personally. Overall a truly captivating book and really one that should not be judged by its cover. 

This was a really fascinating book that on its surface level is very much about tourism and its impact on the people who live in these destinations, but is really so much more. I would highly recommend it!

 Yona gets coerced into a work trip by her employer, a company called Jungle, who specialise in disaster packages. It goes just as well as you suspect it will and then gets even worse than that. 

 The Disaster Tourist is a story about Yona Ko, a woman who works for Jungle - a travel agency that sends clients to sites of natural disasters for vacations. Because one of the travel destinations isn’t being booked often, Yona’s boss sends her to the island with the hopes of her reviewing the trip for either renewal or cancellation of the destination. However, Yona’s trip to Mui does not go as planned as she faces many unexpected travel issues and uncovers a plot by the resort manager and island inhabitants to prolong their contract with Jungle. Overall, I felt like this was a very unique story that was both gripping and compelling. It speaks on capitalism, romance, and the subconscious human satisfaction of relishing in other people’s disasters. I could easily see this becoming a limited series for a streaming platform.