How Korean Corn Dogs Changed My Life

Chosen by Stylist as one of the best memoirs of 2026

An addictive, tell-all memoir about chasing reinvention in Korea and the reality behind the dream

At twenty-one, fuelled by K-dramas and a need to reinvent herself, Alice Amelia moves to Seoul. She knows no one, doesn't speak the language, and hasn't tried kimchi, let alone Korean corn dogs. But real-life Seoul isn't the glossy, subtitled fantasy she expected.

Determined to follow her dream, Alice becomes everything she wasn't in England: dousing every meal in gochujang, dancing in K-pop videos, dating famous models, and even injecting salmon sperm into her eye bags.

As she breaks into the Korean entertainment industry which she idolised, finds friendship, and flirts with love, her life spirals in ways she never imagined.

Caught between who she was and who she's becoming, will she ever belong in Korea? And what is she willing to sacrifice to stay?

'Brings to life a country as complex and vibrant as its many gochujang-laced dishes. A delicious reminder that we can find "home" in the most unexpected landscapes, people, and flavors' KIM SUNÉE, author of Everyday Korean and A Mouthful of Stars

'Shocking, hilarious, and swooningly romantic, Alice Amelia's memoir reads like one of the best rom-coms - and yet it all actually happened' EMILY CHAPPELL, author of Where There's A Will

'A fascinating deep dive into the world (and the seedy inner workings) of k-pop and k-drama ... also an honest account of the author's turbulent twenties and affairs of the heart' SARRA MANNING (on Substack)