Jinwoo Park’s Oxford Soju Club is a bold foray into the world of espionage interlaced with cultural nuance and multifaceted character studies. The narrative weaves together a labyrinth of international intrigue, personal loyalties, and the subtle interplay of identity—elements that set it apart from conventional thrillers.

The story’s strengths lie in its atmospheric settings and vivid character portrayals. Park’s dialogue crackles with authenticity, and the intermingling of Eastern and Western sensibilities enriches the narrative, inviting readers to navigate through tension-filled streets and clandestine rendezvous. Though complex, the plot is driven by memorable characters whose relationships and internal conflicts reflect more significant geopolitical undercurrents, making each scene resonant with personal and political stakes.

However, there are areas that could benefit from further refinement. Occasional abrupt word breaks and formatting inconsistencies disrupt the reading flow, and the frequent shifts in perspective might leave some readers struggling to track the central narrative. Tightening these structural elements would enhance clarity without sacrificing the richly layered world Park has created.

Potential for Screen Adaptation:
The manuscript is also an excellent candidate for a movie or TV series adaptation, given its richly woven tapestry of espionage, cultural interplay, and character-driven drama. Its suspense, action, and emotional depth blend promises to translate well to the screen.

Oxford Soju Club is an ambitious work that balances suspense, cultural commentary, and intricate plotting. With further editorial polish—addressing issues like inconsistent formatting and abrupt perspective shifts—the manuscript’s clarity and professional polish could be greatly enhanced, ensuring that Park’s unique blend of international intrigue and human drama captivates readers and, potentially, a broader viewing audience.

Thank you to Dundurn Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.

It took me a while to get engaged with the story, but once I did it was an okay read.

I found the changing in narration, jumping from third to first person, really reflects the awareness of the caracters about the things they do and what is happening around them. Though sometimes if felt like too much jumping around, going from past to present on top of the change in perspectives.

The story is much less about spies, and a whole lot about identity and finding purpose, so having that in mind can better the reading experience. I like it enough to keep and eye for next realeases by the author.

The northerner, the southerner, and the American. Three identities, one race. "The natural enemy of a Korean is another Korean"- Oxford Soju Club is more than a book, it's a blood stained catalogue of the lives of immigrants, of refugees and the ones that's been casted our from their "motherland". The ones that's put to play the roles defined for them and once they are over it, vanish from reality. When a North Korean spymaster gets murdered in Oxford, his protégé, Kim Yohan, starts the journey to find the truth, with two hints- Dr. Ryu. Oxford soju club.

Characters of vivid intellectual foldings create an enhanced flavor to this book as their fates get intertwined. Dynamic relations across the pages makes this book an intriguing read, keeping it as interesting as it could be, from page one to the end. Fast paced and cinematic, this book feels like watching a movie, it's imaginaries vivid and detailed.

People. Lives. Death. Value of life. Oxford Soju Club talks about the marathon we run, the masks we put on and off, the identities we smear up on us and take off, betrayal and trust, and more than anything, the answer to the question whether we are what we are meant to be.

Such an amazing book to be a debute!!!

I was immediately drawn in by 'Oxford Soju Club' by Jinwoo Park because the title and beautiful cover. A spy novel set in Oxford sounded very promising to me, but it took me a while to really get into it. The plot was a bit confusing at times and while I enjoyed figuring out the connections between the characters and their backstories, something just didn't really click for me.
The character I liked the most was Dr. Ryu—the mystery around her and how she was linked to Yohan and Doha kept me hooked.

There were definitely some interesting moments, but overall, it fell a little flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for providing me with an ARC.

Reading The Oxford Soju Club felt like a wake-up call. From the very first pages, I was confronted with my own ignorance—shocked by the truths within and drawn into a story that constantly had me questioning the motivations behind each character’s actions. By the end, I was left with a heart full of hope and a deeper appreciation for love—love that is open, intentional, and fueled by curiosity about the relationships we welcome into our lives.

I initially picked up Oxford Soju Club expecting a thriller/mystery after requesting it on NetGalley. What I got was something far richer—a profoundly moving, tender exploration of truth, history, and the experiences of over 25 million people affected by their government. Through the lens of this novel, Jinwoo Park reveals how propaganda continues to shape perspectives, not only within Korea but on a global scale, often turning people against one another in ways we rarely stop to question.

Jinwoo, thank you for crafting such a striking and deeply nuanced book. It explores what it means to live the lives we’ve been taught to live, the weight of making our own decisions, and the importance of embracing the fleeting moments of true happiness.

Before starting The Oxford Soju Club, I had only a surface-level understanding of Korea—beyond recognizing the DPRK as one of the most totalitarian governments of this century. This beautifully written novel compelled me to dig deeper, to research countries and histories that don’t receive nearly enough discussion. The perspectives woven throughout—Northerner, Southerner, and American—challenged me to take my time and truly understand the depth of each character’s actions. That extra effort was more than worth it.

The Oxford Soju Club isn’t just a story—it’s an experience. And one I’m grateful to have had.

I was intrigued by this book, particularly when I realised it was set in the Cowley area of Oxford (which I know well) but also featured both spies and Korean politics, something which is less common for an Oxford book!

The reader follows a selection of characters who all circle round the Oxford Soju Club as a North Korean spy ring starts to unwind. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to someone who is only interested in reading a spy novel as I think it has more to offer as a meditation on identity and immigration but the book still has a good flavour of international espionage to it.

The final section felt a little rushed and I think some of the cast of characters were done a disservice because of this. This wouldn't stop me recommending it though!

The book was fine overall, wouldn't be my first choice to recommend to someone.
The start felt a little juvenile, but got better as the story continued. The multiple pov's and characters were sometimes hard to distinguish (especially since some of the characters used an alias as spies do) the context clues were enough to figure it out though.
I did love the strong female characters, Choi Yunah and Dr. Ryu.

I also feel the reader needs to have some knowledge of the Korean culture and language to fully understand certain moments and conversations.

Thanks to Netgallery and the publisher for the advanced copy.

this book has a small number of characters that the book bounces around with different POVs. I felt the beginning was a little slow for me I had to pass a certain point before things felt like something was happening. The overall spy aspect of the story was underwhelming. I felt like the story could have been longer.

As a Korean American who can speak and read Korean, I will say some of the Romanized spelling of Korean words threw me out of the story, but once I knew what they were supposed to be it ended up being okay. I did enjoyed all the different ways that the author weaved in about the immigrants identity in a different world that's not their own.

Overall I did enjoy reading this book even though spy genres aren't really my go to, I wanted to support a Korean author with their work.

3.5 Stars

A completely unique and intriguing premise, action-packed and filled with twists and turns. Park introduces three distinct protagonists across the Korean diaspora in the form of an immigrant, spy, and agent. Within this novel’s ongoing game of cat-and-mouse, Park also reveals to us the cultural nuances and internal conflicts of each character. While their lives, responsibilities, and perspectives are vastly different, there is still a sense of shared humanity and yearning that threads them together. What I really appreciated was Park’s introduction to the story: as he sees himself in all these characters, we then take the time to reflect on the complexity of emigration, linguistic diversity and hierarchy, and internal turmoil and guilt in the face of cultural expectations. While I found the writing to be quite straightforward, I loved the little details that give this story texture, such as the steps in making kimchi, the diverse purposes of soju, and how to swear properly in Korean. There were some plot points and background pieces I didn’t find quite necessary (I would have preferred to dive deeper into the hearts and brains of these complicated yet interesting characters), but overall I enjoyed the overarching message of this story. This made for a great debut!

A striking story weaving together multiple Korean identities and ways of moving through the world in a way I've never seen it done before: through a story about spies. Themes of identity, family, and politics are cradled within the vessel of the spy plot line, and it works so well. At the start of the book, the switching timelines and characters confused me a bit, but by chapter 3 and 4 it became much easier to follow. After that I was hooked. The links between each character weave together beautifully. I really loved this. If you're looking for something with action, heartbreak (you may cry), and humanity, look no further than Oxford Soju Club.

Thank you very much to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oxford and Soju are two very fun things. This book was fun but in a very dark way. North Koreans, South Koreans and Korean Americans all meet at the Oxford Soju Club to eat, drink, and play double blind games of spy craft with one another. Each player is pretending to be someone else. In having to remember who they are to each other, I think they are losing a little bit of themselves. The story is delightfully complicated and will keep you guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for this DRC.
#OxfordSojuClub #NetGalley

( really, really wanted to be obsessed with this book (if it’s a book set in Oxford… I’m already so sold), but ultimately, I found the jumps in POV and time fairly hard to track which took me out of the reading experience. It felt like a big puzzle, which is cool, but we weren’t necessarily equipped the best to solve it. That said, I haven’t really read much literature about North Korea and it was incredibly interesting – I do feel like I learned a lot!

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I picked this up because of the intriguing title (I’m a sucker for books set in Oxford) and the amazing cover. The story follows several different people: Jihoon Lim - who runs the Korean restaurant (Oxford Soju Club) in Oxford, Yohan Kim -the North Korean spy in training, Yunah Choi - the American spy and, in flashback, the mysterious Dr Ryu. The story interweavest the stories of these very different people, each a different type of Korean immigrant. The story in the present day is one of murder and mystery with stories from the past helping to link the characters together.
This is a really interesting and atmospheric book. It made me think about the different ways we create lives and identities, especially when far from home. It’s a really good read.

I loved it. It was incredible informative about Korean culture and I enjoyed the storyline a lot. The suspense was perfectly balanced and built up, and I am truly interested in seeing this authors next work. I felt like I got to know and understand the characters like the author wanted to tell them, and I am left thinking about the story for a long time. This really made me forget time. This was just wonderful and full of hope. I can’t wait to read more!! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this one.

This was my first spy novel! which follows a murdered north korean spymaster & a south korean that runs the only korean restaurant in oxford.

great pacing with equal moments of action and introspection. i really loved the exploration of cultural themes and the immigrant experience!

When I requested this book, I thought it might be a bit like a Japanese crime novel, and I was really intrigued.
But I was pleasantly surprised to find a spy novel about a murdered North Korean spy. Tho I find the beginning a little too cliché, the rest of the story proceeded to be very interesting and gripping. This was my first spy- novel and I wasn't let down at all. So everyone who would like to try this genre, I strongly recommend this book.

Oxford Soju Club follows the perspectives of a North Korean spy, a Korean American spy, and a South Korean who runs the only Korean restaurant in Oxford, the Soju Club. Doha, a North Korean spymaster, is found killed, and his protege Yohan needs to figure out who did it. I will not give any more of the plot away to avoid spoilers. Oxford Soju Club is unlike anything I have read before. I found the spy thriller aspect intriguing, especially with how it ties into identity. The only downside is that there were time jumps that I found a bit confusing to follow and there were a couple of parts that I found a bit slow to read through, but overall, I enjoyed the book.

A North Korean spy master is discovered knifed on the first pages of Oxford Soju Club. He breathes a few cliched dying words to his protege and an attempt at a fast-paced espionage story follows. Ultimately, choppy scenes are delivered like a muddled James Bond/Jason Bourne script.

Oxford Soju Club feels like it wants to be an immigrant experience and those aspects of the novel are most effective. Great detail is taken in describing Korean food and a North Korean protagonist makes for an interesting choice. The restaurateur character and backstory with his mother created memorable scenes. The cover design is also well done.

Pinning meaning to an bullet paced spy story is no easy task. In this case so many flashbacks can leave the reader challenged to understand the timing of scene delivery. We are bulldozed with 'telling', the plot moves too rapidly and leaps to illogical progressions. Other than mundane action and chase scenes little in the way of 'showing' is offered.

The digital ARC I received was riddled with page breaks in odd places, random punctuation and out of place tabs. It served as a challenging digital reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn Press for the review copy.

I was drawn to the cover and the author of this book but had very little idea what to expect in the novel. The nature of the story (espionage and identity) meant that sometimes I felt a little bit lost but I was drawn to the main characters. I thought the characterisations of Jihoon and Yunah were particularly effective. Their stories have continued in my mind a few days after finishing the novel. There are many elements of the story which might suggest a very exciting plot driven book (which in many ways it is). It begins with a stabbing in an alleyway and none of the characters are ever very far away from danger or violence. It seemed to me that it is a book that is asking and answering much bigger questions about purpose, identity and belonging with a frenetic side order of safe houses, shootings, spies and intelligence agencies.

I would recommend reading it to engage with those deeper questions and whilst you are thinking about them go along for the chaotic ride rather than reading for a neat plot-drive tale of spies in Oxford. I was not expecting a book about a shadowy underworld of international spying to feel so real. That is the real triumph of this book - I believed in the authenticity of the characters and believed that anything might happen as I was allowed to spy on their world and understand their motivations.

We’ve seen countless spy and CIA novels to the point where the genre can feel a bit stagnant, but this novel brings a fresh, multicultural protagonist and background, adding a much-needed kick—kind of like a good dose of gochujang in my bibimbap (hope it doesn’t sound too cheesy!).

I also love the kimchi, ramen and multiple Korean food references throughout. Some of the dialogues are both intriguing and inspiring, offering thoughtful insights into how we perceive multiculturalism and its people.