At Night He Lifts Weights

At Night He Lifts Weights by Kang Young-sook, translated by Janet Hong, is a collection of nine short stories that examine lives shaped by environmental damage, social unease, and personal dislocation.

Set in recognisable yet subtly distorted versions of contemporary Korea, the stories follow characters who are often isolated or unsettled by the world around them. In the title story, an elderly woman living in a declining neighbourhood becomes preoccupied with a man she observes exercising at night, gradually projecting suspicion and fear onto him. Other pieces explore grief, strained relationships, urban decay, economic instability, and the lingering effects of ecological disaster.

Blending realism with understated surreal and noir elements, the collection presents a tense, atmospheric portrait of individuals navigating fragile communities and an increasingly precarious environment.