My Summer In Seoul

ARC kindly received to write an honest review.
This is not the first book with a romance between an idol and an ordinary person, but what sets it apart from the wave of romances with idols as protagonists is the author's research on the k-pop industry. It is crystal clear in every chapter as protagonist Grace Lee learns by leaps and bounds during her time in Seoul. As someone who's been following groups and the k-pop industry for over ten years, I've seen many (if not all) of the themes covered in the narrative actually happen - through disbands, fights, scandals, threats, slanders, rumors, deaths, weddings, dating, sasaengs, Dispatch articles. But we won't talk about me.
In My Summer in Seoul, we follow Grace Lee on her internship in Seoul as the assistant manager of a super k-pop group, SWT (which I spent the entire time calling Seventeen in my head because my mind turns SWT into SVT automatically), which is managed by her uncle Siu's company. Despite being the daughter of a Korean father, Grace is Korean-American, blonde (even if dyed), doesn't speak or understand Korean, has never been to South Korea, and has no idea of what is being an idol and much less than what she should do during her internship - serve coffee, drive, follow the idols in their schedules, in short, try to facilitate the fulfillment of their maddening schedules. It is perhaps this “raw state” of Grace that is the most interesting factor in her development; for most of the plot, I felt a mixture of anxiety and hope for her because there was clearly a willingness to learn, but lack of preparation before embarking headlong into a world completely different from the American one. Grace's brilliant personality is another factor that can lead the unsuspecting reader to think she's too innocent; in the first chapter, she jumps at the opportunity to intern in South Korea, but throughout the story, the various layers of her personality appear, and we start to identify with her, mainly in her strength and in seeking a sense of belonging that seems unreachable.
It is while she learns to navigate her internship with chaos (of work and her emotions), sweat, and few hours of sleep, that, at the same time, she begins to break the ice with the SWT members until she develops a relationship of friendship with them - and a loving relationship with Lucas, but I will get to that point in time.
SWT, our k-pop group has five boys, Rae, Lucas, Kai, Jay, and Sookie, the maknae (youngest member). They all have their charm, but I was clearly more inclined to like Kai for sharing the name with my all-time bias KAI (from EXO). While Rae and Lucas have secrets and tensions with each other, Kai, Jay, and Sookie show other extremely human tensions such as the need to prove themselves more than a family name or status or the need to guard their feelings or try to rebel without causing damage. The way the author constructed each of the five makes it clear (yes, this emphasis is important) that idols are human, with flaws, desires, secrets, and not objects that fans can control. And along with the mental health issues surrounding Lucas, this is one of the main plot points: remind readers that idols are human. Humans are susceptible to mistakes. Humans have passions. Humans have fears.
At first, Lucas seems to be just another character with a personality problem, a bully. But like all other characters, it takes time to unravel his layers and begin to understand his motivations. As he began to open up to Grace, like the other four characters, his devotion to the group and to the members, who are his real family, gradually became explicit, and we came to understand his attitudes. He is an idol in every way, especially in suffering from rumors, threats, and sasaengs (the “fans” who stalk idols, take pictures and videos and sell to news portals or other fans, or send terrible “gifts” to their idols), and dealing with the weight costs a lot. Lucas is not a perfect character, and this is great.
Anyway, My Summer in Seoul has several layers. There's a load of information about how K-pop works, the approach to the topic of idols' mental health (and suicide), there's obviously romance - and it doesn't just involve Grace and Lucas -, and there's also the reaffirmation of oneself, of what makes us ourselves and that involves the two protagonists. Rachel Van Dyken built an exciting and enchanting narrative with captivating characters and a plot full of conflicts, misunderstandings, laughter, and tears. The broken heart comes, but then everything is fine. I'm always wary of stories about idols and other Korean cultural aspects when they're written by non-Koreans or non-Koreans, but Rachel has done a spectacular and commendable research job, with great descriptions, deep characters, and rounded plot.
It is really a must-read to k-pop and drama fans.