"Beauty Despises Me is a collection of by turns sad and funny stories about the thwarted expectations of the young as they grow older. HeeKyung's characters are misfits who by virtue of their bodies or their lack of social status are left to dream of momentous changes that will never come. Unsatisfied with work, with family, with friends, they lose themselves in diets, books, and blogs. Heekyung's collection humorously but humanely depicts the loneliness and monotony found in many modern lives."--

Eun Heekyung made her entrance to the Korean literary scene in 1995 with her short novel Duet. The next year won the Munhakdongne Fiction Award for her novel A Gift from a Bird, which portrayed the world of adults through the skeptical eyes of a 12 year old narrator. Since her debut she has written 10 books, including six collections of short stories and four novels. Secrets and Lies, published in 2005, is the three-generation story of two interrelated families.