Kang Min-young's mystery thriller "Plant, Lady" (working title) has secured overseas publication deals, digital content platform company Ridi announced Tuesday.
Ridi has inked a deal with Doubleday, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for the UK release, while Berkley, another imprint of Penguin Random House, acquired the rights for the US. The novel has been sold to publishers in nine countries, including France, Italy and Germany, with total contract values exceeding 1 billion won.
The international editions are set for release in the first half of 2026.
"Plant, Lady" revolves around a puzzling murder case at a quiet plant store, where owner Choi Yoo-hee is as enigmatic as the store itself. Customers visit the store with the same question: "This the place that 'takes care of things, right?'" Meanwhile, Detective Cha notices that men are disappearing near the plant shop.
The novel was initially released as a short story through Ridi's original fiction initiative "Would You Like Soseol" ("soseol" meaning fiction in Korean). Kang later expanded the story into a six-part novel, which was published by Hankyoreh Publishing in June 2024.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
