Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz

Baik’s idea of hyunjang leads me to consider South Korean activists’ efforts to reconnect with their former activism. Though marginalized or particularized in the global world order, each site may help steer what he calls interconnected East Asia, “away from a New Cold War, and toward an East Asian Community” (p.137). In his retrospective of the interconnection of solidarity movements and intellectual engagement across East Asia, Young-seo Baik (2013) argues that each site, from the Korean peninsula to Okinawa and Taiwan, should be considered as a core location for overcoming the global system based on American hegemony. In this chapter, I examine how South Korean grassroots activism transforms mere targets of international development into “core locations” (hyunjang) for counter-development as veteran activists attempt to revitalize their legacy in the realm of international development.

Instead, Bongcheon-dong emerged as a critical metaphor for producing a creative dialogue between veteran grassroots activism and the growing regime of international development NGOs. But as they find comfort in their shared experiences as Jews of color and fumble towards friendship, can they ignore their growing feelings for each other? With sexy charm and undeniable wit, Rachel Runya Katz's sparkling debut, Thank You For Sharing, proves that if you're open to love, anything is possible.On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Korean Action for Overseas Community Organization (KACO, pseudonym) in July 2016, the founder told the audience that “the world is much the same as Bongcheon-dong.” In her statement, Bongcheon-dong was neither an administrative place-name in Seoul nor the erstwhile site for the anti-eviction struggles that she had engaged in during the 1990s. With every meeting and post-work social gathering with colleagues, the tension (and chemistry) between Daniel and Liyah builds until they’re forced to confront why they broke apart years ago at camp.

That is, until Daniel's marketing firm gets hired by the Chicago museum where Liyah works as a junior curator, and they’re forced to collaborate with potential career changing promotions on the line. At least they can go their separate ways again after landing. Until they find themselves seated next to each other on a plane, and bitterly pick up right where they left off. Daniel Rosenberg and Liyah Cohen-Jackson’s last conversation-fourteen years ago at summer camp-ended their friendship. A chemistry-filled childhood friends to enemies to lovers debut romance about two people forced to confront their pasts to save both their relationship and careers.

Thank You for Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz