{"id":630,"date":"2026-06-22T12:09:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:09:38","slug":"isabel-j-kim-makes-her-own-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630","title":{"rendered":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Wednesday evenings at Hex&Co., a board-game caf\u00e9 and bar in Morningside Heights, are dedicated to \u201cRPG Encounters,\u201d in which fans of role-playing games gather to create collaborative stories over espresso drinks. On a recent R.P.G. night, Isabel J. Kim\u2014a speculative-fiction author whose first novel, \u201cSublimation,\u201d came out in June\u2014sat at a table in front of a long shelf cluttered with games.<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s the Point of Sex, Anyway?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople really love writing tabletop games, almost as an art form,\u201d Kim, who has long dark hair and was wearing a floral blouse, said. Kim had a busy spring: she turned thirty, got married, and published \u201cSublimation.\u201d (Universal bought the TV rights before the book was even out.) Her own love for T.T.R.P.G.s, a multibillion-dollar subset of the larger board-gaming industry, began in college, with a Dungeons & Dragons group, but solidified during COVID<\/em>, when she began taking a literary interest in the games she played. \u201cThere\u2019s a million indie games that are, like, one or two pages, and, quite frankly, a lot of them are not playable,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it is very interesting to read them.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

On the table in front of her was a small burlap bag containing the rudiments of a mapmaking game called the Quiet Year, in which players use a sheet of paper, a pen, some dice, and a deck of special cards to tell the story of a community struggling to rebuild after society collapses. The game begins in spring, and ends when the Frost Shepherds card, representing the arrival of deep winter, is pulled. Kim started turning over cards and quickly added elements to her town\u2014a mountain river, an evil cave, a charismatic young woman. For each new element, she made a rough sketch on the map. \u201cWhen you write a story, you are creating an artificial situation that is supposed to look natural, and, if you do your job right, it looks effortless,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kim was born in New Jersey, and grew up moving where her father\u2019s job as a physics professor took him. In South Korea, she lived in a house in the small suburban town of Gongju, which quickly expanded when dozens of governmental offices moved to the nearby planned administrative capital of Sejong City. \u201cEvery time I would go back, more of the city would be built,\u201d she said. \u201cAt first, it was, like, \u2018Wow, they\u2019re building high rises and stuff.\u2019 And then, like, \u2018Wow, they got a Starbucks. Wow, they got a Costco?\u2019\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim wrote fiction while studying law and fine art at the University of Pennsylvania, and continued after she became an associate at a big law firm. She chose speculative fiction\u2014an umbrella genre that encompasses sci-fi, dystopia, fantasy, and horror\u2014because, she said, \u201cyou can critique a lot of what\u2019s going on in our world without people immediately jumping to feeling defensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The NY-12 Primary Is Awash with Money but Short on Belief<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSublimation\u201d describes a world where crossing a border creates an \u201cinstance,\u201d an identical version of oneself, who must proceed on to another country and another life while the original remains in place. The book was written before the second Trump Administration\u2019s immigration crackdown became daily news; in \u201cSublimation,\u201d government bureaucrats and their corporate collaborators are \u201cpolitely evil,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThey\u2019re white-glove evil. The characters feel like they have options because they are urban professionals who have money and privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went on, \u201cImmigration is not just a \u2018somebody you never talk to\u2019 issue. It\u2019s not a \u2018somebody who works for you\u2019 issue. It is an issue that affects people of every social class. The way that people think about the world around them, and about mobility, is going to change a lot depending on whether they have a quote-unquote good passport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the game, Kim\u2019s paper map was getting filled in; what was once a tiny mining town now had paved roads, a pier, houses, and a mysterious woodland fairy circle. Finally, after ninety minutes, she pulled the Frost Shepherds card: game over.<\/p>\n

\u201cSublimation\u201d is threaded with references to the Odyssey, the Book of Genesis, and the Korean folk song \u201cArirang\u201d\u2014all stories about departure and return that include themes akin to \u201cinstancing.\u201d \u201c\u200bI\u200bn the universe of my book, we consider being a nation of instances \u200ba point of pride,\u201d Kim\u200b said, \u201cin the same way that America\u200b, during previous Administrations\u200b, might have considered our diversity a strength.\u201d\u00a0\u2666<\/p>\n

Read more The Repo Man Coming for Your Ride<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a board-game caf\u00e9 on the Upper West Side, the lawyer and author discusses her new book, \u201cSublimation,\u201d about borders, parallel selves, and an eerily Trump-like government, Luis A. G\u00f3mez writes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brave-new-world-dept"],"yoast_head":"\nIsabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At a board-game caf\u00e9 on the Upper West Side, the lawyer and author discusses her new book, \u201cSublimation,\u201d about borders, parallel selves, and an eerily Trump-like government, Luis A. G\u00f3mez writes.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"City Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4\"},\"headline\":\"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630\"},\"wordCount\":778,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Brave New World Dept.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630\",\"name\":\"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=630#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"City Relocation News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cityrelocationnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News","og_description":"At a board-game caf\u00e9 on the Upper West Side, the lawyer and author discusses her new book, \u201cSublimation,\u201d about borders, parallel selves, and an eerily Trump-like government, Luis A. G\u00f3mez writes.","og_url":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630","og_site_name":"City Relocation News","article_published_time":"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4"},"headline":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World","datePublished":"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630"},"wordCount":778,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp","articleSection":["Brave New World Dept."],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630","url":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630","name":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World - City Relocation News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-22T12:09:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8228d394537717a343631f4f34919938.webp","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?p=630#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Isabel J. Kim Makes Her Own World"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/","name":"City Relocation News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3e7ce0c0c60d21e12a5ac61fb2b786d4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cityrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}