First Love (Hardcover) - Wipik Classic

Author Ivan Turgenev · Publisher Wisdom House · Publication Date 2026-06-30 · ISBN 9791175910928

Book Introduction

The most Wipic way to read classics anew, Wipic Classic

‘Wipic,’ Wisdom House’s short story series that has offered new reading experiences by shedding light on today’s Korean literature through a single short story, now meets readers with classic literature.
‘Wipic Classic’ is a collectible series that, under the slogan of ‘Immortal Classics Chosen by Readers,’ presents works beloved by today’s readers, rather than those with historical literary authority, with modern translation and sophisticated design. The first simultaneous releases, Osamu Dazai’s 『No Longer Human』, Ivan Turgenev’s 『First Love』, and Yi Sang’s 『The Wings』, serve as pilot works, showcasing the worldview and format that Wipic Classic aims for.
Classics are always desired to be read, but when opened, they often feel difficult and distant. Outdated translations and collections-centric compositions are still high barriers, especially for young readers. The Wipic series has, through its experiment of publishing a single short story as a single book, proposed short but intense reading experiences. Wipic Classic also inherits this identity, moving away from existing collections or anthologies, and is designed to allow readers to encounter a single classic short story in a single book. Readers can finish a work without burden, fully experiencing the depth and lingering impression of the classic.
Each volume also includes essays by authors who have loved the works. For 『No Longer Human』, author Yojo, who has shown special affection for the work by adopting the protagonist's name as her own, contributed. For 『First Love』, Lee Jang-wook, a Russian literature translator, poet, and novelist, participated. For 『The Wings』, Heo Yeon, a poet for eternal youth, captured deep reflections and affection for the work. The sincere writings of those who have loved the works for a long time will serve as another guide to reading classics anew.

What is the one classic that remains in your life?

Wipic Classic does not focus on making classics easy, but rather on making them readable anew for today's readers. By offering translations faithful to the original but adapted to modern sensibilities, and designs and editing that enhance collectible value, it lowers the barrier to reading classics and proposes new reading experiences.
The recently published 『No Longer Human』, 『First Love』, and 『The Wings』 are representative classics that have been consistently loved across eras and borders. 『No Longer Human』, the essence of Japanese literature that shows the anxiety and loneliness of living as a human, and the extreme of self-confession; 『First Love』, a masterpiece of Russian literature that delicately portrays the excitement and loss of a once-in-a-lifetime first love, and moments of growth; and 『The Wings』, a problematic work of modern Korean literature that captures anxiety, desire, and the fragmentation of the self with unique imagination and experimental prose, still deliver valid questions and emotions to today's readers.
The biggest feature of Wipic Classic is that it is a 'reader-participatory project.' Starting with the first three volumes, the subsequent works will be selected through reader surveys, completing the entire series together with readers. In particular, it is designed to allow readers to choose works based solely on sentences, without knowing the title or author, enabling them to concentrate on the power of the work itself without preconceptions. Readers' choices will become the next list for Wipic Classic, and the process and results will also be disclosed to enhance the transparency and credibility of the series.
Classics are old, but the way we read them can be new. Wipic Classic proposes a new way of reading classics and will create a new list of classics with today's readers.

The most beautiful record of youth left by Russian literature
The excitement and loss of a once-in-a-lifetime first love
The true face of love, finally confronted at the end of love, 『First Love』

The second work in the Wipic Classic series is Ivan Turgenev’s 『First Love』. It is a masterpiece of Russian literature that delicately portrays the excitement and loss of a once-in-a-lifetime first love, and moments of growth—a time everyone has but can never return to.
Sixteen-year-old Vladimir falls in love at first sight with twenty-one-year-old Zinaida, who has moved into the neighboring house. Although she is the daughter of a poor princess, she possesses a charm that overwhelms poverty. Strong individuality, overflowing vitality, and the power to naturally command men who adore her. Vladimir also succumbs to that power. He goes to great lengths to win her over, not shying away from reckless acts like jumping from a four-meter wall, but Zinaida's heart already belongs to someone else. Vladimir hides in the night garden with a knife, waiting for his rival in the darkness, swept by emotions mixed with jealousy, rage, and fear. And finally, he witnesses a shocking truth. Vladimir sees the true face of love only at the moment his first love ends: beautiful, blind, and irresistible. It leaves more scars than happiness, but no one can escape the happiness infused with that poison. First love comes and goes like a fleeting moment, yet leaves an eternal mark. Vladimir is freed from the fever of first love not at the moment love is realized, but at the moment it shatters. Soon after, his father passes away, leaving Vladimir a will.
“Son, fear a woman’s love. You must fear its happiness, its sweet poison.”
Whether it was a warning about love, a confession, or regret, Vladimir could never know.


∥About Wipic Classic Series∥

Wipic Classic is Wisdom House's classic short story series.
It rereads immortal classics chosen by today's readers with contemporary language and sensibility.
Sentences that shook someone's youth, stories that crossed time to reach us.
Classics that remain in the heart with a single sentence, and that one wants to keep by their side for a long time in a single volume.
The sentence you choose becomes a book.
What is the one classic that remains in your life?

Table of Contents

First Love
Essay_ Lee Jang-wook