A frail young master and a bumbling blind fortune-teller embark on a bizarre investigation adventure!

A New Occult Historical Fantasy by Hyun Chan-yang, Author of Tales from the Sleepless Palace

Gangsu's Bestiary of Oddities, a new full-length novel by master storyteller Hyun Chan-yang—who has captivated readers with historical fantasy page-turners such as Tales from the Sleepless Palace and Sik Tam-jeong Heo Gyun—has been published. Gangsu, the mysterious flower-boy oddity who sprouted a horn on his forehead, lived for over a thousand years yet never aged, and piqued readers' curiosity throughout the Tales from the Sleepless Palace series, now sets off on an adventure with a toad oddity named "Dutabi" in search of the legendary land of "Yeongchun"—a fabled nation where oddities need not live in hiding.

Adding to the experience, the book features a bestiary illustrated by Yoon Ye-ji, delivering the immersive thrill of flipping through a monster encyclopedia. The uniquely crafted world—woven from Korean folklore, history, and fantasy—promises a fresh delight not only for fans of the Tales from the Sleepless Palace series but also for readers seeking a new K-occult experience.

Stumbling, tumbling, and rolling about in search of the strange oddities of this land—
A New Occult Historical Fantasy by Hyun Chan-yang, Author of Tales from the Sleepless Palace

Gangsu's Bestiary of Oddities, a new full-length novel by Hyun Chan-yang—who has captivated readers with historical fantasy page-turners such as Tales from the Sleepless Palace, For Queen Inhyeon's Reviving Pill, and Sik Tam-jeong Heo Gyun—has been published by Wisdom House. It tells the story of Gangsu, the mysterious flower-boy oddity who sprouted a horn on his forehead, lived for over a thousand years without ever aging, and stirred readers' curiosity throughout the Tales from the Sleepless Palace series, as he embarks on a journey in search of oddities.

Gangsu, who became an oddity through the curse of an imugi (a legendary serpent), and Dutabi, born an oddity by nature, set off on an adventure to find the legendary land of "Yeongchun"—a fabled nation where oddities need not live in hiding. Dutabi seeks Yeongchun to live as an ordinary being, while Gangsu travels to uncover the truth about his new identity as an oddity. Following rumors of Yeongchun and its oddities, they investigate and name the strange gods and monsters they encounter along the way.

Set against the backdrop of the Korean Peninsula in ages past—where not only humans but also ghosts, yokai, and monsters coexisted—the uniquely crafted world, woven from Korean folklore, history, and fantasy, promises a fresh delight not only for fans of the Tales from the Sleepless Palace series but also for readers seeking a new K-occult experience. At the end of each leg of their journey, the book includes Gangsu's research logs on the oddities they encounter, along with illustrations by Yoon Ye-ji, delivering the immersive thrill of flipping through a monster encyclopedia. Discover Hyun Chan-yang's signature occult historical fantasy, where familiar tales of the strange and supernatural—from imugi and mermaids to two-headed men and mirage-creating boxes—reveal entirely new facets.

By day, Gangsu protects Dutabi; by night, Dutabi protects Gangsu.
A journey toward Yeongchun—a land for the strange and peculiar oddities,where humans become ghosts and ghosts become humans.

Born in Gaya, Gangsu was a "biology otaku" who loved plants and animals. Defying his father's command to go to war and restore the family honor, he fled—only to be cursed by an imugi, becoming an oddity with a horn on his forehead. Granted an ageless body, he remained trapped in the imugi's lair for a hundred years, until he happened to rescue Dutabi, a toad oddity who had drifted in. A century later, after Gaya had fallen and Silla had taken over the peninsula, Gangsu follows Dutabi like a duckling to adapt to the changed world, and sets out on a research journey across the land to uncover the truth about his own transformed existence—and about the oddities and monsters that inhabit it.

Born between a toad and a human, Dutabi suffers from severe amblyopia. By day, he can see nothing; but when night falls, he can see not only humans but also ghosts and yokai. The problem is that everything appears so vividly that he cannot distinguish between humans and oddities. In the end, he pretends to be blind during the day and works as a fortune-teller by night. Torn between a day of utter blindness and a night of overwhelming sight—and caught between choosing a human life or an oddity's life—Dutabi hears tales of Yeongchun, a land where humans live in hiding and oddities roam freely, and sets out for that very place.

In a world where humans and non-humans are clearly distinguished, Gangsu and Dutabi struggle to accept their own existence as non-human. The two beings, each compensating for the other's shortcomings, set out on a journey toward Yeongchun—called a paradise of oddities—and along the way, they encounter countless ghosts, yokai, and monsters, recording their lives.

Gangsu's Bestiary of Oddities is not a story about defeating oddities. It is a story that questions the boundaries that separate humans from non-humans, and explores the possibility of different beings coexisting together. It invites readers into a lovely and fantastical adventure—one that brings monsters, beings of the night, out into the sunlight of day, to live alongside one another.