Publishing industry idol Kim Min-kyung makes variety talk show debut on Radio Star

Kim Min-kyung, a six-year editor at Minumsa Publishing's overseas literature team, appeared on MBC's Radio Star on June 24 at 10:30 PM. Lee Ji-young, Kim Dae-ho, and Kyung Su-jin joined her for an episode themed "Everyone is fighting for their own convictions."

Most people know her from Minumsa TV, the company's YouTube channel, and Bijuryu Chodeoksek (비주류 초대석). The web series brings together people with distinct tastes to discuss movies, comics, and books. An offline concert spun out of the show. 1,500 seats sold out in five seconds, with 20,000 people waiting.

On the show she broke down what an editor actually does: translation contracts, cover design, marketing, proofreading. Most of her day vanishes into checking proofs, correcting typos, refining sentences.

She walked the panel through her path to get there. Six years unemployed before Minumsa hired her. During that stretch she prepared for the journalism civil service exam, applied to dozens of outlets including MBC, and kept washing out in the final round. Her family—Seoul National University College of Pharmacy and law school graduates—supported her through it. Minumsa was the first publishing house she ever applied to.

She told the panel she has zero plans to quit. "If things don't go well, I can just go to work at the company." Having a stable job makes the content side easier to take risks on. Sitting across from Kim Dae-ho, she added: "Whenever I want to quit, I think of announcer Kim Dae-ho." She used to apply to his network repeatedly.

She also introduced the "text hip" trend, calling books the most fashionable item you can carry right now. She films content on half-days, vacation days, or after clocking out. Not going anywhere.