Interview: Yuna Kang

In this episode of eMerge Unchained, host Chad Gurley talks with queer Korean American writer Yuna Kang, whose short story Mi Ha-rin will appear in the September 2025 issue of eMerge Magazine.

Yuna shares how their work blurs the line between poetry and prose, often born from vivid images, abstract phrases, and the emotional tension of love, loss, and alienation. From childhood stick-figure storytelling in library books to shaping speculative and deeply intimate narratives today, Yuna reflects on identity, queerness, and the multiverse of choices that haunt and inspire their characters.

Along the way, they open up about finding their voice in a world that often demands silence, weaving nature and diaspora into their writing, and confronting the political weight of expression in dangerous times. With honesty and humor, Yuna explores how writing can be both a deeply personal practice and an act of resistance.

Whether you’re fascinated by experimental prose, drawn to stories of queer love and longing, or simply curious about how images become narratives, Yuna’s conversation will leave you thinking long after the episode ends.

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