If I Had Your Face

Frances Cha’s debut novel If I Had Your Face follows four young women in South Korea as they navigate the intense social pressures caused by their genders and socio-economic status. Cha is a former travel and culture editor for CNN in Seoul, using her experiences in South Korea to inspire her two novels If I Had Your Face and The Twin Goblins. Published in 2020, If I Had Your Face was well-received by critics and is widely regarded as a work of literary fiction. The novel discusses the complex relationship between women and restrictive beauty standards, exploring the role of women within South Korean society and how a person’s perception of events is often different from reality.

This guide refers to the 2021 Ballantine paperback edition.

Content Warning: If I Had Your Face discusses body dysmorphia, suicide, child abuse, sexual assault, violence, and miscarriage.

Plot Summary

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha is an intricate and thought-provoking novel set in contemporary Seoul, South Korea. The story follows the lives of four women who navigate the patriarchal and appearance-obsessed society they live in.

The first protagonist is Ara, a young hair stylist working at a high-end salon frequented by Seoul’s elite who is unable to speak after a traumatic event.