Lee's 2016 novel Bukjjok Nyeoja (북쪽 녀자 Woman from the North) is a story of love and separation between a North Korean woman (Lim Chae-ha) and South Korean man (Baek San-seo). Lim is a tour guide working at Mount Kumgang from the North Korean side, while Baek is a guide from the South Korean side. The two meet on July 3, 2008 and have a passionate romance over the next forty days. They are forced to separate when all tours from the South are suspended due to the death of a South Korean tourist who was shot dead for wandering into a North Korean military area, which is a real-life incident that occurred on July 11, 2008. The lovers long after each other for three years until they decide to seek each other out. But in a cruel twist of fate, Lim defects to South Korea while Baek crosses over to the North. The novel ends with Baek being shot while crossing the Tumen River and Lim mourning over his dead body.