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'Dream Life of Mr. Kim' asks: Who are you without your title?
In Korean society, we could say that identity is rarely a solitary thing. From an early age, we are placed into systems: given a class number at school and later assigned to a department in a company, a title affixed to our name. That title matters because it becomes social proof of who we are. So we grow up learning to exist as “someone who belongs somewhere.” That frame defines us. And as long as it holds, our place in society feels stable. The novel recently adapted to the hit eponymous drama
Dec. 2, 2025 -
Han Kang’s ‘Human Acts’ tops country's bestseller lists for second year
“Human Acts,” the searing novel by South Korean writer Han Kang, who last year became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, has claimed the top spot on Korea’s major year-end bestseller lists. Leading overall sales in 2025, “Human Acts” topped Kyobo’s annual rankings for the second consecutive year, according to Kyobo Book Center, the country’s largest bookstore chain, and Yes24, its leading online bookseller, on Monday. The consecutive top ranking has been achieved only fi
Dec. 1, 2025 -
From fragmented memories of shame, adoptee author weaves a home in language
We rarely remember childhood with clarity. What remains are flashes, blurred images capturing only that which faintly surfaces. The past does not unfold like a film with a neat beginning and end. That, perhaps, is the beauty of memory. The same is true for Laure Mi Hyun Croset, a writer who was born in Korea and adopted to Switzerland at 10 months old. Her early memories, too, resist coherence, surviving only as isolated images, blurred at the edges like “a scattered series of uneasy Polaroids s
Nov. 30, 2025 -
Busan International Children’s Book Fair returns for second year
The second Busan International Children’s Book Fair will be held at Bexco in Busan from Dec. 11-14. The event is the country’s first and largest book fair dedicated to children’s literature, according to the Korean Publishers Association, which organized the event and also runs the Seoul International Book Fair. Building on the momentum of its inaugural edition last year, the 2025 fair adopts the theme “The Young Ones and the Sea.” Just as the ocean is the cradle that nurtures life and connects
Nov. 28, 2025 -
Bora Chung scares again with ghostly ‘Midnight Timetable’ that haunts, questions society
Bora Chung, whose “Cursed Bunny” became an international sensation after landing on the International Booker shortlist, is ready to give readers another fright with a new collection of ghost stories. While the 2022 Booker spotlight led to a flurry of renewed interest in her earlier work, Chung’s latest collection, “Midnight Timetable,” offers entirely new stories. Published in Korean shortly after the nomination, the book has now been released in the US, UK and Australia, with rights sold to mor
Nov. 24, 2025 -
Han Kang’s post-Nobel ‘Light and Thread’ set for English release
The English translation of "Light and Thread," the latest book by acclaimed South Korean author and 2024 Nobel Prize laureate Han Kang, is set for release early next year. The English edition, translated by Maya West, E. Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, will be published on March 24 in English-speaking countries by Hogarth, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Originally released in Korean in April, “Light and Thread” was Han’s first publication in Korean since winning the Nobel Prize in literatur
Nov. 23, 2025 -
Nobel laureate Han Kang's nonfiction book, 'Light and Thread,' to be released in English in March
Nobel literature laureate Han Kang's nonfiction book, titled 'Light and Thread,' is set to be released in English in March, a publishing company said Friday. The English version of the book -- her first publication since winning the Nobel Prize last year -- is scheduled to hit the stands on March 24, according to Penguin Random House. It is translated by Maya West, E. Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris. Released in April, its Korean-language version contains a total of 12 writings, including five po
Nov. 22, 2025 -
'The mind does not age': At 105, philosopher continues to teach the art of living
When does a person grow old? Only when you let the thought, “I’m old now,” take over. The mind itself never ages, says Kim Hyung-seuk, the world’s oldest living author. Born on July 6, 1920, Kim, who turned 105 this year, has lived long enough to see his literary legacy set a world record. Last year, Guinness World Records recognized the Yonsei University emeritus professor of philosophy as the world’s oldest male author for his book “Kim Hyung-seuk, 100 Years of Wisdom,” confirming his age at 1
Nov. 18, 2025 -
Speculative fiction explores blurry line between human and machine
"The Seashell Within" By Kim Cho-yeop Rabbit Hole Another leading voice in South Korean science fiction, Kim Cho-yeop is set to make her English-translation debut next April with "If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light," forthcoming from Simon & Schuster and already sold to more than 10 countries. Her first story collection, a stunning and poignant work of speculative fiction, established her as a bestseller and helped bring Korean SF into the mainstream, with more than 400,000 copies sold here.
Nov. 13, 2025 -
Lee Hee-joo’s 'Creamy(nal) Love' confronts obsessive side of love and K-pop
"Creamy(nal) Love" By Lee Hee-joo Munhakdongne Publishing In recent years, much of South Korean fiction translated abroad has leaned toward science fiction or what critics call “healing fiction” — gentle, empathetic stories that capture quiet slices of everyday life. But Lee Hee-joo has taken a decidedly different path. Her work delves into distorted desire and the chaos it leaves behind, offering readers an unsettling glimpse into the darker edges of affection. Since debuting in 2016 with "Phan
Nov. 13, 2025 -
After android jockey and vampires, Cheon Seon-ran turns to zombies
"Where No One Comes" By Cheon Seon-ran Hubble From the android jockeys of "A Thousand Blues" to the vampires of "Midnight Shift." Cheon Seon-ran, one of Korea’s leading voices in science fiction, has explored the boundaries between the human and the nonhuman, loss and survival, salvation and care. Now, she returns with a zombie apocalypse. “The most tragic apocalypse is the zombie,” she writes in the opening lines of her new three-part novella. Here, Cheon’s undead are not the mindless monsters
Nov. 12, 2025 -
Daesan literary awards come full circle as former grant recipients take top honors
Novelist Lee Ki-ho has won the fiction category at the 33rd Daesan Literary Awards for his novel “The Cheerful, Struggle-Free Life of Lee Sibong,” the Daesan Foundation announced Monday during a press conference at Kyobo Tower in Seoul. The novel follows a young man named Lee Si-seup and his grieving family, whose lives become intertwined with their pet, a Bichon Frise named Sibong. Together, they embark on an unlikely odyssey of loss, guilt and healing. Lee said the story was inspired by his ow
Nov. 10, 2025 -
Seoul’s top spots for book lovers this fall
In a city defined by screens and speed, many Seoulites are finding comfort in turning real pages again, trading scrolling for reading as a new form of rest. According to a September survey by the Korean Publishers Association, 87.8 percent of South Koreans read at least one paper book in 2024. The largest share said they read “to broaden their knowledge and become cultured,” followed by those seeking fun, self-improvement or emotional healing. As reading gains traction as a fashionable hobby, ca
Nov. 4, 2025 -
'Children of the Fourth Person' gives voice to victims
Author Kim Ana, who was announced as the winner of the 15th Honbul Literary Award earlier this month for her novel "Children of the Fourth Person," began writing the book as a way to reach out to those who might have lived through the same painful experiences she had. The story begins with two children, Gwangji and Aurora, who grow up in a town called “P.” They are sent to an island facility named Happy Children's Welfare Foundation, also called “Haengabok,” which sounds similar to the Korean wo
Oct. 28, 2025 -
'Literature must give voice to the nonhuman'
Throughout the long age of high modernity, Amitav Ghosh observes, literature and the arts became intensely human-centered. Now, he believes, the time has come to step away from that and begin recognizing the world beyond ourselves. “This is, to me, a very fundamental challenge today. How do we actually try to recognize the agency of nonhuman entities of many different kinds?” said Ghosh. “And I think it’s increasingly recognized across the world that, in confronting our various environmental cri
Oct. 23, 2025