Open Books Challenge 2026: Set in South Korea or by a South Korean Author

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are suggestions that fit the 2026 category "In honor of Rochester's Sister City in Siheung City, South Korea, read a book by a South Korean author, or set in South Korea."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
RPL Staff
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I want to die but I want to eat tteokbokki
Baek, Sehee
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling therapy memoir translated by International Booker shortlistee Anton Hur. PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you? ME: I don't know, I'm-what's the word-depressed? Do I have to go into detail? Baek...
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books
Bo-Reum, Hwang
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the author of the international bestseller Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, a heartfelt invitation to reflect on your relationship with reading and celebrate the joys of books. Why do we read? What is it that we hope to...
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
Bo-Reum, Hwang
Paper Book
Every Day I Read, a new work from Hwang Bo-reum for book-lovers, available now INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER * NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER INDIE NEXT PICK * Debutiful Most Anticipated Book of 2024 * Powell's Pick of the Month * A...
The good son
Ch ng, Yu-j ng
Paper Book
"Ingeniously twisted." --Entertainment Weekly, "Must List" "Will leave even the most seasoned crime fiction readers guessing." --CrimeReads "[Jeong] maintains suspense about her inhuman-seeming protagonist's fate until the bitter end." --The...
Kim Jiyoung, born 1982
Cho, Nam-ju
Paper Book
Truly, flawlessly, completely, she became that person. In a small, tidy apartment on the outskirts of the frenzied metropolis of Seoul lives Kim Jiyoung. A thirtysomething-year-old "millennial everywoman," she has recently left her white-collar desk job--in order to care for her newborn...
Miss Kim knows, and other stories
Cho, Nam-ju
Paper Book
Written in Cho Nam-joo's signature razor-sharp prose, Miss Kim Knows follows eight women as they confront how gender shapes and orders their lives. A woman is born. A woman is filmed in public without consent. A woman is gaslit. A woman is discriminated against at work. A woman grows old. A woman...
DMZ colony
Choi, Don Mee
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2020 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY "Don Mee Choi's urgent DMZ Colony captures the migratory latticework of those transformed by war and colonization. Homelands present and past share one sky where birds fly, but 'during the Korean War cranes had no place to land.'...
Solo leveling. 1
Chugong
Paper Book
Known as the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung's contribution to raids amounts to trying not to get killed. Unfortunately, between his mother's hospital bills, his sister's tuition, and his own lack of job prospects, he has no choice but to continue to put his life on the line...
Cursed bunny
Chung, Bora
Paper Book
A wildly original novel from a rising star of Korean literature--surreal, chilling fables that take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech with absurdist humor and a (sometimes literal) bite.    From an author never before published in...
Grass
Gendry-Kim, Keum Suk
Paper Book
Appeared on best of the year lists from The New York Times, The Guardian, and more! Winner of The Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Print Comic of the Year! Grass is a powerful antiwar graphic novel, telling the life story of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee...
The naked tree
Gendry-Kim, Keum Suk
Paper Book
A delicate, timeless, and breathtaking coming-of-age classic, reimagined Critically acclaimed and award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim returns with a stunning addition to her body of graphic fiction rooted in Korean history. Adapted from Park Wan-suh's beloved novel,...
The waiting
Gendry-Kim, Keum Suk
Paper Book
The story begins with a mother's confession...sisters permanently separated by a border during the Korean War Keum Suk Gendry-Kim was an adult when her mother revealed a family secret: She had been separated from her sister during the Korean War. It's not an uncommon story--the...
The vegetarian : a novel
Han, Kang
Paper Book
FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE "[Han Kang's] intense poetic prose . . . exposes the fragility of human life."--The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ...
We do not part : a novel
Han, Kang
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD, THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD, AND THE NBCC BARRIOS BOOK IN TRANSLATION PRIZE
I am the subway
Kim, Hyo-Å­n
Paper Book
A cinematic journey through the Seoul subway that masterfully portrays the many unique lives we travel alongside whenever we take the train. A poetic translation of the bestselling Korean picture book. SIX STARRED REVIEWS ★ "Lucky readers, climb aboard: extraordinary...
How we share cake
Kim, Hyo-Å­n
Paper Book
From the creator of multi-award-winning I Am the Subway.  A Kirkus Best of 2024 A 2024 Horn Book Fanfare ★ "[A] sweetly hilarious tale" --Kirkus Reviews ★ "clever, humorous" --Horn Book Review ★ "delicious" --Shelf Awareness ...
The depth of the lake and the height of the sky
Kim, Jihyun
Paper Book
'Astonishing to behold.' --The New York Times It's summertime and a boy and his dog are leaving behind their apartment in the busy city. His grandparents' home in the countryside feels like a different world. From the window, the curious boy sees a path leading enticingly into the...
Blue sky morning
Kim, Jihyun (Illustrator)
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of 2025 by The Center for the Study of Multicultural Childrens Literature Eunny and Mama notice the beauty of an ordinary day in this mindful picture book from the creator of The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky. Eunny wakes up slowly. Soon it's time for...
Yeonnam-Dong's smiley laundromat
Kim, Jiyun
Paper Book
For readers who loved Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Book Shop, this heartwarming Korean bestseller tells the story of a mysterious diary left in a laundromat brings together patrons from all walks of life. Yeonnam-Dong's Smiley Laundromat is a place where the...
Beasts of a Little Land
Kim, Juhea
Paper Book
"A spectacular debut filled with great characters and heart." --Lisa See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan FINALIST FOR THE 2022 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE · FINALIST FOR THE BALCONES FICTION PRIZE · LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN AWARD An epic story of love, war, and...
City of night birds : a novel
Kim, Juhea
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "This story left me thinking about the ways we overcome setbacks and redefine what truly matters." - Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club December '24 Pick) A once-famous ballerina faces a final choice--to return to the world of Russian dance that nearly broke...
Blood of the old kings
Kim, S ng-il (Science fiction writer)
Paper Book
Named a Best Fantasy Book of the Year by NPR, Amazon, Paste, and Book Riot! From award-winning Korean author Sung-il Kim & translated by the world-renowned Anton Hur, Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic journey unlike any other. There is no...
Blood for the Undying Throne
Kim, Sung-Il
Paper Book
Blood for the Undying Throne, the sequel to Blood of the Old Kings, from award-winning Korean author Sung-il Kim and translated by the world-renowned Anton Hur, is an epic fantasy adventure where the corpses of sorcerers power an empire and ordinary people rise up to tear it down...
Lemon
Kwŏn, Yŏ-sŏn
Paper Book
New York Times Book Review: Editor's Choice  Philadelphia Inquirer: Best Book of the Month   World Literature Today: Notable Translation of the Year   CrimeReads: Best International Crime Novel of the Year Ms. Magazine:...
Pachinko
Lee, Min Jin
Paper Book
One of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan-the inspiration for the television series on...
Free food for millionaires /
Lee, Min Jin.
Paper Book
Casey Han's four years at Princeton gave her many things, "But no job and a number of bad habits." Casey's parents, who live in Queens, are Korean immigrants working in a dry cleaner, desperately trying to hold on to their culture and their identity. Their daughter, on the other hand, has entered...
8 lives of a century-old trickster : a novel
Lee, Mirinae
Paper Book
"Fantastically original doesn't begin to describe this exhilarating globe-spanning, decade-hopping masterpiece. Lee has achieved the impossible--from a fractured century of agonies and betrayals, she has woven a novel of immense beauty and regeneration." -- Junot Díaz, author of ...
The jellyfish bus
Lee, Suhyeon (Illustrator)
Paper Book
A slow-moving jellyfish finds his groove transporting deep sea tourists in this story about the power of community Slowpoke the jellyfish bus loves his job transporting fellow sea creatures, but he struggles to keep up with demands for faster travel. After he's called into headquarters and...
Magic candies
Paek, Hu?i-na
Paper Book
A quirky story about finding your voice, from internationally acclaimed author Heena Baek. Tong Tong could never have imagined what everyone around him was thinking. But when he gets hold of some magic candies, suddenly there are voices everywhere. He can hear how his couch feels,...
Moon pops
Paek, Hu?i-na
Paper Book
A witty, weird, and wonderful spin on a classic Korean folktale, the first picture book to be published in English by internationally acclaimed Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Heena Baek "Whimsically varied perspectives and the unusual depth of field offered by Baek's technique make...
Snowglobe 2
Pak, So-yo?ng
Paper Book
The groundbreaking Korean phenomenon that Entertainment Weekly called "The Hunger Games meets Squid Game" continues with even more dark secrets and shocking surprises. The temperature is rising and the truth at the center of Chobahm's frozen world will be revealed in the...
Love in the big city : a novel
Park, Sang Young
Paper Book
A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul Love in the Big City is the English...
Snowglobe
Park, Soyoung
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The groundbreaking Korean phenomenon that Entertainment Weekly called "The Hunger Games meets Squid Game"--now in English for the first time! A COSMOPOLITAN BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE YEAR * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST...
I went to see my father : a novel
Sin, Kyŏng-suk
Paper Book
An instant bestseller in Korea and the follow up to the international bestseller, Please Look After Mom; centering on a woman's efforts to reconnect with her aging father, uncovering long-held family secrets. Two years after losing her daughter in a tragic accident,...
Omniscient reader's viewpoint. 01
Singsyong
Paper Book
AT THAT MOMENT, MY LIFE TOOK ON A DIFFERENT GENRE.As a struggling office worker, Dokja Kim's sole joy in life is an online novel so obscure that he's its only reader. Then one day the story comes to an end...and so does the world.People all around the globe suddenly find themselves being massacred...
Broken summer : a novel
Yi, Ch ng-my ng (Novelist)
Paper Book
A death, a lie, a secret. For twenty-six summers he didn't have the courage to face the past. Lee Hanjo is an artist at the peak of his fame, envied and celebrated. Then, on his forty-third birthday, he awakens to find that his devoted wife has disappeared, leaving behind a soon-to...
Door
Yi, Chi-hy n (Illustrator)
Paper Book
A New York Times Editors' Choice Book! "This remarkable wordless picture book bursts with buoyant energy as a boy finds the key to a long-unopened door and makes his way from drabness to a joyful, magical land." --The New York Times Book Review What's...
The Dallergut dream department store a novel
Yi, Mi-ye
Paper Book
The Dallergut Dream-Making District : a novel
Yi, Mi-ye
Paper Book
Take a train ride to where dreams are made... It's been a year since Penny first walked through the doors of the Dallergut Dream Department Store, and surviving a year at the store means one thing... She is now an official employee of the dream industry! She can finally take the...
Marigold Mind Laundry
Yun, Jungeun
Paper Book
Welcome to the Marigold Mind Laundry, where we wash away the stains from your heart. In this enchanting tale--a blockbuster bestseller in Korea--the enigmatic owner of a magical laundromat that erases people's painful memories must learn to find her own peace...

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