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
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
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...
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop: The Heart-Warming Korean Sensation
Bo-reum, Hwang
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
Ebook
"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...
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...
A business proposal, vol. 1
Haehwa
Paper Book
A PROPOSAL OF A LIFETIMEHari Shin has officially hit rock bottom. After being worked to the bone at her office job, meeting her long time crush's girlfriend, and helping to pay off her family's debt, she's 0 for 3 with work, love, and money. Luckily, her friend Yeongsuh has a business proposal for...
Greek lessons : 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   NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * A...
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
Dark moon
Hybe
Paper Book
The seven most popular boys at Decelis Academy all share a secret--they're vampires. Keeping their identities concealed and dealing with their werewolf rivals is trouble enough, but the appearance of a mysterious new student only further complicates things. The girl, Sooha, also has hidden powers,...
The star seekers, vol. 1
Hybe
Paper Book
In an age when magic idols reign supreme, Star One is just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, Tier-Two boy band at best. Though the five members have been giving it their all for the past three years, their lack of magic remains a hopelessly insurmountable wall, and with their company turning its back on...
When things don't go your way : Zen wisdom for difficult times
Hyemin
Paper Book
Have you ever felt like life has thrown you a curveball? Are you struggling to overcome unexpected challenges and setbacks? While loss, heartbreak, and loneliness are all part of the human experience, in this warm guide, internationally bestselling author Haemin Sunim shows us that these moments can...
Beasts of a little land : a novel
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...
The old woman with the knife : a novel
Ku, Pyŏng-mo
Paper Book
*A New York Times Book Review Notable Book* *An NPR Best Book of the Year* *An NPR Book We Love* *A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick* *A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar* *A Boston Globe Thriller...
Brother's keeper
Lee, Julie (Children's fiction writer)
Paper Book
With war looming on the horizon and winter setting in, can two children escape North Korea on their own? WINNER OF THE FREEMAN BOOK AWARD! North Korea. December, 1950. Twelve-year-old Sora and her family live under an iron set of rules: No travel without...
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
In this "mesmerizing" novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pachinko, the Korean-American daughter of first-generation immigrants strives to join Manhattan's inner circle (USA Today). Meet Casey Han: a strong-willed,...
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 ...
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...
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...
Door
Yi, Chi-hyďĹ˝on (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 picture bride
Yi, KÅ­m-i
Audiobook
The Dallergut dream department store a novel
Yi, Mi-ye
Paper Book
THE #1 KOREAN BESTSELLER WITH OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD For fans of magical realism and the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi comes this cozy fantasy debut. What if there was a store that sold dreams? Which...
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...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.