Korean Literature in Translation

Books written in Korean and translated into English. Find a new-to-you read and expand your understanding of another culture.
Updated September 19, 2022
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The Vegetarian
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...
The court dancer /
Sin, Kyćong-suk.
Paper Book
Set during the dramatic final years of the Korean Empire, the new novel from Man Asian Literary Prize winner Kyung-Sook Shin features a mysterious dancer caught up in the dizzying sweep of history.  Based on a remarkable true story, New York Times bestselling author Shin...
Human acts :
Han, Kang,
Paper Book
From the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian, a "rare and astonishing" (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice. In the midst of a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is...
I'll Be Right There
Kyung-sook Shin
Paper Book
"A love story between friends. It is so well written. Kyung-sook Shin has this use of language that is just beautiful and poetic. It's a great book if you're looking to escape."-Chelsea Handler, #1New York Timesbestselling author How friendship, European literature, and a...
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Cho Nam-Joo
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...
Love in the big city :
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...
Please Look After Mom
Kyung-sook Shin
Paper Book
A million-plus-copy best seller in Korea—a magnificent English-language debut poised to become an international sensation—this is the stunning, deeply moving story of a family’s search for their mother, who goes missing one afternoon amid the crowds of the Seoul Station subway.
The investigation :
Yi, Chćong-myćong,
Paper Book
Watanabe Yuichi, a young guard with a passion for reading, is ordered to investigate. The victim, Sugiyama, also a guard, was feared and despised throughout the prison and inquiries have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses. But Watanbe is unconvinced; and as he interrogates both the...
The good son /
Chćong, Yu-jćong,
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...
Almond :
Son, Wćon-p'yćong,
Paper Book
A BTS fan favorite! A WALL STREET JOURNAL STORIES THAT CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE PICK * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S STAY HOME AND READ PICK * SALON'S BEST AND BOLDEST * BUSTLE'S MOST ANTICIPATED  The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the...
My Brilliant Life
Kim Ae-ran
Paper Book
A BEST OF THE MONTH SELECTION BY OPRAH MAGAZINE AN NPR BEST BOOK OF 2021 "An eminent South Korean talent makes her American début in this poignant watercolor of a novel . . . Kim is a writer on the move." --O, The Oprah Magazine Ae-ran Kim's My...
The white book /
Han, Kang,
Paper Book
FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE "[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that . . . exposes the fragility of human life."--from the Nobel Prize citation SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE * A "formally daring, emotionally...

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