Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Korean writers, publishers head to Paris for 'K-Book Week' event

Korean storytelling is finding a new frontier in Europe, moving past screen and stage to build a commercial presence in print. Leveraging the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, cultural officials in Paris are launching "K-Book Week" — a strategic initiative aimed at converting the continent’s growing appetite for Korean storytelling into concrete international publishing rights. Centered at Galerie Joseph in Paris's Le Marais district through Sept. 18, the two-week program organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signals a fundamental transformation in how global publishing consumes Korean media. Where international readers once sought translated fiction almost exclusively through boutique academic presses, the current craze is powered by cross-media narrative engines like web novels, award-winning picture books, graphic fantasy and speculative fiction explicitly engineered for television and film adaptations. This commercial pivot builds on years of critical momentum. Since Han Kang made history as the first Asian woman to win the Nob

Sep 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korean writers, publishers head to Paris for 'K-Book Week' event

New York fair connects Korean publishers with American readers

A new push to bring Korean literature and webtoons into the U.S. mainstream is set to land in Manhattan this week. Hosted at the NYC Seminar & Conference Center on Wednesday and Thursday, the "Outreach New York Book Fair" directly connects Korean publishers with major U.S. buyers, paving the way for "K-books" to capture the lucrative North American market. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, a state-run body that supports the publishing industry, have organized similar outreach fairs in three to five countries annually since 2015, holding one-on-one export meetings between Korean publishers and local buyers. Last year's edition, held in five countries, produced 1,045 consultations and about $17.66 million in export results. Last year's New York leg alone generated 252 meetings worth more than $7.5 million. This year's fairs will also visit Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Italy. In New York, 15 Korean publishers, including Dasan Books, will meet 40 U.S. publishing houses, agencies and imprints, among them Penguin Random House,

Sep 2, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

New York fair connects Korean publishers with American readers

How running changed Kian84's battle with panic disorder

More than a decade ago, one of the many diet trends to capture public attention was the so-called paleo diet. The basic idea was to eat plenty of meat, fat and vegetables while sharply reducing bread, grains and dairy products. Its premise was that many human diseases emerged after the transition to settled agricultural life, and that people would therefore be healthier if they returned to something closer to the diet of their hunter-gatherer ancestors. Grains and dairy products that became abundant after the rise of agriculture were pushed aside in favor of meat and vegetables — although, of course, no one was suggesting a return to the brutal struggle for survival, hunger after failed hunts or the shorter life spans of prehistoric humans. "The Perfect Primitive," a book published in March by popular YouTuber Ja Chung, whose online name is short for "self-made young man" in Korean, builds on a similar idea. The book has gone through more than 14 printings since its release. Like many books written by prominent YouTubers, its greatest strength lies in packaging a range of existing inf

Aug 29, 2026By Hankookilbo

How running changed Kian84's battle with panic disorder

K-LIT REVIEW Minyoung Kang's 'Plant Lady' gets comfortable with 'cozy horror'

A lush plant shop tucked away in an unassuming residential neighborhood; a lone woman snipping and pruning, enveloped by leaves and shoots she cares for with motherly tenderness; a small cast of ordinary characters each bearing issues the resolution of which promised happy endings; and lastly, the must-have feature — some cats. "Plant Lady" by Minyoung Kang has all the essential ingredients of a typical cozy read. If you disregard the murders, that is. My advice for this book is to skip the blurb. Do not read it at all. This is coming from someone who sorely regrets scrutinizing the blurb from start to finish before diving into the book. Had I ignored the synopsis of events, the preposterous juxtaposition of a soothing neighborhood plant shop and the gruesome plot that unfolds in it would have been 10 times more impactful. Instead, this book is best approached from the following angles: feminine rage, cozy horror and a fast-paced plot that takes no prisoners. Start with feminine rage. In her author’s note, Kang explained that she had read too many books in which unnamed women died

Aug 29, 2026By Faye Leung

[K-LIT REVIEW] Minyoung Kang's 'Plant Lady' gets comfortable with 'cozy horror'

AI can translate words, but doesn't bear responsibility, experts say

Translators must defend their role not by competing with artificial intelligence (AI) on speed, but by taking responsibility for the cultural and ethical choices embedded in their work, experts said Friday at a conference on literary translation organized by the Literature Translation Institute (LTI) Korea. The International Translators' Summit brought together Lee Sang-bin, a professor of English interpretation and translation at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; Korean American literary translator and poet Stine An; and novelist-translator Moon Ji-hyuk. The discussion wasn't about whether AI can produce fluent translation. Instead, the panelists focused on who should bear responsibility for a translation, how translators should use AI and what kind of work must remain human-led. Lee argued that translation is not simply the transfer of meaning from one language to another. “I want to say that translation is not the work of copying meaning, but an act of responding to the words of the other,” the professor said, adding that a translator can never completely know an author or sou

Aug 28, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

AI can translate words, but doesn't bear responsibility, experts say

Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch, author Danielle McLaughlin to visit Seoul in September

The Embassy of Ireland in Seoul will host Booker Prize-winning novelist Paul Lynch and short-story writer Danielle McLaughlin in September, marking Lynch's first visit to Korea, the embassy said. Lynch, author of "Prophet Song," which won the 2023 Booker Prize — Britain's leading literary award for English-language fiction — will hold a public conversation with readers on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at Daesan Hall in Seoul's Gwanghwamun area. The talk, titled "Imagination That Awakens Reality," will explore how literature reflects real-world events and how imagination can offer new ways of understanding the present. "Prophet Song" follows an ordinary family in a fictional Ireland gripped by totalitarian rule, using their experience to examine the spread of authoritarianism, loss of freedom, displacement and human dignity. The novel won international acclaim for its realism and dystopian imagination, alongside the 2023 Booker Prize and the 2024 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. McLaughlin, author of the short-story collection "Dinosaurs on Other Planets," will give a lecture and creative-writing wo

Aug 28, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch, author Danielle McLaughlin to visit Seoul in September

Author Jo Jung-rae returns with love story, calls literature defense of humanity

Novelist Jo Jung-rae, best known for sweeping epics chronicling Korea’s modern history, has returned to romantic love in his new two-volume novel, “Seorikkot,” (frost flower in Korean). He said that literature must preserve human imagination and feeling in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and smartphones. At a press conference in Seoul, the 83-year-old author said his new work, which may be his final full-length novel, was the first work in his 56-year literary career with love at its center. “I wanted to write a sad love story,” Jo said. “But this is not a simple love story.” The novel marks a notable departure for Jo, whose landmark historical trilogy — “Taebaek Mountain Range” (1989), “Arirang” (1994) and “Hangang” (2001) — has long been regarded as one of Korean literature’s most ambitious attempts to narrate the country’s 20th century upheavals. The three sprawling novels, which trace colonial rule, national division, war, industrialization and ordinary lives caught in history, have sold more than 15 million copies, accord

Aug 24, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

Author Jo Jung-rae returns with love story, calls literature defense of humanity

Book lovers flock to buy cover art, collectibles, literary buns

At noon on Sunday, the third floor of Yongsan’s I’Park Mall in Seoul offered a compact map of what is famous among young Koreans: Instagram-famous desserts, fashion labels, electronic keyboards, anime and Harry Potter merchandise. In the middle of it all, visitors were quietly leafing through Virginia Woolf, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ernest Hemingway and Jane Austen. They had waited hours to get there. The books were part of “Beyond the Sentence,” a temporary pop-up store by Minumsa, one of Korea’s best-known publishers, and character intellectual property brand Today’s Cuteness. Running from Aug. 11 through Tuesday, the pop-up turns the publisher’s familiar World Literature series and poetry books into collectible objects, pairing classic covers with deliberately loose, childlike illustrations and wide-eyed animal characters. The project will move to Busan on Aug. 28 until Sept. 30. The scene captures a growing publishing trend in Korea: books are no longer purchased only to be read. They are photographed, displayed, customized, carried and collected — a development ti

Aug 24, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

Book lovers flock to buy cover art, collectibles, literary buns

Korean poetry takes center stage at Edinburgh book festival

A Korean poet and his English translator met with readers in Edinburgh this week to explore what can be lost and be newly found when a poem crosses a language barrier. Poet Lee Seong-bok and translator Anton Hur discussed the former's poetry collection “That Summer’s End” at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Thursday, part of a second consecutive year of partnership between the festival and the Korean Cultural Centre UK. The conversation, chaired by poet and writer Andrew McMillan, examined the themes of love, loss, pain and beauty in Lee’s work and the choices involved in rendering its compressed language in English. Hur discussed how he sought to preserve the rhythm, ambiguity, imagery and emotional resonance of the Korean originals while allowing the poems to stand on their own for English-language readers. The festival describes Lee as one of Korea’s most influential poets and notes that he has published eight poetry collections as well as other works. Hur has translated Korean works including Bora Chung’s “Cursed Bunny” and Sang Young Park’s “Love in th

Aug 21, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Korean poetry takes center stage at Edinburgh book festival

Arts Council Korea's Literature Week returns to Seoul in September

Arts Council Korea, the state-run agency dedicated to funding and promoting the nation’s cultural landscape, will host Literature Week 2026 throughout September. Under the theme “A Sidelong Glance,” the festival will anchor its main festivities at Marronnier Park and its own venues in Daehangno — Seoul’s vibrant, historic theater district — while simultaneously rolling out events at cultural sites nationwide. Literature Week is designed to bridge the gap between writers and readers, celebrating the written word’s power to foster empathy. By encouraging attendees to cast a "sidelong glance," organizers aim to inspire audiences to look beyond their immediate realities and understand overlooked narratives, quiet histories and perspectives distinctly different from their own. This year’s expansive footprint features a staggering 131 events. In Daehangno alone, attendees can explore 38 distinct stage programs alongside 10 interactive exhibitions and hands-on activities. Beyond the capital, the festival relies heavily on grassroots cultural networks, partnering with regional i

Aug 20, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Books