Lifestyle - The Korea Times

‘Without readers, I wouldn’t have come this far’: Actor-writer Cha In-pyo returns with 5th novel

For Cha In-pyo, an actor and writer, his fifth full-length novel, “Our Neighborhood Library,” is about what has motivated him to keep writing for 17 years: an abiding sense of gratitude to his readers. “A novel is started by an author, but it is the readers who complete it,” Cha said at a press conference in Jung District, Seoul, on Wednesday. “I poured that gratitude into this book.” The book is Cha’s first novel in two years. This time, he turns to metafiction, following a contemporary writer referred to as “I,” who writes about a painter in Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom that existed from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. In doing so, he contemplates desire, death and the meaning carried by records. At the press conference, Cha opened with modesty and gratitude — an echo of the theme running through his new book. “There are so many excellent writers in Korea,” Cha said. “I don’t think what I’ve done is anything particularly special. That makes me all the more grateful to be here.” “Our Neighborhood Library” opens with a writer i

May 28, 2026By Hankookilbo

‘Without readers, I wouldn’t have come this far’: Actor-writer Cha In-pyo returns with 5th novel

K-LIT REVIEW Cho Yeeun’s 'Teddy Bears Never Die' shrugs off genre constraints

Is it a thriller? Is it supernatural horror? A revenge quest? A mystery? Or a coming-of-age tale of first love? Cho Yeeun’s “Teddy Bears Never Die” is all of the above, with the added zest of pithy social commentary tucked into the edges. The story follows Hwayoung, a teenage girl living in squalid conditions and surviving on odd jobs after her mother died and she was forced out of school. She is fueled by one thing: revenge. Though the whole world is convinced her mother died in an unfortunate accident, she knows the truth is much more sinister. One by one, her odd jobs dry up. At her wit’s end and teetering on the edge of despair, Hwayoung spots a grimy teddy bear in an alleyway that catapults her back to brighter days long past. Unable to leave it lying in the muck, she scoops it up and takes it back to the dingy apartment she shares with more than 10 people. Imagine Hwayoung’s utter shock and disbelief when her teddy bear comes to life at a critical moment and saves her by hacking her assailant half to death with a hatchet. It turns out that the furry toy was possessed by

May 21, 2026By Faye Leung

[K-LIT REVIEW] Cho Yeeun’s 'Teddy Bears Never Die' shrugs off genre constraints

K-LIT REVIEW Cho Yeeun’s ‘Shift’ reveals true cost of a miracle

What are you willing to trade for a miracle? Your life, or someone else’s? And if that’s the price, then which lives are worth saving? These questions lie at the heart of Cho Yeeun’s debut full-length novel, “Shift,” which won the grand prize at the 4th Kyobo Bookstore Story Contest in 2016 and is newly published by U.K.-based imprint Honford Star with an English translation by Yewon Jung. The setup of “Shift” is immediately compelling: Detective Yi Chang, whose sister’s life was prolonged by a miracle 10 years ago, now needs another one to save his niece, who suffers from the same ailment. His biggest lead is a corpse covered in malignant tumors, found in a secluded beach hideout. The more Yi Chang learns about the truth behind that long-ago event, the more he realizes that miracles aren’t such an innocent matter — that even the smallest blessing can incur a terrible price. Divided into three sections, “Shift” first follows Yi Chang in his quest, then turns its attention to a young man named Lan who holds the secret to the much-coveted miracle, before weaving th

May 19, 2026By Emerald Gao

[K-LIT REVIEW] Cho Yeeun’s ‘Shift’ reveals true cost of a miracle

Fantasy writer Lee Young-do falls short of French literary award

Korean fantasy writer Lee Young-do has fallen short of winning the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, one of France’s most prestigious speculative fiction awards, but his nomination marked a significant milestone for Korean genre literature on the global stage. Lee’s epic fantasy novel “The Bird That Drinks Tears” was shortlisted among six finalists in the foreign novel category. The winner was announced Monday at La Comedie du Livre, a major literary event held annually in France. French-Armenian-Australian novelist Alex Landragin's "Crossings" won the award in the foreign novel category. The Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, awarded by a jury of critics, writers and journalists, is widely regarded as France’s top honor in science fiction and fantasy literature. First published in Korea in 2003, the four-volume series has sold more than 1 million copies domestically, cementing its status as a landmark in Korean fantasy fiction. The novel is widely praised for building a richly imagined world that diverges from Western medieval fantasy traditions, incorporating distinctly Korean element

May 18, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

Fantasy writer Lee Young-do falls short of French literary award

Korea takes K-book export drive to Southeast Asia as demand surges

Korean books are finding a growing audience far beyond Seoul, and now the government is betting that Southeast Asia could become the next major frontier for K-book exports. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday it would hold traveling book fairs in Hanoi and Bangkok this week as part of a broader push to expand the overseas market for Korean publishing content. The Hanoi event runs Sunday through Monday at the Grand Vista Hanoi Hotel, while the Bangkok fair will take place Wednesday through Thursday at the Amari Bangkok Hotel. The ministry said 20 Korean publishers, including MiraeN, Woori School, Woongjin Thinkbig and Hansol Soobook, will participate in export consultations with local publishers and media companies from Vietnam and Thailand. In total, 51 companies from Vietnam and 39 companies from Thailand are expected to join the meetings, alongside consultations involving 102 additional Korean titles represented through copyright agencies. The government said interest in Korean publishing content has risen sharply across Southeast Asia in recent years. In Vietnam, Ko

May 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Korea takes K-book export drive to Southeast Asia as demand surges

Han Kang to open Berlin Philharmonic’s literary event in September

Nobel Prize-winning author Han Kang will take the stage at the Berlin Philharmonic's Chamber Music Hall on Sept. 7 for a book talk launching the orchestra's new literary series for the 2026-27 season. According to the Philharmonic's website, the event will also be a joint project with the Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin, with Han invited as the first guest. Designed to bring together literature and chamber music, the 90-minute show invites prominent authors to read from and discuss their latest works, while members of the Philharmonic perform chamber pieces chosen to reflect the themes and mood of the writing. The orchestra said it chose to launch the program with Han as a reflection of the shared qualities between her prose and classical music, both defined less by grand gestures than by precision and resonance. "Literature, like music, reflects the world and our lives," the orchestra said on its website. "With our new series, Satzwechsel, we place the two in dialogue." The appearance marks one of Han's few literary engagements since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024

May 18, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min

Han Kang to open Berlin Philharmonic’s literary event in September

‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang voted top favorite among Int’l Booker Prize winners

Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” has been chosen as readers’ favorite among International Booker Prize winning titles, underscoring the enduring global resonance of the unsettling novel a decade after its win. To mark the 10th anniversary of the prize in its current format, organizers invited readers to vote online between February and April on the 10 winning titles from 2016 to 2025. Nearly 10,000 people took part, with almost one-third selecting “The Vegetarian” as their favorite, the prize committee announced Monday, U.K. time. First published in Korean in 2007 and translated into English by Deborah Smith in 2015, “The Vegetarian” became Han’s first book to reach English-speaking readers and went on to clinch the International Booker (then the Man Booker International Prize) the following year. The novel follows Yeong-hye, a seemingly ordinary woman who refuses to eat meat and steadily “naturalizes” herself in a disturbing rebellion against patriarchal and human-centered violence. At the time, judges praised it as “concise yet elaborate, and at the same time shocki

May 5, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang voted top favorite among Int’l Booker Prize winners

REVIEW Giaae Kwon's memoir traces how K-pop saved her life

In Korea, a bit of extra weight around the midsection can be a positive thing... for a man. I found that out shortly after arriving in Korea in April 1978. Never, though, in the decades since have I heard a single congratulatory word about even a trace of pudginess in a Korean woman. Rather, as we learn in Giaae Kwon’s 2025 memoir, "I’ll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan," the slightest display of obesity can lead to long-lived shaming of the individual. South Korean women are subject to some of the strictest standards of female beauty worldwide, one of the most prominent being maintenance of a slim figure. We learn that for Kwon the shaming began in high school and lasted for a decade. Though growing up bilingual and bicultural to first-generation Korean immigrants to the U.S., she came to believe that she lacked “the right body to belong among Koreans.” What, then, did K-pop fandom do to alleviate the trauma she experienced? There are, after all, as Kwon observes, toxic elements to K-pop such as misogyny and exploitation. The answer, she realized in retrospect, was that

May 1, 2026By Bruce Fulton

[REVIEW] Giaae Kwon's memoir traces how K-pop saved her life

Korea to launch graduate school for literary translation by 2027

Korea plans to open a new graduate school dedicated to literary translation by September 2027, creating a key engine for promoting Korean literature and cultural content globally, the state-run Literature Translation Institute (LTI) Korea announced, Tuesday. LTI Korea President Chon Soo-young said the institute is seeking to “evolve the existing Translation Academy into a regular master’s degree program” to train not only literary translators but also experts in promoting and planning Korean cultural content. “Through the graduate school, we aim to nurture high-level translation professionals who will lead global cultural exchanges in the digital transformation era,” she said at a press briefing marking the launch of a preparatory committee for the school. The new school, which will be based out of LTI Korea’s building in Seoul’s Samseong-dong, will offer a master’s program in Korean literary and cultural content translation with seven language tracks — English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Russian — focusing on translating from Korean into other la

Apr 28, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

Korea to launch graduate school for literary translation by 2027

Peruvian Embassy honors Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa with readings, film

The Embassy of Peru in Korea hosted a cultural tribute to late novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most influential contemporary writers in the Spanish-speaking world and a 2010 Nobel laureate known for his sharp political insight and richly layered storytelling. The event celebrated the 90th anniversary of his birth at the Instituto Cervantes Seoul in central Seoul's Myeong-dong, bringing together diplomats, academics, students and literature enthusiasts. The program featured a screening of a documentary excerpt titled "A Personal Journey Through — I Dedicate My Silence — the Last Novel by Mario Vargas Llosa," reflecting on Vargas Llosa’s final novel and literary legacy. The evening continued with readings and commentary on some of his most influential works, including "The Feast of the Goat," "Pantaleon and the Special Services" and "Harsh Times," presented by ambassadors from several Latin American countries. A highlight of the event was the keynote lecture by professor Son Byeong-sun of the University of Ulsan. A specialist in Latin American literature, he has translated m

Apr 23, 2026By Anna J. Park

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