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Speculative fiction explores blurry line between human and machine
"The Seashell Within" By Kim Cho-yeop Rabbit Hole Another leading voice in South Korean science fiction, Kim Cho-yeop is set to make her English-translation debut next April with "If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light," forthcoming from Simon & Schuster and already sold to more than 10 countries. Her first story collection, a stunning and poignant work of speculative fiction, established her as a bestseller and helped bring Korean SF into the mainstream, with more than 400,000 copies sold here.
Nov. 13, 2025 -
Lee Hee-joo’s 'Creamy(nal) Love' confronts obsessive side of love and K-pop
"Creamy(nal) Love" By Lee Hee-joo Munhakdongne Publishing In recent years, much of South Korean fiction translated abroad has leaned toward science fiction or what critics call “healing fiction” — gentle, empathetic stories that capture quiet slices of everyday life. But Lee Hee-joo has taken a decidedly different path. Her work delves into distorted desire and the chaos it leaves behind, offering readers an unsettling glimpse into the darker edges of affection. Since debuting in 2016 with "Phan
Nov. 13, 2025 -
After android jockey and vampires, Cheon Seon-ran turns to zombies
"Where No One Comes" By Cheon Seon-ran Hubble From the android jockeys of "A Thousand Blues" to the vampires of "Midnight Shift." Cheon Seon-ran, one of Korea’s leading voices in science fiction, has explored the boundaries between the human and the nonhuman, loss and survival, salvation and care. Now, she returns with a zombie apocalypse. “The most tragic apocalypse is the zombie,” she writes in the opening lines of her new three-part novella. Here, Cheon’s undead are not the mindless monsters
Nov. 12, 2025 -
Daesan literary awards come full circle as former grant recipients take top honors
Novelist Lee Ki-ho has won the fiction category at the 33rd Daesan Literary Awards for his novel “The Cheerful, Struggle-Free Life of Lee Sibong,” the Daesan Foundation announced Monday during a press conference at Kyobo Tower in Seoul. The novel follows a young man named Lee Si-seup and his grieving family, whose lives become intertwined with their pet, a Bichon Frise named Sibong. Together, they embark on an unlikely odyssey of loss, guilt and healing. Lee said the story was inspired by his ow
Nov. 10, 2025 -
Seoul’s top spots for book lovers this fall
In a city defined by screens and speed, many Seoulites are finding comfort in turning real pages again, trading scrolling for reading as a new form of rest. According to a September survey by the Korean Publishers Association, 87.8 percent of South Koreans read at least one paper book in 2024. The largest share said they read “to broaden their knowledge and become cultured,” followed by those seeking fun, self-improvement or emotional healing. As reading gains traction as a fashionable hobby, ca
Nov. 4, 2025 -
'Children of the Fourth Person' gives voice to victims
Author Kim Ana, who was announced as the winner of the 15th Honbul Literary Award earlier this month for her novel "Children of the Fourth Person," began writing the book as a way to reach out to those who might have lived through the same painful experiences she had. The story begins with two children, Gwangji and Aurora, who grow up in a town called “P.” They are sent to an island facility named Happy Children's Welfare Foundation, also called “Haengabok,” which sounds similar to the Korean wo
Oct. 28, 2025 -
'Literature must give voice to the nonhuman'
Throughout the long age of high modernity, Amitav Ghosh observes, literature and the arts became intensely human-centered. Now, he believes, the time has come to step away from that and begin recognizing the world beyond ourselves. “This is, to me, a very fundamental challenge today. How do we actually try to recognize the agency of nonhuman entities of many different kinds?” said Ghosh. “And I think it’s increasingly recognized across the world that, in confronting our various environmental cri
Oct. 23, 2025 -
Baek Se-hee, author of 'I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki,' dies at 35
Baek Se-hee, the author of the internationally bestselling memoir "I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki," has died at the age of 35. According to the Korea Organ Donation Agency, Baek saved five lives through organ donation. The agency said on Thursday that she donated her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. Further details surrounding her death have not been disclosed. Baek’s younger sister said in a press release via KODA, “(Baek) wanted to write, to share her heart with others through her
Oct. 17, 2025 -
Train across the Pacific and rescue from ritual sacrifice
"Trans-Pacific Express" By Djuna Moonji Publishing Djuna, a pioneering figure in Korean science fiction, has reissued "Trans-Pacific Express," one of their most celebrated works, over two decades after its first release. The book collects 12 stories, including the title piece, which follows a protagonist whose family has, for generations, lived aboard an international train that runs over the Pacific Ocean. The story centers on rescuing a child from ritual sacrifice in a fictional country that s
Oct. 8, 2025 -
‘The Old Woman With the Knife’ author returns with dark tale of mind-reading, betrayal
"Cutting Wound" By Gu Byeong-mo Munhakdongne Publishing Gu Byeong-mo, one of Korea’s most imaginative storytellers, returns with "Cutting Wound," a haunting tale of a woman who can “read” another’s mind by touching their wounds. Orphaned and raised in an institution, she discovers her gift when she presses her hand to a friend’s bleeding cut and suddenly hears a flood of thoughts. Yet she grows up uncertain how to use this power. That changes when she meets Moon O-eon, a shrewd businessman who
Oct. 6, 2025 -
'8 in 10 female trainees don't menstruate': Hidden costs of K-pop stardom
“Eight out of 10 female trainees don’t menstruate,” says a member of an entertainment company’s trainee development team. Days begin at 5 a.m. and end after 2 a.m., and some trainees spend entire weeks drinking only water to stay thin. Behind K-pop’s glittering image lie the punishing routines endured by aspiring idols. Today, with BTS, Blackpink and "KPop Demon Hunters" at the pinnacle of K-pop's global fame, the genre has become Korea’s most celebrated export. But alongside these triumphs come
Oct. 4, 2025 -
Korean queen of crime, Jeong You-jeong, brings 'Perfect Happiness' to English readers
Jeong You-jeong, one of Korea’s bestselling masters of crime and psychological suspense, will be in New York next week to mark the English-language release of her latest novel, "Perfect Happiness." Translated by Sean Lin Halbert and arriving in US bookstores on Tuesday, Jeong’s psychological thriller probes the darkness lurking behind the facade of a seemingly perfect family. At the center of the story is Yuna, a narcissistic mother whose relentless pursuit of happiness becomes a weapon against
Sept. 28, 2025 -
Korean American writer Susan Choi’s 'Flashlight' shortlisted for Booker Prize
Korean American novelist Susan Choi, best known for her US National Book Award-winning "Trust Exercise," has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for "Flashlight." The Booker Prize described the book as “a thrilling, globe-spanning novel that mines questions of memory, language, identity and family.” "Flashlight," Choi's sixth novel, opens with a haunting scene by the sea: a 10-year-old girl, Louisa, walks along the beach one night with her father, Serk. He carries a flashlight. He cannot swim.
Sept. 28, 2025 -
Moriarty, Nolan bring family drama and childhood heists to Seoul
Irish authors Sinead Moriarty and Alan Nolan, who were in Seoul attending the third edition of the Irish Literature Festival, sat down for an interview with The Korea Herald on Sept. 12 to discuss their recent releases, inspirations and the creative process behind their storytelling. The annual festival, which ran Sept. 12-14, was organized by the Irish Embassy in Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Library. — Ed. Turning family chaos into storytelling Watching HBO’s drama series "Succession," Mori
Sept. 27, 2025 -
‘Trend Korea 2026’ maps next year’s consumer lifestyle shaped by AI
About 10 years ago in March 2016, millions watched as South Korean Go player Lee Se-dol leaned over a wooden board to face off against Google’s AlphaGo. Lee lost four matches — but in one, the fourth — he stunned the world with his legendary 78th move, a play that artificial intelligence could not predict, defeating the AI at its own game. A decade later, that moment hangs over "Trend Korea 2026," the latest edition of the bestselling annual forecast of consumer lifestyle trends in Korea. For Ki
Sept. 24, 2025