Korean books' 'quirkiness and subtle darkness' captivate Australians

In the early 1990s, after the release of "Jurassic Park," then-South Korean President Kim Young-sam was shocked to learn that the Hollywood blockbuster's revenue was equivalent to the export of 1.5 million Hyundai cars. This prompted successive South Korean governments to begin focusing on exporting the country's cultural assets.

South Korea's pop music and television dramas have achieved enormous success, and now, South Korean books are having their moment. For Anna Paula Lager, a psychologist from Brazil now living in Sydney, reading Korean literature is a way to explore new cultures and understand herself more deeply. "Some books help us to go deep inside," she says, "to understand so many emotions… or to resonate with some things that people are going through."

The rise of Korean literature (K-lit) is part of a broader wave known as "Hallyu," a global craze for the country's cultural exports. Hallyu encompasses everything from music groups like BTS and Blackpink, to films and TV series like "Parasite" and "Squid Game," to elaborate 10-step skincare routines and Korean cuisine. The awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Han Kang in October, for her works "The Vegetarian" and "Greek Lessons," has elevated the cultural impact of Korean literature to new heights.

Ms. Lager's interest in Korean culture was initially sparked during the height of the pandemic lockdowns. At the time, she was working a busy job and needed to find a way to de-stress amid the surrounding chaos. She stumbled upon the K-drama "Crash Landing on You," a love story that spans the two Koreas. Since then, her interest has expanded from K-dramas to Korean literature. She recently finished reading "Greek Lessons," one of many novels she read through a book club run by the Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney. “I just couldn’t take my eyes off the book,” she said.

Ms. Lager likens the experience to an archaeological dig. “You explore little by little, and the more you explore, the more you understand,” she says, “It’s a really nice way to explore culture and the human side of culture.” Experts say the global surge in interest in Korean books is partly due to government pushes to have novels translated into other languages, while readers say the quintessentially Korean texts touch on universal themes.

While K-pop music offers glitzy and vibrant entertainment, K-lit novels range in style from heartwarming and comforting to dark, strange, and twisted. With books like Kang’s "The Vegetarian" and Korean-American author Min Jin Lee’s "Pachinko" being published in the late 2010s, more and more translated Korean works have been landing on shelves in Australia and overseas. "Pachinko," a moving multi-generational historical novel, has sold more than 84,000 copies in Australia, worth more than $1.85 million, according to Nielsen BookScan data.

Cho Nam-joo’s feminist work, "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982," has sold just under 9,000 copies in Australia, worth almost $200,000, while Kang’s "Greek Lessons" has sold 3,700 copies, worth more than $100,000. According to Sung-Ae Lee, a professor of film and popular culture at Macquarie University, promoting and translating Korean books into other languages is part of Seoul's cultural diplomacy and soft power.

Dr. Lee says the rise of Korean literature is largely thanks to the government’s investment in translators through the government-funded Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI). “Books are a unique tool of soft power, allowing readers all over the world to connect with Korea on a personal level, fostering empathy and cultural appreciation while transcending borders,” says Seohyeon Song from the LTI. “While K-pop and K-dramas have made Korean culture popular, literature offers a deeper, more thoughtful way to explore what makes Korea unique.”

“With the growing interest in Korean literature, it contributes to the broader cultural Hallyu wave by highlighting Korea’s rich storytelling traditions.” The institute has facilitated the publication of more than 2,000 books in 44 languages. The government has approved a 14 billion won ($15.3 million) budget for the LTI next year, an increase from 2024, but down from 2023. The budget for training translators has been cut, but funding for overseas promotion has increased. Ms. Song says the Nobel win could help to secure more funding in the future.

One LTI-funded project that has landed in Australia is the English translation of Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s novel "Trunk." Set in the near future, the book centers around a secret matchmaking agency. According to Adam Zulawnik, a member of the translation team and a scholar at the University of Melbourne's Asia Institute, it is a feminist satire from a cultural context of declining birth rates. "Trunk" has also been adapted into a new Netflix K-drama, starring Gong Yoo from "Squid Game," and is being promoted as a romantic thriller.

Dr. Zulawnik says the overlap of K-dramas and K-lit novels will fuel interest in both, but he adds that the series is quite different from the novel. “It provides a different take on the world of 'Trunk'… I think that will also make it more interesting,” he says. He says that while Korean literature is not new to Australian bookshelves, the Nobel Prize is the “highest honour” in the industry and has won recognition on the international stage.

“I think the award will certainly bring it to the attention of people who may not have considered Korean literature in the past,” he says. “We can connect with cultures in different ways. K-dramas and K-pop may not be for everyone, and literature might be another stepping stone and way for people to connect.” Dr. Lee says that while K-pop bands have stormed onto the global stage and enjoyed huge and rapid success, K-lit is more of a slow burn. “Literature, it takes time… it’s a bit slow now, but I believe it will do very well in the future,” she says.

Dr. Lee says that many Korean books are both “distinctly Korean” and “unique and quirky.” Some grapple with Korea’s traumatic history, including Japanese colonial rule and military dictatorships, opening up scars in a narrative way to heal and move forward. But they also offer social critiques of contemporary Korean issues, exploring patriarchy and feminism, as well as topics like burnout and “existential angst.” “It’s about human existence… it’s quite global. Who’s not feeling angst now?… That’s why it hits home. It really resonates,” Dr. Lee says. “They combine the individual with the universal… so you really identify with it. And they’re beautifully written.”

Ella Sullivan runs Gertrude & Alice Bookstore in Sydney, which hosted a Korean literature week this year. She says there are a range of genres, from self-help to suspense thrillers, all touching on Korea’s history and present. “They have some beautiful magical realism, which I think people really resonate with,” she says. “They have this quirky quality, and there’s often a very subtle darkness to it.”

“They have some really weird stuff… which is popular with younger people, so that’s always great, to draw in a younger generation.” Ms. Sullivan says Japanese fiction has surged in popularity over the past 15 years, including the novels of Haruki Murakami and the "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" series. But she says it seems Korean literature is becoming the shift in trend, adding that K-lit is often featured on #BookTok (one of the largest subcommunities on TikTok, with the hashtag racking up 200 billion views by the end of 2023). “We haven’t seen the peak of its popularity,” she says. “I would definitely recommend Korean literature… because I’m new to it.”