VOL.93/2026.04

Korean Science Fiction Today

 

 

2026.02

 

 

A narrative is composed of events, characters, and a setting of time and space. That is what we are taught. In traditional storytelling, the events were paramount. However, at some point, character-driven narratives began to take center stage.In genres such as sitcoms or animations, events only materialize through the existence of the characters; the plot is merely the consequence of their action.Conversely, in storytelling for content like video games, “world-building” — the specific time and space that shapes a world — has become the priority.Worlds that are entirely alien to our reality, or those with overlapping or inverted rules, provide the necessary plausibility for their characters and events. Similarly in literature, genres such as fantasy and science fiction tend to place greater emphasis on this world-building.

 

SF was once translated as Gong-sang-gwa-hak (fantasy science). The term implied a genre that, while grounded in science, relied on imagination to construct new worldviews and cosmic perspective.Academically, the genre is often defined by the creation of a "Novum" through the "extrapolation" of scientific facts or hypotheses. throughout the 20th century, the genre expanded largely around the United States, and until the early 2000s, it was difficult for Korean SF to find its own footing. However, some twenty years later, SF now appears to be establishing itself as a mainstream pillar of the Korean literary scene. While this shift is partly due to a broader understanding of the genre through diverse media content, the most crucial reason is likely that the world we inhabit has itself become that “science-fictional” reality.Indeed, works by authors such as Kim Boyoung, Kim Choyeop, Chung Serang, Chun Seonran, and Cheongye display exceptional merit in utilizing the grammar of SF to rethink real-world issues or propose alternative orders. In this sense, contemporary Korean SF may well be valued as a genre of alternative realism.

 

 

 

 

Traversing Genres to Envision the World

 

 

Bae Myunghoon's novels show a remarkable broad spectrum. At times, it appears as though stories from various genres are draped over the structural framework of science fiction. Yet, at their center lies a keen interest in the contemporary world and insight into its underlying structures. Above all, there is a distinct sense of catharsis in watching his characters traverse these diverse worlds—breaking through them rather than being overwhelmed by their weight. The short story collection Art and the Acceleration of Gravity features early works such as Smart D, alongside stories penned over the decade since his debut, each written with his own distinct direction and pace. The titular story, Art and the Acceleration of Gravity, particularly highlights the author's unique perspective on 'art' and 'gravity'. Bae has often lamented that despite the growth of Korean SF professional criticism has failed to keep pace. He points, for instance, to the lack of critical discourse that might thread his works together through keywords like “gravity.”In Art and the Acceleration of Gravity, the use of first-person narration — often intersecting — is particularly notable. Rather than relying on descriptions or dialogue, the writing is distinguished by its focus on the narration of the characters’ internal (speculative) or external (experiential) actions. While classical novels often established their style through descriptive technique, recent works tend to fill that descriptive void with explanations, argumentation, or pure narration. Bae Myunghoon's fiction possesses the power to bring out the true flavor of narrative using only minimal description.

 

 

 

 

Transcending the Boundaries of Content to Reinvent Literary Forms

 

 

The POSTECH SF Awards is the first literary competition in South Korea dedicated exclusively to undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering. The Diagonal Argument contains the winning works from the 2025 POSTECH SF Awards:the Grand Prize winner The Diagonal Argument (Park Geonryul), the First Prize winner Land of Emotion (Lee Huyoung), and the Excellence Prize winner The Testament of a Probabilistic Ghost (Kim Jeongsu). What is interesting is the shadow of other media forms cast upon these stories. For example, the genre tropes and conventions frequently experienced in web novels, webtoons, and dramas are conspicuously present. From its very inception, the novel has evolved by assimilating various cultural and artistic forms; in this sense, its potential for development is often assessed as infinite. A Workworks like The Diagonal Argument unfolds almost entirely through narration, with virtually no dialogue or description. This stylistic choice is inextricably linked to a reconstruction of the "novel" as an art form. While narration, description, and dialogue are the core elements constructing a narrative, we can observe these components being colorfully reconfigured in recent fiction where genre mutations are taking place. Whether conscious or unconscious, it seems clear that the renewal of literary forms and the breakthrough of their boundaries are being achieved through the genre of SF.

 

 

 

---

Written by Moon Hyoun-sun (Visiting Professor, College of Artificial Intelligence Convergence, Sejong University. Translator)

Specialist in content and storytelling. Researcher of mythology and culture. As a translator working from Chines to Korean, she translated works by authors such as Wang Wenhua, Su Tong, Fang Fang, Mo Yan, Liu Zhenyun, Arai, Feng Tang, and Yang Shuangzi. Under the name of the humanities research group Moon-Yi-Won (文而遠), the author advocates for “accessible humanities", continuing the work of reinterpreting and rewriting Eastern classics into modern language. She explores the horizons of East Asian popular culture through authored works such as 『Chinese Martial Arts』 (Sallim, 2004) and 『Mythology Meets Cinema』 (Amor Mundi, 2015).