VOL.74/2024.09

Export Prospects of Korean Books

KPIPA’s Choice for Supporting Abstract · Sample Translation

 

2019.12.09

 

The world is beautiful even with tears

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Bulkwang Media
Title | The world is beautiful even with tears
Subtitle| Buddha's teachings on how to love pain
Author| Venerable Bokak
Genre | Humanities: social science
Format | 150×214
Binding | Paperback
Pages | 336pages
ISBN | 9788974796730

 

2. Contact

Name | Choi Changho
Phone | +82-2-420-3200
Email | pepsichoi@naver.com
URL | http://www.bulkwang.co.kr

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | Buddhims; Buddhist precepts
Target Readership | Young adults and up

 

4. About the Author

Venerable Jeongnyeom took his vow under the guidance of Venerable Huichan, also known as the Forever Changing One. Venerable Jeongnyeom graduated from Joong-ang Sangha University, and he was the Chief Priest at Sangwonsa Temple on Odaesan Mountain. Presently, he is the Chief Priest at Woljeongsa Temple on Odaesan Mountain. During the Vassa (Buddhist Lent), he stays at the temple to focus only on meditation with his fellow priests. He established Munsu Seonwon (Munsu Meditation Center) and Donglim Seonwon (Donglim Meditation Center) for practicing Buddhists. In 2012, he received the Camelia Award, an Order of Civil Merit. He was a board director of Dongguk University and BTN (Buddhist True Network) and also a representative of Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice. Presently, he is the director of the One-Hundred-Year Plan Center at Joyge Order of Korean Buddhism. He is committed to conceptualizing the role of Buddhism and implementing its precepts for future generations.

 

 

5. About the Book

The writer of the book is a Buddhist monk. Venerable Bokak studied social welfare in 1974, and he has been a professor in the Department of Buddhist Social Welfare at Joong-ang Sangha University for the past thirty-five years. He is a scholar and also a practicing activist who is committed to expanding the welfare infrastructure under the Buddhist precepts by establishing senior homes and centers for physically challenged children. In the book, Venerable Bokak introduces and explains the essential ideas of Buddhism—ideas that he practices in his own life—in an easy-to-understand manner. By introducing the stories of Buddha (his birth, taking his vow, his attainment of Great Wisdom, and his enlightenment) as well as the epigrams of master priests, Venerable Bokak explains what Buddhism is and how its ideas should be practiced in everyday life. The ultimate goal in life is to practice compassion for yourself as well as the people around you, and the book reiterates the truth that only when you practice compassion can you be truly free. In the book, Venerable Bokak suggests solutions based on the Buddhist teachings to conflicts in life, discords among people, and social problems. The book teaches or asks readers to ponder on the problems of everyday life: why we try to have or possess more things instead of learning how to be content with what we have; the status of people is not decided by their birth but by their behaviors; just as different instruments create a harmony of sound, a religion should be open-minded about other religions; doing what we can do now is a way to live immortality. The book will have readers contemplate on how one can live in harmony with others by following the Buddhist teachings. A being cannot exist by him or herself; we exist so that we will live well with others and die well. The last stage of enlightenment is to “enter the market with help-bestowing hands,” meaning one must go into the world and share the pain of people. Venerable Bokak’s life is an example of this precept. To him, the Buddhist teachings begin and end with the idea of compassion. He also stresses the fact that the role of Buddhist priests is to offer compassion to the world and to draw people to find compassion in themselves rather than working as messengers of Buddhist ideas, for in this day and age, anyone can easily find information about Buddhism, especially online. Venerable Bokak believes that if Buddha were to revisit this world, he would come back as a social welfare worker.

 

 

Talkative Moon

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Who's Got My Tail
Title | Talkative Moon
Author | Cha Jaehyuk
Illustrator | Choi Eunyoung
Genre | Picture book
Format | 196×242
Binding | Hardcover
Pages | 44pages
ISBN | 9791195641352

 

2. Contact

Name | Hwang Junghye
Phone | +82-10-7193-8899
Email | whosgotmytail@gmail.com
URL | http://www.whosgotmytail.com

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | Picture book for infants
Target Readership| Children ages 3 to 8 years old

 

4. About the Author and Illustrator

Author - Cha Jaehyuk
Along with the illustrator Choi Eunyoung, Cha Jaehyuk makes interesting stories that help children to grow their imagination. He has authored500 Won, A Weird Repair Shop, andIn My Mind.

Illustrator - Choi Eunyoung
Choi Eunyoung was selected as the Illustrator of the Year at the 2016 Bologna Children's Book Fair. Choi has illustrated 500 Won, A Weird Repair Shop, In My Mind, and Puffy Snow.

 

5. About the Book

One night after the rain, a child finds village people in the square looking up at the Moon and laughing. The child wonders why they are laughing like that. The people inform him that the Moon tells them interesting stories every night. How can the child also hear the Moon's stories?

 

 

Island of Crying Bamboo

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Sigongsa
Title | Island of Crying Bamboo
Author | Song Siwoo
Genre | Genre literature
Format | 130×203
Binding | Paperback
Pages | 368pages
ISBN | 9788952739087

 

2. Contact

Name | Lee Youngeun
Phone | +82-02-2046-2895
Email | annlee@sigongsa.com

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | genre, whodunnit, mystery, murder, island
Target Readership | teenagers, young adults, adults

 

4. About the Author

Born in Daejeon, South Korea, Song Siwoo studied philosophy at Korea University. She made her literary debut in 2008 when her short story “Good Friends” won the New Writer’s Award hosted by the quarterly Mystery. Her novels The House with Red Lilacs, A Running Investigator, and Here Comes the Black Dog have all been optioned for television. The TV series A Running Investigator began airing on OCN in September 2019. In 2017, Song published the short story collection, The Bones of a Child. She currently works at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Her interests include law and ethics as well as the polemics of psychiatry.

 

5. About the Book

All of her previous titles have been optioned for screen adaptations!
The latest work by Song Siwoo, the author of the TV series, A Running Investigator (aired on OCN).
The first full-fledged mystery novel from the biggest rising star in Korea’s genre literature.
Unlike Song Siwoo’s previous works, this is a full-fledged mystery novel focusing on tricks and riddles. Although the distinction has become vague in recent years, this work is closer to the classical mystery genre—at the heart of which lies the revelation of the course of criminal action in a given case rather than the motivation. The author successfully presents ingenious yet impeccable twists, building on her solid craft and astute plotting.
It’s the night before a storm and strong gusty winds are blowing hard. On a remote island full of bamboo trees called Hojukdo, eight strangers have been invited as monitors for a brand-new training center opening in the near future. The following day, a dead body is found. Someone has been murdered in a way that cannot be explained. Now isolated by the storm, the training center resonates with the eerie sounds of a flute, which couldn’t possibly be called a melody. A long-time grudge passed down from mouth to mouth as a folklore over the years, anxiety inside the enclosed space, and the impossible murder. How and why? Who committed such a heinous and bizarre crime?

 

 

Unexpected Season

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Sigongsa
Title | Unexpected Season
Author | Im Haun
Genre | literature
Format | 128×188
Binding | Paperback
Pages | 280pages
ISBN | 9788952738684

 

2. Contact

Name | Lee Youngeun
Phone | +82-02-2046-2895
Email | annlee@sigongsa.com

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | teenagers, high schoolers, friendship, love, bildungsroman, new writer
Target Readership | teenagers, young adults, adults

 

4. About the Author

Im Haun was born in November 1994 in Seoul, South Korea. Since graduating from a community college, he has been working in the special security industry at Gimpo International Airport. Im began writing novels in 2016.

 

5. About the Book

“It feels like you’re the only one who treats me fairly. You avoid everyone.”
A 25-year-old writer’s remarkable debut novel surprises us with its fresh perspectives and frank expressions.
“It’s my choice—whether or not I’m interested in someone. It’s not a matter of course.”The story of us unprocessed by the language of grown-ups.
This is a captivating story about six teenagers—each wounded in a different way—who step out to experience the wider world through their relationships with others. At some point in life, we all go through times of wandering. Unexpected Season sheds light on that experience through the perspectives and language of teens, rather than through the eyes of adults. The adult helper usually found in novels about a teenage protagonist is absent from this story, which means that the kids must deal with conflicts and obstacles each in their own way. It is touching to see them struggle to find their own path. Given that many novels about teenagers have been filtered through “the eyes of adults,” it is not difficult to guess where the novelty of this novel by a young author (born in 1994) comes from.
Eighteen-year-old Ban Yoonhwan shuns the world because of a painful childhood experience. Ji Naroo is an outcast, ostracized from the rest of the world. Troublemaker Kang Eunbi likes Ji Naroo but always gives him the cold shoulder. Model student Kang Byul is tormented by regrets about the past. Perfect kid Yoon Geon has lost touch with his true feelings. These are some of the unique and fascinating characters who take a step forward into the world and share their wounds through their relationships with others. Whether we like it or not, we must deal with human interactions every day. Within that process, sometime we get hurt unknowingly. People say we become adults when we get used to the hurt. Yet, the author asks, “Is getting used to the hurt necessarily a good thing? Or, are we simply becoming hard-hearted?” As stated in the author’s preface, Im Haun has written this book in hopes of thawing readers’ hearts. Perhaps for that reason, the sincerity and truthfulness we find in the characters—even though they don’t promise a bright future or say that everything will be okay—present us with unexpected warmth and consolation.

 

 

Sitcom

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Jaeum&Moeum
Title | Sitcom
Author| Bae Joon
Genre | Literature
Format | 120×186
Binding | Hard cover
Pages | 280pages
ISBN | 9788954439077

 

2. Contact

Name | An Taewoon
Phone | +82-70-8656-9596
Email | munhak@jamobook.com

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | Fun; drama; novel; Jaeum & Moeum Novella Award; Bae Joon
Target Readership | young adults, adults

 

4. About the Author

Bae Joon was born in 1990 in Jeju-do. He received the 1st Jaeum & Moeum Novella Award.

 

5. About the Book

The first novel by Bae Joon, a new author who knows how to write a page-turner that draws the reader in. Sitcom is the winner of the 1st Jaeum and Moeum Novella Award. The judges (Hwang Gwangsu, Baek Minseok, Bae Sangmin, Pak Kwonil) voted unanimously for the book, raising expectations.
Novelist Baek Minseok, one of the judges, showered the book with high praise for its gripping power, saying, “It’s not always that I enjoy being a judge for a contest this much. I couldn’t put it down—I read it, carrying it around everywhere.” Pak Kwonil called the author “the mutant we’ve been waiting for,” and Bae Sangmin also praised the book for its “ability to draw the reader in with its outlook for the world today.” Bae Joon, who says that he has lived a boring, tedious life and plans to go on living such a life, states that as far as novels go, he “can’t stand anything boring.”
The story is set against the backdrop of a high school, with various characters—students, teachers, parents—undergoing all kinds of funny and absurd situations that occur all of a sudden. The scenes are reminiscent of TV dramas but are even more dramatic than that. The sentences sound as though they’re from a video clip, and the stories unfold with great exaggeration, with several incidents taking place simultaneously. The rowdy episodes, however, continue in an elaborately thought-out manner.

 

 

One day a cat came to me

1. Publication Details

Imprint | Bulkwang Media
Title | One day a cat came to me
Subtitle| The philosophy of a cat living its life at its best
Author | Venerable Bokyung
Genre | Literature
Format | 143×215
Binding | Paperback
Pages | 264pages
ISBN | 9788958762218

 

2. Contact

Name | Choi Changho
Phone | +82-2-420-3200
Email | pepsichoi@naver.com
URL | http://www.bulkwang.co.kr

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | Essay; Animal; Temple
Target Readership | Adult

 

4. About the Author

The venerable Bokyung entered the Buddhist priesthood under the venerable monk Hyeonho at Songgwangsa Temple. He served as the director of education at Jogye Order Education Center, member of Central Council, Executive Director of Social Welfare Foundation of Jogye Order, and the head monk of Beopryeon Temple.
He is the author of Joy of Life, Strolling in the Forest of Tales, Happy Prayer, and Daily Meditation That Will Change Your Life. His anthologies of lectures and essays include the following titles: Joy of Meditation, Study of the Lotus Sutra, Lectures on 42 Sutras, Yearn Act and It Will Come True, Joy of Reading Suttanipata, Study of Suseonsa, Lectures on Zen Riddles and Chanting, and Wisdom of Life Derived from Agama.

 

5. About the Book

In the winter of 2017, the venerable Bokyung completed his term of twelve years as the head of an urban temple. He was on his way to a mountain temple when he came upon a cat out of nowhere in the middle of the woods.
For the duration of the winter, they served as each other’s mirror into themselves. Life is whole as it is, for just one person if not for two people but the togetherness will bring about a new experience. This book contains an inner dialogue of the two.
“If you are well, then I am well,” is the Ancient Roman greeting. In other words, when my life is going well, then it is ultimately benefitting the universe. The “you” here refer to all things that are related to one because nothing in the Universe is separate from me. The mountain, field, wind, flower, and tree could be us, and the time and space within us where all things exist are us.
That is why the Buddhists believe the foremost prerequisite to live a harmonious life is to gain oneness. Think of your family. Don’t we feel thankful to our loved ones for the simplest reason that they are well?
How would you define the way you are by looking at a cat? This question could lead to another one of “Are you well, yourself?” Even though we live in an era of the most sophisticated technology, people feel more alone and alienated. Be it a person or an animal, a cat or anyone, if you are prepared to treat a being with warmth and compassion, then this entity called “I” can live a fuller life. Thus, be it a cat or a human being, everyone deserves to be happy for the simple reason of being born.
Hence, this is a book that can draw out the latent compassion in all of us through a “cat.”

 

 

Drawing Statues of Peace

1. Publication Details

Imprint | BORI PUBLISHING COMPANY
Title | Drawing Statues of Peace
Subtitle | A trip to illustrate peace monuments in 75 places in Korea
Author | Kim Sejin
Illustrator | Humanities, social sciences
Genre | Children
Format | 130×185
Binding | Paperback
Pages | 168pages
ISBN | 9791163140092

 

2. Contact

Name | Cho Byungbeom
Phone | +82-31-950-9506
Email | cheoyong@boribook.com
URL | www.boribook.com

 

3. Marketing Information

Keyword | History; Korean History; Modern History of Korea; Comfort Women for Japanese Military; Sex Slaves for Japanese Military; Civil Movement; Peace Movement
Target Readership | Teenagers, young adults, adults

 

4. About the Author

Born in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, author Kim Sejin is an aspiring cartoonist in his 30s who spent his childhood during the Civil Administrations, his teenage years during the Kim Daejung and Roh Moohyun Administrations, and his 20s during the Lee Myungbak and Park Geunhye Administrations.
He stayed in Australia for 2 years from 2013 as part of a working holiday program, and since January 2016, he has been taking part, as an official guardian of the Statue of Peace, in civil movements calling for an annulment of the Korea-Japan Agreement of December 28 and a just resolution to the issue of the Japanese military’s sex slave system. From May 15, 2017, for 104 days, he traveled the country to find and draw 75 Statues of Peace. He is currently using those drawings to let people know of the issue.

 

5. About the Book

Drawing Statues of Peace was released on August 14, the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women.
Author Kim Sejin began to take part in social movements in 2016 as a guardian of the statue in Jongno. One day, a person came up to him and asked if he knew how many such statues there were in Korea and where they were located. That’s when he realized he knew nothing about the statues. The person handed him the “National Peace Statue Map,” and Kim decided to go find the statues and draw them. He worked part-time in factories and on construction sites for several months to save for the trip, during which he also checked the exact locations of the statues. And on May 15, 2017, at last, he set out on a journey.
Starting from the statue in front of the Consulate-General of Japan in Busan, he went across the provinces of Gyeongsang, Jeolla, Chungcheong, Gangwon, and Gyeonggi, arriving in Seoul as the last stop, and encountering 75 Peace Statues along the way. He drew by day and slept beside the statues by night. The record of this 104-day trip is what Drawing Statues of Peace is all about. Each statue has a different face, posture, and background, which Kim has illustrated with clear watercolors. Now, the statues are not just about “comfort women”—they are the symbol of the peace and civil movements. The author also includes stories he heard about how each unique statue was built.
The book carries the author’s hope to create a small opportunity for the annulment of the Korea-Japan Agreement and a sincere apology from Japan so that the sex slave issue can be truly resolved in the end.