VOL.99/2026.10

Korean Publishers

 

Marmmo Press, Where the Value of Books Gets Published

 

 

2026.09

 

 

In 2026, there is one publisher quietly making waves in the Korean publishing world. Under the catchphrase “Parallel lines meet in the end,” Marmmo Press publishes literature, humanities, and general-interest titles. Its books, including What Do You Have Besides Money, Our Love Is Everyone's Business, and Those Who Want to Die, Those Who Want to Save, are the kind readers find themselves glancing back at twice. We reached out to Marmmo Press about what they believe publishing is for, where books are headed, and their thoughts on the titles they've put out into the world.

 

 

 

 

Q. Please introduce Marmmo Press. In particular, we're curious why the publisher is named after the shape of a rhombus.

 

A rhombus has two pairs of opposite sides that run parallel to each other. Through the books we publish, we wanted to create a point where the opposing camps that once ran along rigid, parallel lines can finally converge. At that point, I think each side's thinking can widen and find balance, the way a rhombus stands in such delicate equilibrium. In that sense, I actually liked the sharp, pointed image of the rhombus. We want to publish books with sharp, well-defined editorial vision, ones that lay out a writer's convictions with clarity and precision.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. What do you consider a good book, and a good publisher? Please tell us what led you to found Marmmo, and what makes its values distinctive.

 

I worked as an editor for fifteen years before starting my own publishing house. There were many experiences and many reasons behind it, but above all, I felt it was time to move on to a “next chapter.” What I needed was a “sense of growth,” the capacity to stand entirely on my own as an editor and take in the whole of the publishing process, rather than being one member of an organization. The result is Marmmo, a one-person press.

 

This “sense of growth” runs along the same lines as the “widening of thought” I mentioned earlier, and it's a value Marmmo aims for. More concretely, I want to build a press that grows together with its writers. Marmmo published its first book in 2022 and has released nineteen titles to date. For some writers we've published two books, for others as many as four. Counting the books still to come, that number will grow further.

 

The goal isn't a one-off relationship with a writer to sell a single book, but understanding a writer's trajectory and context and growing alongside them. It's close to what Siegfried Unseld, the former head of Suhrkamp Verlag in Germany, describes in The Author and His Publisher (Der Autor und sein Verleger). Take Jeong Ji-woo, a writer who started out as a full-time author and cultural critic and later moved into copyright law. At Marmmo, I've worked steadily to develop and give voice to the many sides of his identity as a writer. That effort has often turned out to be a win for both the writer and the press. As Marmmo grows, I push to give my writers the best terms a solo operation can manage, both financial and otherwise. A book begins with its writer, and I believe that's what ultimately produces “good” readers and a “good” publishing ecosystem.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. Marmmo publishes a wide range of books. Is there a particular genre or direction that matters most to you?

 

Marmmo publishes mainly in the humanities and literature. Books that widen how we think and stir the imagination, that's the direction I'm after. Beyond simply conveying knowledge, I want to publish books that raise questions, generate discourse, and let readers see familiar things in a new light. Guerrilla Learning, for instance, takes the “distractibility” associated with ADHD out of the realm of abnormality and shows how to turn it into a strength. What Do You Have Besides Money asks what's left of a person once you strip away their thoughts and goals about money, in a world obsessed with it. And Our Love Is Everyone's Business, a novel, touches taboos that Korean society keeps hidden and asks what “proper” love even means.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. What do you see in Marmmo's future? And if you have a message for our subscribers abroad, we'd love to hear it.

 

I'd like to reach readers abroad with novels like Ppaegnyeong, which was named the most entertaining book in Korea at the “2026 Seoul International Book Fair.” My hope is to give readers overseas the same fresh spark Marmmo is after, through books with a distinctly Korean sensibility. Generative AI has pushed deep into Korean publishing and left the industry unsettled, but tomorrow Marmmo will probably still be pursuing exactly what it wants to pursue, unbothered by all of it. And in this age of cutting-edge AI, it will be doing that in the form of a book, of all things.

 

 

 

 

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Interview with Woori Ko (Publisher)

She began her career as an editor in the summer of 2006. After working at several publishing houses, including Munhakdongne, Gimmyoung Publishers, and Hankyoreh Publishing, she took the leap and founded her own press in 2022. Ever since, she has focused on publishing literature and humanities titles, seeking singular stories best captured through the written word.