VOL.77/2024.12

 

New Trends in Korean Literature

 

2024.10.07

 

It’s important to be ahead of the pack in global publishing; to find the new trends and to be future looking in order to be successful. I have always been an explorer, a seeker of the new, while travelling professionally and personally, and that has led me to discover Korean literature more than a decade ago. The first books to break through were literary masterpieces Please Look After Mom (Changbi Publishers) by Shin Kyung-Sook and The Vegetarian (Changbi Publishers) by Han Kang. After the initial introduction of Korean books to global readers who had never heard of them, let alone read them, I introduced mysteries and thrillers which are already super popular in the World English and global markets. So, readers of Steig Larrsen’s mega-bestseller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, devoured Jeong You-Jeong’s The Good Son (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing). J.M. Lee’s The Investigation (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing) and Im Seong-Sun’s The Consultant (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing). Although Korean literature was a new kind of literature at the time, global readers could identify with these stellar thrillers, which were familiar in plot but original in their Koreanness!
Now that the doors and windows of the world are wide open to Korean books and readers have become Korean fanatics due not only to books but also because of the film “Parasite,” the series “Squid Games,” K-Pop, K-Drama, and all things Korean that the world has discovered, other genre books are being embraced. Self-healing novels like The Second Chance Convenience Store (previously known as The Uncanny Convenience Store)(Namu Bench), a multimillion bestseller in Korea, will be published next year by HarperCollins with a major advertising and marketing campaign. It seems that “convenience store books” have become a genre of their own, with every publisher buying one. They are charming and loving, but the market has become glutted, and readers will be looking for the next big thing.

 

 

Everybody wants to be happy, especially after the lockdown and covid, and with wars waging around the world. Rhee Kun-Hoo’s If You Live to 100, You Might as Well Be Happy (Maven), is a global bestseller now. Jeong You-Jeong’s Perfect Happiness (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing) is not just a thriller, but a referendum on the lengths people might go in their selfish pursuits of finding whatever they want. Film rights and many foreign rights have been sold, and the book will be published in English next year. Finding happiness can take many forms, including the non-fiction memoir I wrote called The Korean Book of Happiness, which has sold in over fourteen countries.

 

 

Readers in the West constantly need to be fed with the NEW. They are keen to read books that reflect the world we live in and experienced during the covid years, which are still affecting everyone greatly, or to read complete escapism. For instance, Sohn Won-Pyung, to date, is the biggest-selling author with her beloved ALMOND, sold in 30 countries and a multimillion-copy bestseller, has become a forever classic which could be called the best of the self-healing books ever published. But now, Harper Via, her publisher, is excited to publish her timely, irreverent satire of workers rebelling in their workplaces, Counterattack At Thirty (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing). It’s a rebellious tale that takes on the establishment. Young people are heroes and take their destinies in hand!
Ewhan Kim’s The Black Orb (KYOBO BOOK Centre) and The Timid Shall Inherit The Earth (vook_da) are very sought after books because they reflect the existential crisis we are living through because of climate change, and environmental destruction. Readers can relate to Kim’s satire because his world seems like ours. They are not so unbelievable. The brilliant duology Snowglobe 1 and 2 (Changbi Publishers) has found immediate success in the World English market, with the first book becoming a NY Times bestseller the day it was published. It has earned its advance before its first royalty period, which is something to brag about and has also been sold all over the world.

 

 

AI, robot, and alien-centered books are also of great interest to readers. Jyung Myung Lee has always written about topical issues, and with his new book Where I Cease To Exist (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing), he has produced a horrifying thriller about the dark side of AI. It was sold immediately to Amazon Publishing. Brave New Human (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing) reminds me of Haruki Murakami’s After Dark and Philip Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Cyberpunk in Seoul. A Thousand Blue (EAST-ASIA Publishing), about a robot jockey and his beloved racehorse, was pre-empted before the London Book Fair by Jane Lawson, publisher of Transworld for world rights for six figures. It will be published next year. Dolki Min’s Walking Practice (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing), the most daring debut I have read since I discovered The Vegetarian, was published by HarperVia and now has been sold to Teatime Pictures, a Hollywood production company owned by Dakota Johnson. She fell in love with the gender-bending, paradox of humanity, and the screenplay is already being written. Memory Care (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing) by Bora Jin is a terrifying projection of what the future might hold. In this case, the government forces the population to erase all their memories to keep them docile and controlled. It is reminiscent of the classic Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

 

 

The genre of horror is probably the hottest new trend of the moment. Hachette has just launched its first horror imprint RUN FOR IT Books. As publishers are being overloaded with self-healing and happiness books, horror is what is really new and exciting and what editors are super interested in. Pyun Hye-Young’s The Hole (Moonji Publishing) named By Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 Thrillers and winner of the Shirley Jackson Prize, first published in Korea in 2018 is coming to the big and small screens! Produced by Esmail Productions in Hollywood, filming is set to begin this January in Korea; the film is directed by Kim Jee-Woon. Pyun’s concerns about the environment and our alienation have captured readers everywhere and will more so do, because she has broken new ground with her quasi-horror novels that are completely unforgettable. Pyun is the first truly literary horror Korean novelist to become embraced by the West, and she is at the forefront of the new trend towards the genre of horror. She is published in the world English market and in many countries, and her popularity is growing. I have represented her for over a decade or so, and it is thrilling to see the world finally catch up to her. The Owl Cries (Moonji Publishing) and To The Kennels (Munhakdongne), recently published in English, continue her singular-voiced masterpieces.

 

 

I am so excited to be visiting Korea again this September. I look forward to putting my ear to the ground, scouring bookstores all over the country, listening to readers and my authors, editors, and publishers, and searching for the next new trend and hot new book!

 

 

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Written by Barbara J. Zitwer (Barbara J. Zitwer Agency)