VOL.78/2025.01

 

What Comes After Today’s Korean-Style Healing Novels?

 

2024.10.07

 

“While the so-called ‘Korean style healing novels’ are selling well these days, trends always change. This craze will be replaced with a new trend sooner or later.” Barbara J. Zitwer, a literary agent working across English-speaking countries, said so in a recent interview. Zitwer is an American who has been exporting Korean literature overseas for about 20 years and is often referred to as a “Korean literature ambassador.” She explains that the phenomenon of Korean-style healing novels being so popular not only in Korea, but also abroad, is something that may change at any time soon. “At first, everyone read pure literature,” she said, “and then the trend shifted to healing novels.” While it may seem that the popularity of Korean literature across all genres has grown on the surface, Zitwer says that international readers switched genres when they got tired of it. Zitwer added, “Readers always want something new and different. You have to remember that you have to be ahead of the trend.”

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 75 – Go to the article about Barbara J. Zitwer

 

Rose with support from female readers in their 20s and 30s, yet repetitive patterns are causing fatigue

 

Healing novels console the characters and their audience with their compassionate writing style and perspective. In particular, “Korean-style” healing novels are characterized by a variety of characters with their own stories, set in familiar and nostalgic spaces, and featuring characters recovering from pain.
The popularity of Korean-style healing novels began domestically. The success of Dallergut Dream Department Store (Sam & Parkers) in 2020 and 2021, and The Second Chance Convenience Store (previously known as The Uncanny Convenience Store)(Namu Bench) in 2021 and 2022, led to a massive craze for healing novels. One of the publishing house CEOs said, “The low barriers, K-drama-like format, and positive attitude embedded in the novels have influenced the Korean healing novel fever. Their easy-to-read writing style, which reads like an essay and can be read by anyone, also played a positive role,” he said, adding, “They have become popular mainly among female readers in their 20s and 30s.”
The popularity expanded into other countries. For example, the translation of the book The Second Chance Convenience Store is set to be published in 21 countries. International publishers’ interest, which began in Asian countries such as Thailand, Taiwan, China, and Japan, during its early phase of publication, spread to European countries such as Poland, Germany, and France, eventually leading to the US and Brazil. A number of globally prominent publishers were included in the list of contractors.
The reason why Korean-style healing novels are gaining popularity in other countries comes from their “universality.” Healing wounded hearts with fantasy is something that every reader can empathize with, regardless of their nationality. The global crisis called the COVID-19 pandemic also played a role. Yun Jung-Eun, author of Marigold Mind Laundry (Book Romance), which received an advance of $100,000 for the UK and $150,000 for the US from global publisher Penguin Random House, said, “I wanted to offer solace to readers around the world after COVID-19. The space of a laundromat is also familiar to international readers, and the recent increase in interest in Korean literature also had an impact.”

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 69 – Go to the interview with writer Yun Jung-Eun

 

 

Actually, it has only been 4 years since Korean-style healing novels began to gain popularity. The background story can be summarised as follows: Shin Kyung-Sook’s Please Look After Mom (Changbi), published in 2008, first became popular in the US, and Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (Changbi) won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, which led to the strong performance of pure Korean literature. Then, the trend changed to healing novels with the book Dallergut Dream Department Store.
Because of this, some show concern that the demand in both domestic and international markets for Korean-style healing novels might not last long. There are also comments that readers are feeling fatigued from the repeated production of similar stories. In fact, Korean-style healing novels follow similar storylines - it is the background space familiar to people that changes, such as a store, laundromat, and convenience store. One CEO of a literary publisher said, “It may seem like a sensation, but the commercial success is only a flash in the pan compared to the performance of pure literary works that won multiple international awards.” “Literary quality is gone - in its place is only the commercial purpose of quickly producing what sells well right now,” another literary editor explained, “I hope highly sophisticated readers around the world won’t mistake healing novels for all of Korean literature.”

 

 

English-speaking countries have no bias against genre literature

 

It is hard to predict the flow of trends. However, it is possible to spot areas that are relatively lesser known in Korea, but have gotten their first response from overseas. The rise of genre literature is particularly noteworthy. For example, Chung Bora’s short story collection Cursed Bunny (Rabbit Hole) was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. International audiences were surprised to see a horror story with Korean sentiments. Frank Wynne, the head judge of the category, told reporters in an interview, “Chung writes stories using fantastic and frightening materials, but ultimately explores essential human emotions such as loss and trauma. Although her stories are based on horror and fantasy, Chung delves into real human emotions.” In other words, genre literature is not so different from pure literature.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 47 – Go to the interview with writer Chung Bora

 

Science fiction is another notable field. This is because it is a field where new writers such as Choi Eui-Taek, Cheon Seon-Ran, and Shim Neo-Wool, led by Kim Cho-Yeop, who is recognized for her book If We Cannot Move at the Speed of Light (East-Asia Publishing Co.), are flourishing. One CEO of a literary publishing house said, “Science fiction is the hottest field among young writers,” and added, “There are more and more young pure literature writers contacting us saying they want to write science fiction first. There are also cases of writers working on science fiction with the aim of getting their work published overseas.”

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 19 – Go to the interview with writer Kim Cho-Yeop

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 30 – Go to the interview with writer Cheon Seon-Ran

 

 

The reason genre literature is receiving attention overseas is because the boundary between pure literature and genre literature is relatively blurrier in English-speaking countries than in Korea. In particular, Honford Star, a British publisher specializing in East Asian literature, has been publishing not only modern pure fiction by writers such as Kim Dong-In and Lee Hyo-Seok, but also works by contemporary Korean genre writers such as Bae Myung-Hoon and Chung Bora. Anthony Bird, the publisher’s CEO, explained in an interview with a reporter that “Anglo-American literary critics and readers have no prejudice against genre fiction.”

 

Another notable topic: Korean diaspora

 

Works about the Korean diaspora, reflecting the identity of Korean immigrants, are also worth mentioning. In addition to utilizing race, these works are also characterized by using emotions such as longing and anger to describe the sorrow of being a stranger in a foreign land. A typical work is Pachinko, a full-length novel by Korean-American writer Lee Min-Jin, who left Seoul at the age of 7 and settled in New York City. The drama with the same title, which aired on Apple TV+ in 2022, sparked a global buzz, and the novel became the 70th best-selling book of the year on Amazon Books, an online bookstore in the US.
Following the success of Pachinko, various other works about the Korean diaspora have been put under the spotlight in English-speaking literary circles. For example, Crying in H Mart, an essay by Korean-American writer Michelle Zauner featuring the longing for Korean food made by her mother and her coming-of-age story, ranked 1st in the Asian & American category on Amazon Books after it was published in 2021 in the US. Also, Nuclear Family, a full-length novel by Korean-American writer Joseph Han, was selected as one of the “Must-Read Books of 2022” by Time, a weekly news magazine in the US. The book features the story of the main character, a second-generation immigrant to the US, as he follows the traces of his grandfather, who lived through the Korean War. In an interview with a reporter, Han said, “I was encouraged by the success of senior writers who have written about their multi-layered experiences of newly settled homes and how they view their homeland.”

 

 

Korean diaspora literature is particularly influential because it can share the perspectives of people marginalized from mainstream society, such as immigrants, the poor, and sexual minorities. Furthermore, the culture of “diversity” in the English-speaking world also contributes to this. This comes in the wake of a growing debate in the US about “political correctness,” covering race, gender, and more.
Some say that it draws empathy through its universal themes. Beyond emphasizing unique Korean sentiments such as “han (a form of resentment and hatred),” the topic also highlights themes that can be easily understood by people around the world, such as anger and nostalgia. Justin Chon, director of the drama “Pachinko,” said at a press conference for the “Special Program in Focus: Korean Diasporic Cinema” at the Busan International Film Festival in Haeundae-gu, Busan, last October, as follows:
“Stories about immigrants help modern people realize that they are not alone in thinking they live on their own island. For example, looking at the story of a Korean, friends from India or Armenia say that they can relate to the story. So, through the lives of immigrants, the genre draws out on themes that modern people can universally empathize with.”

 

The key lies in quality, not the writer’s reputation

 

What the Korean publishing industry should actually focus on is moving away from the reputation-does-all strategy. It is because writers’ achievements within the Korean market lose importance when it comes to the international market. It is often the quality of the book that determines success. For example, just like how newly-debuted writer Park So-Young’s full-length SF novel Snowglobe (Changbi) is published in English-speaking countries through mega-publisher Penguin Random House, once a book is good in quality, it is highly likely to draw attention in the international market.

 

 

The particularly important area is “marketing.” No matter how famous the author may be in Korea, he or she becomes a new face if it’s their first time publishing a book in English-speaking countries. To make a Korean writer known in the international market, they should meet various editors from international publishers and be more aggressive in marketing and promotion. There are many cases in which new writers are more active in this process than existing writers. Also, it is necessary to boost understanding of intellectual property. For example, after the release of the drama “Pachinko,” the popularity of the original novel surged further. As such, literature has infinite possibilities as the original content for other content.
Writer Yun Ko-Eun set up a literary agency named “Agency Soseol” with fellow writers in 2022. After being awarded the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation by the UK Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) in 2021 and experiencing firsthand the demand for Korean literature abroad, she decided to skip the steps taken through publishers and instead work on her own.
From the Netflix series “Squid Game,” which was rejected by several film producers for 13 years from the planning stage, to BTS by HYBE, which was not even in one of the top three management companies, all Korean content that has shaken up the world’s pop culture scene rose from the non-mainstream. The same is true for Korean-style healing novels. Among the most popular healing novels abroad, none were published by famous publishers or famous authors. It will be no different after the Korean healing novel. There will only be a post-Korean healing novel if we search for new talents.

 

 

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Written by Lee Ho-Je (Reporter at Dong-a Ilbo)