VOL.81/2025.04

A New Chapter in Korea-China Literary Exchange

Folio Culture’s Korean Book Localization Strategy

2025.03.10

Folio Culture (Beijing) has consistently focused on introducing and localizing Korean books in the fields of humanities, social sciences, and literature. In recent years, we have successfully brought several Korean works to the Chinese market through precise topic selection, cultural adaptation, and innovative promotion strategies, sparking widespread discussions on the social media platform Xiaohongshu. Below, we share our experiences in four key areas: topic selection strategy, localization practices, promotion strategy, and future plans.

Balancing Social Issues with Literary Value, Grounded in Shared East Asian Emotions, to Create a Dialogue Space for Chinese and Korean Youth

Capturing Social Resonance Points in Korean Literature

In recent years, Korean literature has shifted from grand narratives to focus on individual experiences, addressing universal themes such as women’s struggles, workplace pressures, and family dynamics. Works we’ve selected, like Kim Hye-jin’s Concerning My Daughter (Minumsa) and The Nine Jobs (Hankyoreh Publishing Company), as well as Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny (Rabbithole), delve into intergenerational conflicts, capitalist alienation, and gender violence with a nuanced touch. These themes resonate deeply with the social realities faced by young Chinese readers. When selecting books, we prioritize emotional connections between Chinese and Korean youth, as these cross-border resonances naturally lend themselves to viral potential.

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

Leveraging International Awards and Local Bestseller Lists

Korean literary awards, such as the Yi Sang Literary Award and the International Booker Prize, often highlight works that combine literary depth with market appeal. For instance, the dark allegorical style of Cursed Bunny, coupled with its Booker Prize recognition, not only ensured its literary quality but also provided a strong marketing point. Similarly, Kim Hye-jin, a multiple award-winning author, achieved bestseller status with her book Concerning My Daughter, making it a natural addition to our catalog.

Complementary Mix of Fiction and Non-Fiction

In addition to novels, we’ve introduced non-fiction works like A Feminist Guide to Popular Culture (Humanitas), Is It My Fault? A Close Look at 12 Major Social Incidents in Korea (booktrigger), “We Support Differential Treatment”: The Generation of Youth That Has Become Monsters (Kaemakoone) and Am I A Survivor Of The Disaster (Almond Publishing).
These books fill a gap in systematic research on Korean social trends in China, creating a content matrix that combines “literature for emotional resonance + social sciences for deeper understanding.”

Managing Cultural Time Lags

We’ve developed a cross-evaluation system that monitors the popularity of new Korean books and analyzes social media trends in China. For example, A Feminist Guide to Popular Culture, originally published in Korea in 2019, was released in China in 2024. We chose this timing because China’s feminist movement gained momentum later than Korea’s, with feminist literature only beginning to attract widespread attention in 2022. By 2024, the popularity of the Chinese dating show “Farewell My Lover”(再见爱人) created the perfect backdrop for the book’s release. The timing paid off, as the book quickly gained traction and ranked seventh in Douban’s annual social documentary book list by the end of the year.

Localization: From Translation to Design

Title Adaptation

We often rework titles to make them more appealing to Chinese readers. For example, the non-fiction work 을들의 당나귀 귀 was translated as A Feminist Guide to Popular Culture, instantly conveying the book’s content. Similarly, Kim Hye-jin’s latest novel The Good Ear (Minumsa), approved by the author, was retitled as The Cat Licked the Wound in Chinese, a title that resonates more with Chinese readers while incorporating familiar cultural symbols. This balance of novelty and familiarity gives the books a natural advantage in social media sharing.

Cover Design Aesthetics

We collaborate with young Chinese designers to create covers that appeal to local tastes. The Chinese editions of Cursed Bunny, Cocktail, Love, Zombies (Safehouse Inc.), and Concerning My Daughter have been particularly well-received. These youthful, subculture-inspired designs have significantly boosted the books’ visibility on image-driven platforms like Xiaohongshu.

Translators with Cross-Cultural Expertise

We prioritize translators who understand both cultures. For instance, the translator of Cocktail, Love, Zombies has a background in literary studies and a deep understanding of youth subcultures. This allows them to preserve the original tone while adapting elements like humor to resonate with Chinese readers, such as converting Korean jokes into Chinese internet slang.

Promotion Strategy: Xiaohongshu is the Core of Social Media Marketing

Embedding Discussion Points in Content

During the editing process, we identify passages likely to spark discussions. For example, the complex emotions of a mother toward her lesbian daughter in Concerning My Daughter became a popular topic in Xiaohongshu reading notes.

Layered Content and Targeted Outreach

We encourage readers to post themed notes like “Korean Women’s Literature Booklists” or “Quote Journals,” combining emotional resonance with visual appeal to lower the barrier to entry.

Future Plans: Deepening Sino-Korean Cultural Dialogue

Sino-Korean Writer Collaboration Initiative

We aim to foster dialogues and joint projects between Chinese and Korean writers on shared issues like aging and AI ethics, moving beyond the traditional one-way cultural exchange. A reference example, our best-selling nonfiction work Jian Shang by Lishuo, a book that uses archaeological materials and historical documents to trace the entire process of the rise, flourishing, and decline of ancient human sacrifice customs, sold over 500,000 copies in China, was also published by Geulhangari Publishers in Korea.

Expanding “Literature+Cross-Industry Collaborations”

We plan to collaborate with theater industries. For example, Cursed Bunny could be adapted into an immersive theater experience, and we’ll launch a “Continue the Story” campaign on Xiaohongshu to extend the book’s lifecycle.

Strengthening Translator Training

We’re partnering with universities to establish Sino-Korean literary translation workshops, nurturing a new generation of translators who are not only linguistically skilled but also attuned to market trends.

Our success lies in our ability to uncover the shared cultural threads between China and Korea while expressing them in ways that resonate locally. Moving forward, Folio will continue to use literature as a bridge, fostering meaningful dialogues between readers in both countries. We aim to ensure that Korean literature is not just an extension of the “Korean Wave” but a shared narrative of East Asian experiences in a globalized world. Our goal is to be more than just cultural intermediaries—we want to be co-creators of the spiritual history of East Asian youth.

Written by Peter Woo (Folio (Beijing) Culture ＆Media Co., Ltd.)