VOL.96/2026.07

 

Korean Literature: From Page to Screen

 

2025.09.04

 

In the Korean film industry, the label “based on a novel” is no longer unusual. Over the past decade, films adapted from literary works have steadily reached theaters, making secondary rights sales a significant revenue stream for publishers. For filmmakers, novels are an attractive source material because they offer strong narratives and existing recognition, all within the constraints of limited budgets. As a result, adaptations have not only drawn audiences to cinemas but also reignited book sales, often sending older titles back up the bestseller lists. Since the success of adaptations such as Gong Ji-Young’s The Crucible (Changbi Publishers) and Kim Ryeo-Ryeong’s Wandeuk (Changbi Publishers), which achieved both commercial popularity and social impact, literary-based films are no longer regarded as “exceptional undertakings.” This month’s article reviews prominent examples from the last ten years to trace the broader shifts and directions in Korean literature.

 

 

Films adapted from works by representative Korean male writers arrive in 2017

 

The year 2017 was a landmark for literary adaptations, with several works by leading male writers brought to the screen. The most prominent was Diary of a Murderer (Bokbokseoga), adapted from Kim Young-Ha’s acclaimed novel of the same title. The protagonist of the story is Kim Byung-Soo, a retired serial killer afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. In an attempt to anchor his fading memories, he turns to diaries and tape recordings, yet his already precarious grip on reality begins to unravel when he comes to suspect a newcomer in town of being another murderer. The novel is structured as a series of short, diary-like entries written by the protagonist, a form that not only drives the narrative forward with speed but also vividly conveys his inner psychology, creating a kind of suspense achievable only in literature. In the film adaptation, the dynamic confrontation between actors Sul Kyung-Gu and Kim Nam-Gil, coupled with the unstable perspective shaped by fading memory, sustains tension throughout. The adaptation itself drew significant attention, as critics at the time focused on how the novel’s chilling psychological atmosphere could be translated onto the screen.

 

 

That same year saw the release of a film adaptation of Kim Hoon’s acclaimed novel Namhansanseong Fortress (Hakjogae). Having surpassed 100 printings, the book recounts forty-seven days of isolation during the Qing invasion of Joseon. Amidst the bitter cold and famine, the hardliners (주전파; jujeonpa) and the doves (주화파; juhwapa) clash over principle and pragmatism, while ordinary people struggle simply to survive. Director Hwang Dong-Hyuk, later internationally recognized for “Squid Game”, translated Kim Hoon’s characteristically spare prose into cinematic weight, juxtaposing King Injo and his ministers’ debates with the parallel struggles of the people. Though unusual as a political period drama in commercial cinema, the film was praised for faithfully capturing the spirit of the novel through its nuanced mise-en-sc?ne and the intensity of its performances.

 

Films adapted from works by representative Korean female writers arrive in 2018

 

In 2018, the long-awaited film adaptation of Jeong Yu-Jeong’s thriller full-length novel, Seven Years of Darkness (EunHaengNaMu Publishing), was finally released. Since its publication in 2011, the novel has gone through over 100 printings and sold more than half a million copies; expectations for the film were immense as Jeong was called the “queen of thrillers.” The novel unfolds as a relentless confrontation between Choi Hyun-Soo, who disposes of a body in a reservoir, and Oh Young-Je, the victim’s father, with the narrative shifting between past and present. Accidental murder, its concealment, and a revenge plot spanning seven years showcase Jeong’s trademark speed and plot twists. Yet, the cinematic version divided opinion regarding its overall quality. Even so, the adaptation reaffirmed the visual affinity of Jeong’s fiction, prompting further projects, including the film adaptation of The Good Son (EunHaengNaMu Publishing).

 

 

That same year, Cho Nam-Joo’s Kim Jiyoung Born 1982 (Minumsa Publishing) was also adapted for the screen. Drawing more than one million viewers within just five days of its premiere, the film directly inherited the impact of the original novel, which, since its publication in 2016, had ignited feminist debates across Korean society. The novel starkly exposes the structures of gender discrimination through the life story of a single woman, and the format was equally striking. Structured in the style of a research report, the text meticulously records the forms of discrimination permeating Kim Ji-Young’s life, thereby making visible what had long remained unseen. The film reinterpreted this narrative framework into a dramatic story, eliciting both empathy and controversy among audiences.

 

Genres and platforms diversify with the expansion of the original market, entering the 2020s

 

In the 2020s, film adaptations of novels have expanded in both genre and platform. A notable example is Park Sang-Young’s Love in the Big City (Changbi Publishers), which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. It was adapted almost simultaneously into both a film and a drama, each with different charms. The linked collection of four short stories centers on “Yeong,” a writer in his early thirties, whose experiences capture the pulse of contemporary, particularly urban, life in Korea. Director Jang Kun-Jae’s film, based on the short story titled Jae-Hee, depicts the melancholy and aimlessness of youth through the cohabitation of a gay male protagonist and his college friend “Jae-Hee”, a woman. By contrast, the eight-episode drama, released on the Korean OTT platform TVING, shifted the focus to the protagonist’s coming-of-age and romantic relationships. Park Sang-Young, the original author, also took part in adapting the drama version.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 48 ? Go to the interview with writer Park Sang-Young

 

 

Meanwhile, other adaptations have placed artistic fidelity above commercial considerations. For example, Jang Kang-Myung’s Because I Didn’t Like Korea (Minumsa Publishing) and Kim Hye-Jin’s About Daughter (Minumsa Publishing) were developed as independent, mid-to-low budget films, modest in both financing and scale. Their creators concentrated on preserving the tonal and emotional integrity of the source texts rather than chasing box-office success. The novel tells the story of Gye-Won, a young office worker in her twenties who runs away from the pressures of Korean competition to start anew in New Zealand. The adaptation emphasized the novel’s emotional register and was filmed on location in New Zealand, lending vivid authenticity to the screen. Lead actress Go Ah-Sung strengthened the narrative’s persuasiveness with a naturalistic performance.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 63 ? Go to the interview with writer Jang Kang-Myung

 

Kim Hye-Jin’s full-length novel, About Daughter, centers on the relationship between an elderly mother, her caregiver, and her lesbian daughter, portraying social prejudice and conflict with delicacy. Its film adaptation was likewise produced on a modest scale, yet it faithfully conveyed the tone of the original prose through restrained dialogue and still, contemplative images, relying on the actors’ expressions and rhythms of breath to carry the emotional weight.

 

Hollywood eyes Korean fiction

 

More recently, the potential for Korean fiction to make inroads into Hollywood has become a focus of interest. While Korean works in SF and thriller genres are not yet as dominant as their overseas counterparts, it seems that their distinct emotional sensibilities have increasingly attracted foreign producers. Among the most notable cases, last month, Cheon Seon-Ran’s full-length novel, A Thousand Blues (East-Asia Publishing), signed a film rights contract with Warner Bros, a major American entertainment company. The novel, often described as “humanist SF,” portrays the bond between a robot jockey and a racehorse, interweaving themes of disability, compassion, and family into an unusually rich genre narrative.

 

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

 

 

Likewise, Pyeon Hye-Young’s The Hole (Moonji Publishing) is also in development with a Hollywood production team. This psychological thriller follows a university professor who, after losing his wife in a car accident and becoming disabled, pieces together fractured memories. As a son-in-law entangled in a tense relationship with his mother-in-law, he becomes caught in subtle yet corrosive emotional fractures, which give the narrative its distinctive edge.
Also, Kim Bo-Young’s SF novel, I Am Waiting For You (Saeparan Sangsang), is likewise being adapted for film, with Eric Roth, screenwriter of the “Dune” series, attached to the project. The epistolary novel is framed as a collection of letters from a groom-to-be awaiting his bride, blending themes of space travel and longing with a strong romantic sensibility unusual for the genre. In fact, the novel originated as a commissioned piece for a fan who wished to propose to his partner, making it a rare “SF novel for proposal.”

 

The flow extends into web-novels and webtoons, but the power of novels persists

 

The trend is shifting from novels to web-novels and webtoons these days as primary sources for adaptation. Representative cases include the Along With the Gods (NAVER Webtoon) series, Inside Men (Cine21 Books), Omniscient Reader (REDICE Studio), and My Daughter Is a Zombie (YOUNGKUM), released this summer in Korea. Producers favor such works as a way to secure proven storylines, minimize risk, and increase the potential for franchise expansion. In this regard, popular web-novels and webtoons are often considered more advantageous than traditional novels. Within the publishing industry, however, concerns are emerging that the growing influence of web-based content is reducing the share of film adaptations drawn from novels.

 

 

Recently, the film, “Omniscient Reader,” sparked backlash among some webtoon fans for altering elements of the original setting. This points to a particular risk with adaptations of web-novels and webtoons, where visual imagery is already fixed in the minds of readers: expectations for fidelity are correspondingly stricter. Korean novels, too, carry the burden of preserving the integrity of the source material while producing films that transcend the images readers have created in their minds. Yet, the form continues to brim with potential. The narrative density, realistic characters, generational resonance, and finely woven plots of Korean fiction remain a strong foundation for cinema. Just as director Park Chan-Wook noted at the 2025 Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), when he expressed his wish to adapt Han Kang’s Human Acts (Changbi Publishers), traditional novels endure as a vital wellspring of inspiration and a fertile seed for new cinematic creation.

 

 

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Written by Shin Jae-Woo (Culture News Desk reporter at Munhwa Ilbo)