Four Korean Books in English You Should Read

Korea has a long history in literature and, luckily, many works of Korean authors have been translated into English nowadays. Similar to cinema, local writers have their own unique style of creating a plot and grabbing the attention of the audience. Speaking of cinema, did you know that many Korean literary works actually have screen versions, so it is possible that you have enjoyed a movie without knowing that it was based on a book. While some Korean books have been widely advertised, others often remain in the shadows, although they are worthy of being noticed by international readers nonetheless. If you are wondering where to start exploring the exciting world of Korean literature, here are our top picks of books translated into English you might want to check out. 

1. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

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• Genre: children’s book

• Original Title: 마당을 나온 암탉

• Author: Hwang Sun-mi 

• Pricing: KRW 10,000 - 20,000

• Year: 2000 (English translation in 2013)

• Pages: ~134

• Screen Version: Yes (Leafie (Daisy): A Hen Into the Wild, 2011) 

Book Highlights

This is one of those children’s books that adults can learn a lot from, too. Commonly referred to as the Korean “Charlotte’s Web”, the work of Hwang Sun-mi inspired the highest-grossing animated movie in Korea so far. For her work, the author was awarded the Sejong Children's Literature Prize and the Best Book of the Year in Poland. Critically acclaimed both in Korea and overseas, this book became the basis of the plot for not only an animated movie, but also comic books, theatrical plays, and musicals that took place in various countries.

Essentially, “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly” is dedicated to motherhood. A mother's love for her child is a feeling, the power of which has no equivalent in the emotional spectrum. It presents motherhood as a phenomenon that turns an ordinary woman into a guardian, protector, heroine. In Hwang Sun-mi’s book, we see it making all weaknesses and doubts vanish in the name of unconditional love and care for one’s child. This transformation is revealed through the image of the main character, a hen named Sprout. From a weak and suffering creature at the beginning of the story, she grows into a fearless and unwavering character who amazes the world around her with the realization of her dream to raise an offspring despite the struggles of the chicken farm where she is forced to live. 

2. The Underground Village

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• Genre: short stories, historical fiction

• Original Title: 지하촌

• Author: Kang Kyeong-ae 

• Pricing: KRW 7,000 - 30,000

• Year: 1936 (English translation in 2018)

• Pages: ~196

• Screen Version: No 

Book Highlights

The author of this collection of short stories, Kang Kyeong-ae, is appraised by literary critics as the best writer from the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). She differs from other writers of her time in that some of her works are feminist, against love and family values, and they often feature women who gain true freedom only after cutting off ties with men whom they have had emotional relationships with.

In her short story "The Underground Village", Kang Kyeong-ae takes us to a world where there is no mercy for any of the characters involved. Although the author does not directly mention the cause of the aggression and misery that inhabits the village in her fictional work, such depressing motifs are typical for Korean literature from the Japanese colonial period. Interestingly, characters who suffer from severe physical or mental illnesses were popular not only in literature but also in drama at that time. In the context of Korean colonial art, disabilities serve as a metaphor both for the personal struggle of the characters and for the crisis in Korea's national self-consciousness provoked by Japanese oppression. Physical disabilities as a literary trope of the period are rooted in the historical and political context of the era, in which Korean people were disadvantaged similarly to their literary representation. Korea's colonial past is well reflected in the works of Kang Kyeong-ae and reveals to the international audience how colonial influence destroys national values ​​just as the physical disabilities of her characters degrade their morals. In addition to that, 18 other short stories are compiled in this book with the same title, including “The Authoress”, “Opium”, and “The Man on the Mountain”.

3. Unspoken Voices

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• Genre: short stories, modern fiction

• Original Title: -

• Authors: Many

• Pricing: KRW 20,000 - 25,000

• Year: 2000

• Pages: ~272

• Screen Version: No 

Book Highlights

This literary compilation includes the works of 12 female authors who were born during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) or later, one of which is Eun Hee-kyung. Since the 20th century, a number of women authors have gradually established themselves in the Korean literary scene, and Eun Hee-kyung is one of the most popular names in its modern development. The theme of marriage is present in several of her works, such as "Poor Man’s Wife" and "My Wife's Boxes'', both of which are translated into English. The latter one, in particular, won the author the prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award in 1998, and it is included in this collection. Her works differ from those of most female writers in that instead of romanticizing the idea of ​​marriage by choice, an option practically non-existent in the traditional Korean society from the recent past, but expose it as another trap of modernity.

In constructing the main characters in her story "My Wife's Boxes", Eun Hee-kyung demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of human nature and its vulnerability. Following the breakup of a marriage, after which the married couple at the center of the work withdraws from each other, the author reveals the bitterness and the disappointment of the dull everyday life, the sense of helplessness provoked by even the slightest difficulties, and the missing emotional connection in modern families. As a result, the whole farce of marriage, in which she no longer feels complete, turns the main female character into a ghost hovering in the prison of a modern city apartment. Other works included in the compilation are “The Woman in Search of an Illusion” by Lee Jung-ho, “Youngju and the Cat” by Park Kyong-ni, “The Dreaming Incubator” by Park Wan-suh, etc.

4. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong

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• Genre: autobiography, historical

• Original Title: 한중록

• Author: Lady Hyegyeong

• Pricing: KRW 30,000 - 50,000

• Year: 1795–1805 (English translations in 1996 and 2014)

• Pages: ~372

• Screen Version: Yes (The Throne, 2015; Secret Door, 2014; The Fatal Encounter, 2014; Yi San, 2007; Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo, 2007, etc.) 

Book Highlights

Historically, this book is an important primary source for understanding life in the royal court during the last Korean dynasty, Joseon (1392-1910). The author, Lady Hyegyeong, is forced to marry a member of the royal family at the young age of nine. Practically growing up in the palace, she thoroughly describes all of the affairs she witnesses there. The culmination of that is when her husband, Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762), is brutally murdered by his own father, locked in a chest, and left to starve. After this gruesome act, Lady Hyegyeong needs to not only overcome the loss of her spouse, but also clean the image of her birth family which has been framed for various crimes against the ruling dynasty. Most importantly, however, she needs to protect her own son and ensure that he inherits the throne. Her memoirs are written in the form of letters and since they are addressed to different people, they were created at a different time and in a different manner. While the first part of the book is dedicated to her nephew, the rest was written after the death of her son and is addressed to her grandson.

By reading about all of the struggles Lady Hyegyeong had to endure first-hand as a member of the royal family, the international audience can gain valuable knowledge about Korean history. “The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong” is one of the outstanding examples of autobiography in the premodern era. This literary work is an indispensable source of information about the life of Korean society from the 18th to the early 19th centuries and a unique testimony to a murder that still casts a heavy shadow over the rule of the Joseon dynasty, which lasted nearly 500 years. Although initially, this ruling family brought nearly two centuries of peace to the country and generated rich cultural heritage, in the last decades of its reign, it has been subject to strong external pressure, resulting in fierce internal power struggles. This is evident in the events recorded by Lady Hyegyeong, which answer important questions regarding the mental state of Crown Prince Sado and the motives behind his murder. Moreover, the book documents well the moral fall of the ruling dynasty, the gradual weakening of which is one of the key reasons why Korea officially became a Japanese colony at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, this collection of memoirs inspired Margaret Drabble’s work of fiction titled “The Red Queen”.