Five of the Best 21st Century Korean Novels

Thank you for putting together such a great reading list of contemporary Korean literature. How did you arrive at this selection of books?

I picked novels that are currently popular in Korea and have been published in English. And they are all books that I really enjoyed reading myself.

Let’s go straight to your first pick: Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim.

The narrative in Whale is so engaging, weaving a tale of one person’s journey from humble beginnings to successful entrepreneur. At first, it seems like the simple story of a bricklayer, but it evolves into a saga encompassing the lives of people across different eras in the past century, finally bringing us to the present day.

It’s an epic kind of novel, tracing South Korea’s economic and social development through the characters and landscapes. It feels very cinematic.

Cheon Myeong-kwan began his career as a film screenwriter, before he made a stunning debut on the literary scene by winning a prestigious Korean award with this novel. He is a natural storyteller whose work captures the essence of Korean magical realism. I’m thrilled that this remarkable novel was nominated for the 2023 International Booker Prize, garnering attention from English language readers.

Next up is 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee. Can you talk a bit about this novel?

Mirinae Lee was born and raised in Korea and pursued English literature studies in the United States. Upon moving to Hong Kong, she decided to embrace the challenge of writing a novel in English. 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster is an extraordinary story. It was published by a major American publisher and became very popular. It’s remarkable that a non-native English speaker could pen her first novel in English and capture the imagination of readers worldwide. The content is enthralling. I highly recommend this true masterpiece that vividly portrays the strength of Korean women.

I found this a very playful and absorbing read; the chapters of one woman’s life are cleverly woven together to give a picture of Korean history from the Japanese occupation to the early 21st century.

I met the author at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival last year, and learned about the existence of this book and the author’s amazing story. After returning home and reading the Korean translation, I am full of admiration and respect and now recommend this novel to everyone.

Shall we move on to your next pick, Concerning My Daughter? It’s by Kim Hye-jin and translated by Jamie Chang.

“Why does my daughter like girls? Why do other parents find it necessary to present me with a dilemma I have no reason to ponder or resolve, and persistently pressure me to just come to terms with it?” Concerning My Daughter examines questions such as these and delves into the lives of women facing the violence of hatred and exclusion.

The narrative follows a mother in the first person, her daughter, and her daughter’s same-sex partner. They begin living together for financial reasons. Central to the narrative are the mother — reluctantly confronted with her daughter’s private life that she prefers to ignore — and the daughter, who struggles with societal opposition. As their uneasy cohabitation progresses, the mother’s routines take unexpected turns.

I was very taken with this short novel. The character portrait of the narrator feels very thoughtful and honest as she tries to understand her adult daughter’s life choices.

Concerning my Daughter is a powerful work that candidly and coolly depicts generational conflicts and the absurdities present in Korean society. It has also been adapted into a film and translated for audiences in many countries worldwide.

Next on your list is Love in the Big City, written by Sang Young Park and translated by Anton Hur.

If you’re after a cheerful and bittersweet queer novel, Sang Young Park’s work is a must-read. However, it would be limiting to view this work solely through the lens of a queer narrative. It is a thoughtful exploration of the challenges, love, loss, and mortality faced by today’s Korean youth. This book has become a bestseller in Korea, and English language readers are sure to be captivated by this charming novel as well. It gained international recognition when it was nominated for the 2022 International Booker Prize. It has been adapted into a movie, and a series that was released last year on streaming platforms.

I really enjoyed the energy and tongue-in-cheek tone of Love in the Big City, and found it moving. It is set in Seoul but it feels universal; I think it will speak to young people in any big city.

To any readers who enjoyed this book, I highly recommend you also watch the film and the OTT series. I liked the movie better than the series, but others prefer the streaming platform version. They are both great examples of a novel being translated into visual language.

We have come to your final pick, The Plotters, written by Un-Su Kim and translated by Sora Kim-Russell.

This is truly a masterpiece of the K-thriller genre — a crime thriller with a unique, unstoppable narrative. It intricately weaves together incidents that arise from diverse groups colliding, with a story that races toward its unpredictable conclusion.

What would you say defines the K-thriller genre?

If I were to define K-thrillers, I would say they contain a lot of family and reflection on relationships. Given the strong ties between family and neighbours in Korea, K-thrillers reflect many of these elements.

The dynamic storytelling is a hallmark of author Un-Su Kim. The Plotters has been widely translated, recommended by numerous international reviewers, and was nominated for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière — a French mystery literature award. It’s a very strong and exciting reading experience which offers insight, tension, and lingering emotions all at once.

I really enjoyed this quirky novel. I don’t think it’s spoiling too much to say that it’s narrated by a professional assassin who gradually tries to understand what motivates him.

Author Un-Su Kim has a cult following in Korea. I am one of his fans and met him once in his hometown a few years ago. I learnt that as a writer I still have a long way to go, compared with his monstrous creative passion. I hope that his other books will be translated as well, so that English language readers can fully enjoy his works.

Your book recommendations have quite a range, in both style and topic. Do they have anything in common, something that defines 21st-century Korean literature?

I prefer narrative-driven books and enjoy reading stories that make me feel immersed in the world the author has created. The five Korean novels that I picked for this interview all have a strong narrative drive, and they illustrate various aspects of contemporary Korean society. They give readers a good look at Korean life in different ways, depicting history, legends, family ties, LGBT issues and social systems.

Your own bestselling novel, The Second Chance Convenience Store, is coming out in English. Can you talk a bit about this book and about what motivates you as a writer?

The Second Chance Convenience Store is a kind of urban fable. Convenience stores, which are located everywhere in Korean neighbourhoods, are very familiar spaces to Koreans and are places where many people come and go. This book is about what happens when a generous middle-aged woman, who owns a convenience store in Seoul, hires a homeless man to work the night shift. The novel has been very well received in many countries, including Korea, after its publication in 2021. I hope that English language readers will also give The Second Chance Convenience Store a try.

There is a lot of compassion and empathy in this novel, the feeling that each person’s story matters.

One of the sentences in the book is: “In the end, life boiled down to relationships, and relationships to communication.” The novel emphasises that people cannot live alone and that communication with family and neighbours is something both special and ordinary that maintains a community.

I always write secluded away in my studio, but my life as a writer is about creating stories that contribute to the community. I write in the hope that my stories will always be enjoyable and informative for my readers. Rather than aiming for grand literary achievements or exploring agony, I want to write novels that readers can immerse themselves in — either to escape from reality or to look at reality in a new way.