As last year the Wimbledon Book Fest is collaborating with KCCUK to present a mini Korean strand in the festival. The festival also includes a screening of Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. And Korean Dancheong decorative traditions – together with Pakistani Truck Art – inspires the colourful visual identity of the festival this year. Miye … [Read More]
Books and literature
Welcome to LKL’s books and literature section. Here you can find book news and reviews, and listings of events relating to literature.
If you’re new to Korean literature in translation, check out our recommended reading list. Or you can browse our list of reviews of fiction and non-fiction books. Our new Korea Book Database can be found here, and a listing of featured Korean authors here.
You might be interested in our coverage of the 2014 London Book Fair, at which Korea was the guest of honour. Ten Korean authors were flown over to London for the duration. You can find LKL’s reviews and coverage of these and other authors (and their translators) by clicking on the links in our Writers directory which can be found here.
Bleak, relatable, daring, humane: how Korean literature emerged from its niche
The following is the text of the talk I submitted to the LTI Korea conference held in Seoul on 1 – 3 July 2026 celebrating their 30th birthday. I am grateful to LTI Korea for the invitation to present, and to those who helped and encouraged me in the preparation. Special thanks go to literary … [Read More]
An Evening with Pachinko author Min Jin Lee: American Hagwon
Min Jin Lee is the award-winning author of Pachinko, a multigenerational saga about the lives of Koreans in Japan during an era of colonisation, war and upheaval. The much-loved novel was a finalist for the National Book Award and later adapted into a critically-acclaimed television series for Apple TV+. This October, Lee comes to the Intelligence Squared … [Read More]
The LKL Korean Literature in Translation survey: a quick look at the results
A few months ago I asked for your help with preparing for a talk at a conference organised by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea to celebrate their 30th birthday. The brief for my talk was, to quote from the email I received commissioning it, “how Korean literature is received by English-speaking readers — what … [Read More]
[Leeds] From South Korea to the World: Korean Literature in Translation
![Thumbnail for post: [Leeds] From South Korea to the World: Korean Literature in Translation](https://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/starfield-suwon-120x120.jpg)
How do Korean stories travel from Seoul to readers around the world? What happens between the writer’s desk and the English-language page? And how are contemporary Korean authors reaching global audiences today? Join award-winning writers Kim Keum-hee and Hwang Bo-reum, together with translator Clare Richards and scholar Dr Eugene Kim, for a day of readings … [Read More]
2026 LTI Korea Global Literature Forum: Korean Literature — Attraction and Resonance
Celebrating its 30th birthday, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea is holding a conference in Seoul to examine how Korean literature is received in countries outside of Korea, and how Korean literature should move forward. As part of the conference, there will be talks by leading authors and poets. LKL was invited to present a … [Read More]
Honey in the Wound: In Conversation with Jiyoung Han & SJ Kim
The Korean Cultural Centre UK presents an evening with Jiyoung Han, celebrating her debut novel Honey in the Wound. Jiyoung Han was born in Seoul and raised in the American Midwest, and now lives in San Francisco. A lyrical and suspenseful work, Honey in the Wound follows a Korean family across decades of displacement during … [Read More]
Ela Lee in conversation with Nicola Dinan
Join the team at Waterstones Islington with Ela Lee, in conversation with Nicola Dinan, to discuss Minbak, a sweeping story of three generations of women who cross continents and decades to find truth, forgiveness and compassion, and an engrossing, heartfelt story of love, loss and the challenges of being true to yourself. Incheon, 1985. A … [Read More]
Honey in the Wound: Jiyoung Han in conversation
Join Waterstones Islington with Jiyoung Han to celebrate the publication of Honey in the Wound, a spellbinding intergenerational epic that spans ninety years of Asian history with visceral power and breathtaking magical realism to explore how colonialism forces one family to transform, and ultimately survive. A sister disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother’s … [Read More]
And the River Drags Her Down: In Conversation with Jihyun Yun & Melinda Salisbury
The Korean Cultural Centre UK presents an evening with Jihyun Yun, exploring her debut novel And the River Drags Her Down. Jihyun Yun is a Korean American writer and the author of the poetry collection Some Are Always Hungry. Her debut novel has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Blending Gothic horror, mystery, … [Read More]
What do you think about Korean literature in translation?
Long story, but I find that I have managed to get myself committed to giving a talk on how Korean literature in translation is received by English-speaking readers. It’s a bit of a tall order. And while I can of course articulate the ways in which I personally am drawn to Korean literature, why I … [Read More]
Book launch: How Korean Corn Dogs Changed My Life
Stanfords London is excited to welcome Alice Amelia to discuss her debut book ‘How Korean Corn Dogs Changed My Life’, in conversation with the Trouble Club’s Zea Stuttaford. An addictive, tell-all memoir which is also a love letter to Korea: the story of a young British K-drama fan who moved to Seoul and unexpectedly became … [Read More]
Book launch: Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea
In this book launch event, Remco Breuker, Boudewijn Walraven and Grace Koh will introduce and discuss their recent publication, Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea: A Translation of the Samguk yusa. Vestiges of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea (Samguk yusa) is the first annotated English translation of one of the most important premodern … [Read More]
Minbak book launch with Ela Lee
The Korean Cultural Centre UK presents an evening celebrating the publication of Minbak by Ela Lee. Ela Lee was born in 1995 and is a British-Korean-Turkish writer. She studied Law at the University of Oxford and went on to practise as a City lawyer. In 2021, she began work on her debut novel, Jaded, which … [Read More]
Jeong: In Conversation with Hyo Jung Lee and Joe Pickard
The Korean Cultural Centre UK presents an evening celebrating the publication of Jeong: The Spirit of Korean Craft and Design. Author Hyo Jung Lee will be joined by Joe Pickard, Executive Editor at Phaidon Press, for a conversation exploring the concept of jeong — a uniquely Korean term expressing deep affection, emotional connection and attachment … [Read More]
Platforms, AI, and Creative Work: Evidence from the Korean Webtoon Industry
Professor Changkeun Lee from KDI School of Public Policy and Management is visiting UCL to continue their conversation on the impact of AI on various Korean industries. This time, the focus is on the Webtoon industry. His presentation introduces the Korean webtoon industry as a platform-based digital comics market and examines how platform power and … [Read More]