The Rise of Korean Literature in the West
If you have stepped foot into any bookstore in recent years, you probably have noticed a rise in Korea authors on the shelves. Authors like Han Kang, Bora Chung and Hwang Seon - mi.
Why is this? Why is it that Korean media has gained a mass amount of attention in the West? With the rise of K- Dramas, Korean media such as "Squid Game" and the movie, " Parasite" and K-pop - with groups such as boyband BTS, who are one of the best-selling boybands globally, selling over 40 million albums. These are all leading factors in the rest of Korean literature in the Western market. Already having an interest and knowledge in Korean society through music and media, gives the audience an established understanding of the backgrounds and social norms of many of these books.
"Hallyu" - the Korean wave, began towards the end of South Korea's censorship in the 1990s, however, it began to rise in popularity in the 2000s. The purpose of the Korean Wave is to expand Korean media and cultural values to the West, in an attempt to help the Korean economy and the tourist industry. In recent years, the success of the Korean Wave has been sky-high, with K-pop boyband, BTS, helping the Korean tourist industry so much that, as of 2018 every one in thirteen tourists to Korea was due to BTS and their influence.
The rise of the Korean Wave was an attempt to help the economic state of Korea, especially after the Korean War. Anton Hur, a translator who was listed for the International Booker Prize in 2022, states that "Korea is very uniquely positioned in that it used to be the poorest country in the world. Now it's one of the richest. And so for us, the memories of poverty, war, strife, and being refugees, is very fresh. And yet we now have the means to confront and to consecrate these experiences in various forms of media like K- Drama, even K-Pop references historical strife". The memories and effects of the Korean War are deeply rooted in the themes of Korean literature such as societal pressures, complex family and human dynamics, historical events, national identity, social norms and values, loneliness, and the trauma of war.
The international success of Korean authors in recent years has been a very sudden growth, compared to Japanese authors who have been slowly growing in Western popularity over the last decade. Poet Kim Hyesoon was Korea's first to win a National Book Critics Circle Award of the U.S. for her collection, "Phantom Pain Wings". Korean authors have been shortlisted three years in a row for the International Booker Prize Award with "Cursed Bunny" by Bora Chung in 2022, "Whale" by Cheon Myeong-kwan, in 2023 and "Mater 2 -10" by Hwang Sok-young in 2024. Perhaps most famous recently, Han Kang"s "The Vegetarian" - which has been regarded as a moving journey that resonates with the reader. "The Vegetarian" was Kang‘s first English publication.
In conclusion, the rise of Korean Literature in the West is due to the successful progression of the Korean Wave, the effects and memories of the Korean War which created incredible writers, even in it's censorship and the themes that many Korean authors write about, which resonates well with a global audience.
by; Tori Sheehan