In the past few years, South Korea has emerged as an exciting tourist destination. With Korean entertainment culture taking over the world, thanks to BTS, Bong Joon Ho, and Squid Game, Korean literature is also going global. So if you are looking forward to some book recommendations that give you a glimpse of South Korean society and places, you have come to the right place.
Here are five books you must read if you are planning to visit South Korea:
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
First published in 2016, Winter in Sokcho is a perfect read for those who wish to travel to South Korea’s winter getaway. The novel narrates the story of a woman who returns to her hometown of Sokcho from university in Seoul and takes a job as a live-in receptionist and a cook at a rundown hotel run by the crusty Old Park. Besides emotions of romance and self-love, the novel also describes the winter weather in Sokcho that might compel you to visit the location.
Human Acts by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith
If you are looking forward to understanding the violent history of South Korea’s southern province of Gwangju, Han Kang’s 2014 novel is a perfect book to begin. The novel narrates the human cost of the violent suppression of a student-led protest in the 1980s. Kang focuses on one teenage boy’s death in the novel which provides the impetus for a dimensional look into the Gwangju uprising and the lives of the people in that city.
Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah, translated by Deborah Smith
This fiction novel from 2020 presents a riveting detective story set in the megacity of Seoul. The novel narrates a beguiling story drawn on ideas from Korean shamanism, which is an ancient multi-dimensional spiritual practice in which all things are animate. The novel will provide you with an insight into the modern yet traditional society of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
The Island of Sea Women By Lisa See
This novel will take you to the island of Jeju situated south of South Korea. The novel unfolds over many decades, beginning from a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, and through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. At the centre of these developments are two women Mi-ja and Young-sook and their evolving relationship.
If I had Your Face by Frances Cha
Set in South Korea, Cha’s 2020 novel narrates the Korean society’s obsession with perfection and unreal beauty standards. The story also takes you into the entertainment industry of South Korea and how beauty and fashion culminate in their world.
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