Join three unmissable new voices, Juhea Kim, Ela Lee and Park Seolyeon, as they discuss their ambitious and incisive novels that will challenge and expand your idea of Korean literature. Ela Lee’s Jaded is a searing exploration of race, power and violence, as well as how hope can light up the darkest moments, City of … [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.
Bora Chung: The Midnight Timetable
Hear from the author of Cursed Bunny on her new novel, The Midnight Timetable, a masterful work of literary horror from one of our time’s greatest imaginations. Bora Chung, author of the National Book Award finalist and International Booker Prize shortlisted Cursed Bunny, discusses her novel The Midnight Timetable, equal parts bone-chilling, wryly funny and … [Read More]
Hwang Sok-yong: The Voice of a Divided Nation
With a five-decade-long writing career and Korea’s most prestigious literary prizes under his belt, Hwang Sok-yong is unmatched in depicting the social and political realities of his ruptured homeland. A staunch promoter of the arts, he spent years in exile and prison. It’s a rare honour to welcome him to the Festival, discussing his remarkable life and … [Read More]
Brick Lane Bookshop hosts debut double bill featuring Heuijung Hur
Brick Lane Bookshop is thrilled to welcome Heuijung Hur and Rowe Irvin to the store for a special double bill event. Hur will read from their debut collection of genre-defying short stories, Failed Summer Vacation; dreamy, dark, and surreal tales that bend reality and linger in the mind. Irvin presents Life Cycle of a Moth, … [Read More]
Balli Balli – Book Signing and Demo Event
Come and join Korean food writer & chef Da-Hae West for her exciting cookbook taster event. We are so excited to host this delicious session which will be celebrating Da-Hae’s brand new cookbook! Da-Hae will be cooking on the night – which there will be plenty of tasters for you to try: Speedy mooli kimchi … [Read More]
Dislocation & Diaspora – East Asian Poets in Conversation
Join Wasafiri for a poetry reading and panel discussion on dislocation and diaspora with Theophilus Kwek – who will read from his latest collection, Commonwealth (Carcanet, May 2025) – and Suji Kwock Kim, author of Notes from the Divided Country. The evening will be chaired by Wasafiri Associate Editor and poet Jennifer Wong. The three … [Read More]
Jieun Kiaer: Seoul Mothers and the Poetry of Rice
Join Professor Jieun Kiaer for a special evening of storytelling, poetry, and food — an exploration of Korean motherhood, memory, and everyday love. Jieun will talk about her newly released novel Seoul Mothers — a powerful and poignant story of three women navigating parenting, ambition, and identity in contemporary Seoul. She will also share selected … [Read More]
Kim Hyesoon & Will Harris: Autobiography of Death
Join the London Review Bookshop for an evening of poetry with Kim Hyesoon, one South Korea’s foremost poets. Her groundbreaking and radically feminist poetry – ‘a transnational collision of shamanism, Modernism, and feminism’ (Griffin Prize Judges) – has been translated into English by poet Don Mee Choi for over a decade. We celebrate the latest … [Read More]
EDITH × Yoon Dong-ju: Poetry Reimagined through Electronic Sound
Edith is a musician who reinterprets the poetry of Yoon Dong-ju through electronic and rock music. Her work bridges classical literature and contemporary sound, transforming Yoon Dong-ju’s writing into an immersive auditory experience. Her notable single, “Gongsang” (Imagination), inspired by the poet’s poem of the same name, reimagines the Tower of Babel as a symbol … [Read More]
Failed Summer Vacation: Heuijung Hur in conversation with Barry Pierce
To mark the UK release of Failed Summer Vacation, the Korean Cultural Centre UK invites you to an evening of literary conversation with acclaimed author Heuijung Hur, in dialogue with editor and literary critic Barry Pierce. Failed Summer Vacation is Hur’s award-winning debut collection of short stories, first published in Korea and now introduced to … [Read More]
Korea: War Without End – book launch at National Army Museum
Join the National Army Museum for a special launch event for this groundbreaking new history of the 1950-53 conflict with the book’s authors, Lord Richard Dannatt and Dr Rob Lyman. ‘Korea: War Without End’ examines the stand-off between East and West, formed during the Korean War, that would go on to be define the second … [Read More]
This Part Is Silent: A Life Between Cultures with SJ Kim
SJ Kim probes her experiences as a writer, a scholar, and a daughter to confront the silences she finds in the world. With curiosity and sensitivity, she writes letters to the institutions that simultaneously support and fail her, intimate accounts of immigration, and interrogations of rising anti-Black and anti-Asian racism. She considers the silences between … [Read More]
Balli Balli book launch: Da-Hae West in conversation with Hanguk Hapa
To celebrate the release of Balli Balli, her latest cookbook of simple and speedy Korean recipes, the Korean Cultural Centre UK invites you to a vibrant evening with Da-Hae West, chef, author, and expert on Korean cuisine and culture. In conversation with Hanguk Hapa, Da-Hae will delve into the inspiration behind Balli Balli—a lively collection of quick and flavour-packed … [Read More]
Luminous: Author Silvia Park in Conversation with Ela Lee
To celebrate the release of Luminous, the Korean Cultural Centre UK will host an online conversation between author Silvia Park and writer Ela Lee. Silvia Park is a Seoul-born writer whose acclaimed short fiction has appeared in Tor.com and Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Luminous is their debut novel and is currently being adapted … [Read More]
Author Juhea Kim in conversation with Alice Robb
To celebrate the release of her new novel City of Night Birds— a Reese’s Book Club pick — the Korean Cultural Centre UK will host a special evening with Juhea Kim, international bestselling author of Beasts of a Little Land. In conversation with acclaimed author and journalist Alice Robb, Juhea will share the inspirations behind … [Read More]
Book talk: Sohn Won-Pyung’s Counterattacks at Thirty
In celebration of the UK publication of ‘Counterattacks at Thirty’ by Sohn Won-Pyung, the KCC is bringing you an online event featuring translator Sean Lin Halbert and Anton Hur, an award-winning translator of Cursed Bunny, Love in the Big City, and author of Toward Eternity. We’ll be diving into: – The art of translation … [Read More]