The 2026 Korean Books You Should Know About: From Jan to June!

“A tale of star-crossed lovers, political intrigue and mysticism inspired by Korean mythology and set in the Joseon dynasty.

‘Whether I remember or not, it seems I am destined to love you.’

Lady Seomun Bin has a secret: she is a cross-dressing byeoksaga, or ghost-stalker. Born with the unenviable ability to see spirits, she is forced to disguise herself as a man to perform exorcisms in order to break the demonic curse on her which puts those around her in danger.

When she sneaks into a lavish party at the Sagokjeong, the chief state councillor’s country home, she bumps into Hyun Eunho, a loyal servant to the King sent to investigate the chief state councillor’s suspected treason. Eunho feels an inexplicable attraction towards Bin and tries to get closer to her, while Bin, for reasons of her own, attempts to avoid him. As they continue to cross paths, they becoming [sic] increasingly entangled by the inescapable threads of fate that keep drawing them together.

Meanwhile, a darker presence is growing in power in the Underworld and the boundaries between the physical world and the one beyond continue to grow thinner. As evil forces seek to exert their influence over the court, Bin and Eunho must work together to overpower them.

Where will their destined connection lead? Will they finally be able to break Bin’s curse?”
— Google Books

Left: Cover of The Legend of Lady Byeoksa (Credit: Headline Publishing)

“With the Heart of a Ghost is a debut collection of eight fantastical stories translated by Chi-Young Kim (Whale) that explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable.

The funny, meditative characters who inhabit this book are pulled far from their ordinary daily routines to stare straight into their own sorrows, however they manifest. Ghosts and otherworldly occurrences are folded seamlessly into author Lim Sunwoo’s quiet universe with stories buoyed by humor, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us.

A ghost who looks just like the narrator reflects her feelings back to her in a bun shop; mutant jellyfish take over the world and if you touch one you become one yourself; a heartbroken man becomes a tree in his ex’s apartment; the ghost of a wannabe K-pop star stuck in a vacuum cleaner wants out; Jugyeong helps a man hibernate by burying him up to his neck; Huiae, in deep conflict with her husband, reconnects with her strange old friend; Jo has lost his best friend-a gecko-but won’t give up the search; and Suyeong plots revenge on a wild dog that killed her cats by channeling her inner cat.

For a moment, a short period of your everyday lives, each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of With the Heart of a Ghost (Credit: The Unnamed Press)

“STEMinist mecha fantasy meets reality television in this high-stakes novel from the author of A Magical Girl Retires–a wildly imaginative tale of sibling bonds, unexpected friendship, and an existential quest to understand what it means to be human.

Robotics student Kim Wooram, runner-up at the World Gigantic Mechanics Olympiad, is a world-class pilot and engineer. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she likes working solo, preferring the company of robots to most other humans. Sought by robotics centers across the globe, she chooses to return to Korea after learning of an exciting new secret government robotic project known as V. To her disappointment, only male pilots are allowed to apply.

Desperate for a chance to make history and encouraged by her twin brother, Boram, the usual rule-following Wooram makes a risky choice. Posing as Boram, she auditions for Project V, the reality competition show whose winner will pilot the robot V–and quickly becomes one of the top contestants in both skill and popularity. Wooram attracts fans and friends like Seojin, the show’s youngest female writer and ardent “Boram” stan, and Jeonghoon, the clumsy but lovable underdog. She also gains a rival in Jinyoung, the ruthless heir to a Korean corporate dynasty.

As Wooram comes tantalizingly close to achieving her goal, she begins to realize that V’s arrogant AI is a ticking time bomb. With victory within reach, and her identity at stake, will Wooram destroy the robot of her dreams to save lives, or stick to the script?

Project V is a playful yet sharp meditation on some of the most pressing issues roiling modern society in Korea and across the globe: the male dominance in STEM fields, the ethics of parasocial idolatry and our addiction to social media and reality television, and the promise and peril of an AI-oriented future. Punchy and compelling, Park Seolyeon’s novel is a winning exploration of ambition and creation–a quintessential novel of our present and future for mecha fans and all curious readers.”
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Project V (Credit: HarperCollins Publishers)

“Meet the alien species that put the humanity into human beings
Discover the fate of Slefonia III once warp travel became obsolete
Visit the Mind Library to commune with the dead

Kim Choyeop became an instant literary sensation in Korea with her debut short story collection. Each of these [sic] bitesize speculative masterpieces represents a journey into the unknown, guided by a writer blessed with a boundless imagination.

From alternative futures to distant alien planets, in the company of scientists, space explorers and ordinary citizens in extraordinary situations, Kim Choyeop revels in making the impossible seem not only possible but somehow inevitable.

Each story focuses on an [sic] specific issue of discrimination against women or other marginalised groups, adding a mind-bending twist to hold a mirror to modern society and its everyday iniquities.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light (Credit: MacLehose Press)

“Discover the bestselling epic fantasy series from the grandmaster of Korean SFF, available for the first time in English by award-winning translator Anton Hur. A can’t-miss for readers of the great classics and giants of fantasy, from J.R.R Tolkien to Ursula K. Le Guin

Three handles one.

The world is divided by the Line of Limit. To the north are the Tokkebifire people able to manipulate flames as both weapons and illusions; Rekon – giant birdmen with immense strength and warrior acumen; and the humans – as divided as the other races are unified. To the south are the Nhaga – a reptilian people who relinquish their hearts for immortality. For centuries, the races didn’t cross that line, but change is in the air. A Nhaga is being sent North…and a trio is being dispatched to make sure this agent from the South makes it out alive – one from each race.

But the illusion of a simple journey is quickly dispelled by the fact that the Tokkebi is merely a scholar, not an adventurer; the Rekon is deathly afraid of water; and the human hunts and eats Nhaga. And when the Nhaga they’re supposed to be escorting out of the Kiboren forest is murdered, the one sent in his place turns out to very much have a heart – meaning he’s quite vulnerable to the dangerous exodus.

The four must quickly forge an alliance and shed the distrust and prejudice that plagues them if they are to survive. And just as crucial, they must figure out what this mission is actually about, because unbeknownst to them, the very fate of the world might rest on this one Nhaga making it to the North intact.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of The Hearts of the Nhaga (Credit: HarperCollins Publishers)

“One idol.
Four fans.
Worship’s never been bloodier.

Yosep is a K-pop idol with millions of adoring fans. But for four of them, a poster on the wall just won’t cut it. They have a plan—a perfect, foolproof plan—to get their idol all to themselves.

Kidnapping Yosep seemed like the ultimate act of love. But inside a secluded mansion, plagued by paranoia and with their grip on reality slowly loosening, the women use increasingly disturbing strategies to keep Yosep in their possession. As their angel’s halo slips and their perfect plan unravels, the women must fight not only to keep him, but to keep their secret buried – at all costs.

More than a little unhinged, Holy Boy is an exhilarating descent into the dark side of devotion.
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Holy Boy (Credit: Pan Macmillan)

“I am no ordinary ajumma. I am a killer

When Mrs Shim – widowed, unemployed, with two children at home and a fridge to fill – answers a job ad at the Smile Detective Agency, she boosts its fortunes forever. For Mrs Shim is sharp as a blade, handles business cleanly and is like a padlock when it comes to keeping secrets.

By day, she prepares kimchi for her family and her neighbour with dementia; by night Mrs Shim is out on a contract.

But what starts as a need for survival escalates into a thirst for vengeance. For Mrs. Shim is done with being everyone’s doormat.

Diving headfirst into her new career among petty criminals, crooked cops, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim’s past comes hurtling towards her.

Savage and unexpectedly moving, Kang Jiyoung presents a kaleidoscopic tale of twisted love, unhinged loathing and hopeful reinvention. Her world of endearing misfits, dead bodies and good food marks the exuberant arrival of a major new international literary voice.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Mrs Shim Is a Killer (Credit: Transworld Publishers)

“The horrormance genre mash-up you’ve been waiting for – from the award-winning Korean author Cho Yeeun comes a new novel where a young girl and a teddy bear team up to enact revenge!

A poisoned city – A grieving daughter – A boy trapped in a bear’s body.

When the fledgling coastal town of Yamu is rocked by a mass-poisoning attack at The Seaview Parc, the luxury high-rise meant to revitalise the city, Hwayoung is one of many who lost family members. Except, she has never believed that her mother was poisoned. Now, fuelled by grief and a desire for revenge, Hwayoung spends her time hustling to save every penny and bring those responsible to justice.

Across town, Doha wakes up in a teddy bear and realizes something sinister has taken his body. When fate brings Hwayoung and Doha together, the two team up for a revenge quest that will shake the city’s shiny façade to its rotten core.

This time, revenge is not just personal – it’s supernatural.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Teddy Bears Never Die (Credit: Headline Publishing)

“The thrilling high-concept Korean bestseller about conforming to society’s standards.

Youngah, a warm-hearted schoolteacher, lives to please – smiling through people’s demands, moulding her hobbies and even her heart to match what others deem to be “right”. But beneath her cheerful facade, the weight of constant self-restraint festers, dragging her into a haze of depression and numbness. Desperate for relief, she turns to the Seohyang Medical Research Centre’s cutting-edge four-week emotion regulation treatment, promised to sculpt her into a better version of herself.

What follows is chaos – but also liberation. The treatment unravels her carefully curated control, unleashing a torrent of suppressed desires, biting truths and long buried anger. Youngah curses, speaks her mind and revels in the guilt-ridden thrill of her bad behaviour. When she seeks answers, the Centre offers none, urging her to wait it out. But why return to a life of stifling conformity?

As Youngah embraces her raw, unfiltered self, she begins to dismantle the weight of the exhausting expectations and ideals imposed upon her.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Orange and Bread Knife (Credit: Headline Publishing)

“In this moving exploration of dual identities reminiscent of Past Lives, a Korean writer’s pregnancy raises questions about her own childhood abandonment.

Nana, a Korean playwright, was adopted as a child by a French couple. Before she was Nana, she was Esther Pak, a girl growing up in a Korean orphanage. And before she was Esther Pak, she was Munju, an infant abandoned on the railway tracks of Cheongnyangni station in Seoul.

Pregnant with the child of her ex-boyfriend, Nana receives a request from a Korean filmmaker who wishes to make a documentary about her life. Following a sudden compulsion to learn more about her own roots, she heads to Seoul as she prepares to bring a new life into the world. There, through unexpected encounters, the dark threads of her memory gradually begin to unravel.

Simple Heart delves into profound questions about identity and belonging, with a focus on family connections and motherhood that recalls Kyung-Sook Shin’s Please Look After Mother. It also shines a necessary light on issues such as international adoption and the historic US military presence in Korea.”
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Simple Heart (Credit: Other Press)

“Each story in Swell launches from the common but pivotal moments that determine the course of everyday life, but they’re often filtered through the perspective of someone else: documentarians, novelists, storytellers, gossips. Then, as the stories build atop one another and intertwine, they begin to shift and destabilize. Characters return but their histories are changed, alternate timelines open, and no one is ever who they were.

Like an optical illusion this book offers two complete pictures. Viewed as individual stories, contemporary Korean lives are rendered with sensitivity and realism–relationships tatter and bereaved loved-ones search for ways to move on. Viewed as a complete collection, though, a stranger narrative emerges, in which there is perhaps some invisible logic behind everything, incomprehensible to us. Wholly original, Swell, translated by Janet Hong, is a book full of trap doors, hidden passageways, and the unsolvable mystery behind everyday life.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Swell (Credit: Two Lines Press)

“A feminist cult Korean novel, Hello Baby is a gripping portrait of motherhood, fertility and what it means to be a woman for fans of Butter and Breasts and Eggs.

In a group chat, six women share the anxieties and absurdities of undergoing IVF treatment. They first met visiting Baby Angel Hospital, an elite fertility clinic in Seoul, and for two years they have confided in one another. Bonding over stories of their journeys to motherhood, they know that it is unlikely that they will all get their happy ending. When 46-year-old Jeong-hyo suddenly announces that she has stopped treatment and goes silent, the other women are sad to see her go.

One year later, on Lunar New Year, Jeong-hyo drops a message in the group announcing the birth of her baby daughter. But how did this miracle come to pass? As the women count down to their visit to meet her and her new baby, they each must reckon with their own journeys and hope that this happy news holds fresh promise for all of them.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Hello Baby (Credit: Fourth Estate)

“A romantic thriller exploring the dark corners of human desire and isolation with quiet eeriness

Is a fresh start truly possible? Or will society’s strictures and your own impulses keep re-creating the same messed-up relationships in every narrow room you enter?

Choi Seongmin’s Narrow Rooms follows a young woman who leaves her rural hometown to study in Seoul and seek self-improvement. But once there, she quickly becomes the target of unwanted attention from her teacher, and the whispers of other students only deepen her alienation. Living in a cramped, poorly soundproofed room, the suffocating atmosphere begins to further distort her boundaries and perceptions. Longing for escape, she fixates on a handsome new neighbor, her fascination spiraling into obsession: She secretly rummages through his mailbox, collects his discarded cigarette butts and teabags, and hoards his trash. But when she discovers something unsavory about the object of her desire, will she be forced to confront the morals of her own behavior?

With clean, uniform lines and milky colors reminiscent of glass paintings, Choi’s cartooning heightens the story’s sense of claustrophobia and unreality. Expertly translated from the Korean by Janet Hong and originally serialized as a Webtoon, Narrow Rooms has been praised for its raw, unsparing depiction of how human desires leak out when confined behind thin walls, emerging in unsettling, antisocial ways that no amount of self-control can fully contain.“
— Google Books

Left: Cover of Narrow Rooms (Credit: Drawn & Quarterly Publications)

Left: Cover of The Forest Called You (Credit: Vintage Publishing)

Left: Cover of The Memory Bookshop (Credit: HarperCollins Publishers)