Discover the 60+ Best Korean Translated books of 2026 from all genres including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, history, crime thrillers, classics and more. Complete with genre breakdowns and purchasing links!
This curated list of Korean translated books bring together, works by Korea’s most renowned authors, alongside books that have captivated readers across different social platforms, garnered prestigious literary awards, topped Korean and global bestseller lists, and earned a reputation as must read Korean translated books in 2026.
ALL BOOKS ARE UNIQUE AND NO BOOK IS REPEATED TWICE IN THE ARTICLE!!!
Why Read Korean Books in Translation in 2026?
It all started with Han Kang, becoming the first Korean author to win Nobel prize in literature in 2024. Since then, translators like Deborah Smith, Anton Hur, Sora Kim-Russell, Chi-Young Kim, and Jamie Chang have become recognizable names in Korean translated book market.
On top of that, the emerging trend of k-pop and k-dramas have exaggerated the urge to read and understand stories written by Korean authors. Hence we are experiencing a tremendous increase in readers for Korean literature.
Award-Winning Korean Translated Books
This list includes award bagging Korean Translated books in English from all genres including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, crime thrillers, psychological thrillers, classics, historic and more.
1. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
- Author: Han Kang
- English Translator: Deborah Smith
- Genre: Literary Fiction
- Awards: International Booker Prize (Winner, 2016); Nobel Prize in Literature (Han Kang, 2024)
- Goodreads: 3.65 / 5 | Amazon: 4.1 / 5
Quick Summary: among the best Korean translated books, The Vegetarian starts somewhere in South Korea, a woman decides to become vegetarian, suddenly after having gruesome nightmares. Her refusal to eat meat, triggers her family into forcing her to fit in social norms. The book goes on to narrate, different perspectives from her family members on her journey of giving up human existence entirely.
Quick Facts:
- The Vegetarian by Han Kang is widely considered a feminist and ecofeminist novel.
- Theme: feminism, bodily autonomy, calling out patriarchal conformity, rejection of human violence
2. Human Acts by Han Kang
- Author: Han Kang
- Translator: Deborah Smith
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Awards: Malaparte Prize (Winner, 2017); shortlisted for Man Asian Literary Prize
- Goodreads: 4.27 / 5 | Amazon: 4.6 / 5
Quick summary: based upon 1980 Gwangju Uprising, the book unfolds with a boy looking for a morgue for his friend’s body. The book unfolds misery, struggle, loss, pain and hardships experienced by the survivors and the victims of the uprising.
3. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
- Author: Bora Chung
- Translator: Anton Hur
- Genre: Speculative Fiction
- Awards: International Booker Prize (Shortlist, 2022); National Book Award for Translated Literature (Finalist, 2023)
- Goodreads: 3.73 / 5 | Amazon: 4.3 / 5
Quick summary: comprises of 10 short stories that revolve around horror, folklore and fiction. Includes traditional curses, dead souls, dead people and more, each as a center of a story itself.
4. Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
- Author: Sang Young Park
- Translator: Anton Hur
- Genre: Contemporary
- Awards: Dublin Literary Award (Longlist, 2023); International Booker Prize (Longlist, 2022)
- Goodreads: 3.66 / 5 | Amazon: 4.3 / 5
Quick summary: this Korean translated novel revolves around a young man, in the city of soul, navigating his life to the contrary of Korean social norms. Over time, the lighthearted tone shifts into a moving reflection on aging, caregiving, heartbreak, and living with HIV.
5. The Hole by Pyun Hye-young
- Author: Hye-young Pyun
- Translator: Sora Kim-Russell
- Genre: Psychological Thriller
- Awards: Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel
- Goodreads: 3.33 / 5 | Amazon: 4.1 / 5
Quick summary: this Korean translated book, revolves around the man, who finds himself coming out of coma, after an accident in which his wife dies. Now in the care of his mother-in-law, who dreads his existence, he’s left in a claustrophobic helplessness and misery.
6. Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
- Author: Shin Kyung-sook
- Translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Genre: Domestic Drama
- Awards: Man Asian Literary Prize (Winner, 2011)
- Goodreads: 3.92 / 5 | Amazon: 4.4 / 5
Quick summary: somewhere in the Seoul City, a family has lost their mother and each family member is looking for her. The book revolves around regrets, confessions and feelings of each family member, on their journeys to find their mother. The narrative shift between the family members and the book primarily portrays the maternal love and sacrifice.
7. Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan
- Author: Cheon Myeong-kwan
- Translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Genre: Satire
- Awards: International Booker Prize (Shortlist, 2023)
- Goodreads: 3.92 / 5 | Amazon: 4.4 / 5
Quick summary: this Korean translated book, is set in a remote countryside in Korea, portraying three different people including a mother, her blind child and an elephant caretaker. The novel traces their larger-than-life ambitions and dramatic downfalls.
8. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
- Author: Cho Nam-joo
- Translator: Jamie Chang
- Genre: Contemporary Realism
- Awards: Prix Émile Guimet de Littérature Asiatique (Shortlist, 2021)
- Goodreads: 4.16 / 5 | Amazon: 4.5 / 5
Quick summary: the plot begins around a woman in mid 30s, who gives up her job to raise her child. The storyline moves on to depict her psychological status throughout as she starts impersonating different women voices. The book is written in clinical notes oriented prose from the perspective of her psychiatrist. The entire book is about misogyny that a woman faces throughout her life and mimics the gender inequality in contemporary world.
9. 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
- Author: Mirinae Lee
- Translator: Self-translated
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Awards: Women’s Prize for Fiction (Longlist, 2024); William Saroyan International Prize (Shortlist, 2024)
- Goodreads: 4.08 / 5; AMAZON: 4.5 / 5
Quick Summary: this Korean translated book, portraits an old woman, narrating her life story to a nurse in her nursing home, talking about her eight lives that she had lived through the world war 2nd and the Korean war, sharing her experience as a survivor amd as a woman.
10. Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-jin
- Author: Kim Hye-jin
- Translator: Jamie Chang
- Genre: Contemporary Realism
- Awards: Shin Dong-yup Prize for Literature (Winner); Eun-joong Literary Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.86 / 5 ; Amazon: 4.4 / 5
Quick Summary: this Korean book revolves around a caregiver who allows her daughter and son-in-law to move in with her due to financial struggles, which in itself is a cultural shock for herself as it is against Korean societal norms. The book moves on to show the contradictions, she faces in the society and with her own self as she continues to fight against the prejudice.
11. The Plotters by Un-su Kim
- Author: Un-su Kim
- Translator: Sora Kim-Russell
- Genre: Crime Thriller
- Awards: Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (Shortlist, 2016); Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award (Longlist)
- Goodreads: 3.75 / 5 ; Amazon: 4.3 / 5
Quick Summary: this Korean book begins with an assassin,who grows up in a library run by a mastermind called Old Raccoon. But suddenly, he uncovers a plot that threatens his own life, he breaks protocol and questions his place in Seoul’s underground assassination industry. The book mixes hardboiled noir with sharp social satire on corporate bureaucracy and systemic corruption
12. If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop
- Author: Kim Cho-yeop
- Translator: Anton Hur
- Genre: Sci-Fi / Short Stories
- Awards: Korea Science Literature Award (Winner, 2019); Today’s Writer Award (Winner, 2019)
- Goodreads: 4.18 / 5; AMAZON: 4.6 / 5
Quick Summary: it’s one of the best Korean translated book collection of short stories that portray love, grief and human connection. The tales mix sci-fi concepts with a tender, emotionally grounded focus on marginalized voices.
13. The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-yeon
- Author: Kim Ho-yeon
- Translator: Janet Hong
- Genre: Fiction
- Awards: SF Award & National Bestseller (Over 1.5 million copies sold)
- Goodreads: 4.22 / 5 ; Amazon: 4.7 / 5
Quick Summary: it’s a Korean book about a middle aged man who suffering from alcohol induced amnesia. He’s hired for the night shift at a small convenient store in Seoul. As he quietly interacts with weary late-night customers, struggling students, and stressed-out workers, his small acts of kindness begin transforming their lives. It’s a heartwarming plot about how a small unnoticed spot can become a second home for strangers.
14. Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong
- Author: Hwang Sok-yong
- Translator: Sora Kim-Russell & Youngjae Josephine Bae
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Awards: International Booker Prize (Shortlist, 2024)
- Goodreads: 4.11 / 5; Amazon: 4.5 / 5
Goodreads: the book starts with the protest by railroad industrial worker and moves on to express his struggles through Japanese colonization, World war II, Korean war and modern day labour struggles. It serves as a monumental epic honoring the ordinary working class heroes who built modern South Korea.
15. The White Book by Han Kang
- Author: Han Kang
- Translator: Deborah Smith
- Genre: Autobiographical
- Awards: International Booker Prize (Shortlist, 2018)
- Goodreads: 3.80 / 5; Amazon: 4.3 / 5
Quick Summary: it’s an autobiography which begins when the writer losing her sibling and plot continues to express her feelings of growing up as a child who had to live in place of her lost sibling for her family.
16. I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
- Author: Baek Se-hee
- Translator: Anton Hur
- Genre: Memoir
- Awards: Global Non-Fiction Bestseller (Over 1M copies sold globally)
- Goodreads: 3.82 / 5; Amazon : 4.4 / 5
Quick Summary: among the most social media trending best Korean translated books, this book has a special place. It is about young social media director who struggles with persistent mile depression. The entire plot explore her twelve week interaction with her psychiatrist exploring her feelings, anxieties, thought process, attachment, co-dependency and more.
17. I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-ha Kim
- Author: Young-ha Kim
- Translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Genre: Dark Fiction
- Award: Munhakdongne Literary Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.62/ 5 ; Amazon: 4.2 / 5
Quick Summary: In the city of Seoul, there lives an artist who works as a “suicide designer,” helping disaffected people plan their deaths as artistic statements. The book is based on modern alienation, urban decadence and expresses precisely different crisis in different people’s lives.
18. Shoko’s Smile by Choi Eun-young
- Author: Choi Eun-young
- Translator: Sung Ryu
- Genre: Contemporary / Short Stories
- Awards: Daesan Literary Award (Winner); Munhakdongne Young Writers Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.90 / 5; Amazon: 4.5 / 5
Quick Summary: a collection of short stories, describing the connection between a Korean student and a Japanese exchange student marked by unspoken feelings and misunderstandings. The prose enlightens how silence, trauma, and distance reshape human connections.
19. Lemon by Kwon Yeo-sun
- Author: Kwon Yeo-sun
- Translator: Janet Hong
- Genre: Crime Drama
- Awards: Eun-joong Literary Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.51 / 5; AMAZON: 4.0 / 5
Quick Summary: Amidst of Korea-Japan World Cup, a high school girl is murdered. The book goes on to explicitly explain the long term effect of trauma, faced by her family, friends and schoolmates.
20. The Cabinet by Un-su Kim
- Author: Un-su Kim
- Translation: Sean Lin Halbert
- Genre: Speculative Fiction
- Awards: Munhakdongne Novel Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.48 / 5 ; Amazon: 4.1 / 5
Quick Summary: it’s among must read Korean Translated books about an indifferent man who’s assigned a cabinet, full of documents about strange people with genetic mutations. As he goes through their files, he’s pulled into bizarre, comic yet melancholic challenges and encounters with them.
21. City of Ash and Red by Pyun Hye-young
- Author: Hye-young Pyun
- Translator: Sora Kim-Russell
- Genre: Dystopian
- Awards: Hankook Ilbo Literary Award (Winner)
- Goodreads: 3.12 / 5; Amazon: 4.0 / 5
Quick Summary: the story unfold with a pest control engineer who’s despatched to another country to help in a massive pest infestation. To his surprise, he’s held as a prime suspect as his ex-wife has been murdered. Trapped in a filthy, surreal metropolis, he fights for survival while attempting to piece together his forgotten past.
TO STAY UPDATED WITH POETRYMAMA, FOLLOW US ON:
Best Korean Translated Books in Fiction & Cozy Literature
1. Greek Lessons by Han Kang
- Author: Han Kang
- English translation: Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won
- Awards: New York Times Editors’ Choice; Shortlisted for the 2024 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.
- Goodreads: 3.59/5 from approximately 57,700 ratings and 9,900+ reviews
- Amazon: 3.53/5 across 22,800+ ratings
Quick Summary: it’s a Korean book about two people losing their primary of experiencing the world i.e the sense of hearing and eyesight. The book goes on to describe their connection through what remains.
2. The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin
- Author: Élisa Shua Dusapin
- English translator: Aneesa Abbas Higgins
- Awards: 2019 Swiss Literature Award; 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature.
- Goodreads: 3.58/5 from approximately 10,600 ratings and 1,400+ reviews
Quick Summary: A tranquil Korean novella about a Korean- swiss woman caught between cultures, trying to understand where she and her family belong. It’s a deep dive into belonging, culture, identity and ancestry.
3. Almond by Sohn Won-pyung
- Author: Sohn Won-pyung
- English translator: Sandy Joosun Lee
- Awards: Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction (2016)
- Goodreads: 4.13/5, with approximately 197,000 ratings and 32,800 reviews
- Almond was selected as Amazon (U.S.)’s Best Book of May 2020.
Quick Summary: it’s a Korean book about a teenager with alexithymia, who unexpectedly befriends a boy. Due to lack of understanding of emotions and feelings, she struggles to express and understand him. The book continues to narrate the struggle and compromise between the two.
4. The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin
- Author: Yeon Somin
- English translator: Clare Richards
- Awards: Yeon Somin’s debut novel, Lazy Kinko, received the Korea New Writer’s Award.
- Goodreads: 3.65/5 from approximately 8,400 ratings and 1,560 reviews
- Translation rights for the novel have been sold in more than 20 languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Polish and others.
Quick Summary: this Korean book is about a television news writer, quit her job and completely isolates herself in her apartment. One fine morning she discovered a quiet isolated pottery shop near her, which she attends to help with her isolation. Later in the book, the pottery shop itself becomes the source of friendship and leading her to discover, that slowing down can itself be a form of recovery.
5. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum
- Author: Hwang Bo-reum
- English translator: Shanna Tan
- Awards: 2024 Japan Booksellers’ Award (1st place, Foreign Fiction category)
- The novel sold more than 110,000 copies in Korea within just five months of publication.
- Goodreads: 3.87/5, with approximately 100,700 ratings and 18,700 reviews
Quick Summary: among the most successful Korean translated books, this book has swamped the internet. It is about a young woman who abandoned her successful blossoming career and marriage, to open a small book shop in the city. The book shop itself becomes a harbour and home for people struggling with their own lives.
6. A Love Story from the End of the World by Cho Ye Eun
- Author: Juhea Kim
- Awards: Longlisted for the 2026 Story Prize
- Goodreads: 3.72/5 from 545 ratings and 132 reviews
Quick Summary: Ten interconnected stories about love, humanity and nature at the edge of ecological collapse. The stories connect human relationships with climate crisis and ecological loss, ultimately asking what it means to remain human when the natural world itself is under threat.
7. A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran
- Author: Cheon Seon-ran
- English translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Awards: Korea Sci-Fi Literature Award’s Grand Prize
- Goodreads: 4.06/5 from approximately 2,000 ratings and 400 reviews
Quick Summary: the book is set in 2035, where a horse named Today is pushed to its physical limits, and hence faces the crisis of being sent to slaughter house. The book goes on to narrate its feelings, the struggle to rescue it and describes the bond between human and animals, with current technology in 2035.
8. If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
- Author: Frances Cha
- Awards: New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
- International bestseller and was selected as a Goodreads Choice Award nominee in the Best Fiction category.
- Goodreads: 3.68/5, from approximately 68,000+ ratings and 9,000+ reviews.
Quick Summary: the book describes four different women living in an apartment building, each on her own journey, establishing themselves and their career in the Seoul City. The book goes on to enlighten their day to day struggles with beauty, money, marriage, family and social status.
9. I Leave It Up to You by Lee Joo-ran
- Author: Jinwoo Chong
- Awards: selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
- Goodreads: 3.77/5 from approximately 7,700 ratings and 1,380 reviews
Quick Summary: it’s a funny and tender translated Korean book which narrates the story of man, who wakes up from a 2 year long coma, just to realise that he has lost everything including his job, his apartment and his partner. So he decides to return to his family, who are struggling with their sushi restaurant. The book goes on to describe his choices, decisions and how life has given him another chance.
10. Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
- Author: Mary H. K. Choi
- Awards: Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fiction (2021)
- Chicago Public Library Best of the Best selection
- Goodreads: 3.93/5 from approximately 31,900 ratings and 5,900 reviews.
Quick Summary: this Korean story is about two sisters, who were quiet close but with time, they grew estranged. Life had different plans for them as one of them ended up having cancer. The book describes their journey of being sisters to strangers to back again and them confronting their complicated family history, cultural identity, health and the resentment that has shaped their relationship.
11. The Moon Glow Bookshop by Seo Dong-won
- Author: Dongwon Seo
- Translator: Shanna Tan
- Awards: marketed as a breakout “Korean sensation”
- Goodreads: 2.99/5 with 1,345 ratings and 331 reviews
Quick summary: this Korean book is about a tiny bookshop, that recites in an ordinary alleyway but serves magical drinks to its customers. It’s bartender has the ability to make visitors go back in time and revisit memories, regrets and creating stories about healing, choices, fate and second chances.
12. Counterattacks at Thirty by Mi-Rae Son
- Author: Sohn Won-pyung
- English translator: Sean Lin Halbert
- Awards: 2017 Jeju 4·3 Peace Literary Award
- 2022 Japan Booksellers’ Award ( Translated Fiction category, 1st place)
- Goodreads: 3.52/5
Quick Summary: the story is about 30 year old woman who stuck between making a living and upholding Korean authoritarian workplace culture. Then came a point when she meets a new colleague and they together begin staging small, mischievous acts of resistance against the people and structures that exploit them.
Best Korean Translated Thrillers, Crime & Mystery Books
1. Petty Lies by Bae Su-ah
- Author: Sulmi Bak
- English translator: Sarah Lyo
- Awards: 6th Korea Digital Writer Award 2026
- 1st Korea Electronic Publishing Award — Grand Prize
- Also shortlisted for the 8th Honbul Literary Award
- Goodreads: 3.25/5, from approximately 1,900 ratings and 470+ reviews
Quick Summary: among the best Korean translated books in thrillers, this book has been a dominant competitor. It’s about a woman takes a tutoring job for the troubled son of a wealthy family but only she knows that she’s in tat house for revenge. The book’s narrative changes from character to character as the story line goes along forcing the reader to reconsider who is victim, perpetrator and storyteller.
2. The Trunk by Kim Ryeo-ling
- Author: Kim Ryeo-ryeong
- English translator: The KoLab
- Awards: adapted into the 2024 Netflix Korean drama The Trunk starring Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun-jin
- Goodreads: 2.81/5 from approximately 2,674 ratings and 598 reviews
Quick Summary: in this translated Korean thriller, there’s a woman, who works for a matching making company for elite people to get spouses temporarily, on contract. One day she’s assigned to a music producer who, seemed quite normal and artistic but with time, dark secrets started to pop up.
A dark Korean romance-thriller that turns the idea of a “perfect marriage” into a disturbing question about love, control and what people are willing to pay for companionship.
3. Aviary by Cho Hae-jin
- Author: Maria Dong
- Awards: featured among Goodreads’ anticipated mystery/horror titles for April 2026
- Goodreads: 3.55/5 from 318 ratings and 113 reviews
Quick Summary: Aviary is among the most intriguing in thriller genre of translated Korean books. It begins with a woman, who’s living as undocumented resident of Korea, who suddenly finds her sisters grotesque dead body along with her passport and air tickets.
She steals her sisters identity and flies to US to find out what actually happened to her. Instead she finds herself, trapped in a sinister artist’s program.
4. Mrs. Shim Is a Killer by Gu Byeong-mo
- Author: Kang Jiyoung
- English translator: Paige Morris
- Awards: published internationally in more than 20 languages
- Goodreads: 3.22/5 from approximately 1,850 ratings and 385 reviews
Quick Summary: this Korean book is about a 51-year-old widow and unemployed mother, who respond to an employment opportunity, in a detective agency, which later reveals to be an opportunity to become a contract killer. Having done butchering as a job in past, she’s now even more skilled than average people seeking the job. The book explores her journey of becoming an assassin.
5. Hunger by Ji-min Lee
- Author: Choi Jin-young
- English translator: Soje
- Awards: half a million copies sold
- Remained on the literary-fiction bestseller charts for more than six months and breaking records for literary fiction.
- Goodreads: 3.48/5 about 6,900 ratings and 1,640 reviews
Quick Summary: this Korean book begins with a woman whose lover is murdered and she decides to keep his body with her forever. The book narrative switchs between the women and the dead man, creating a benevolent atmosphere throughout. This is an extremely unsettling book, with graphic descriptions of death, cannibalism and the human body.
6. Teddy Bears Never Die by Lee Do-woo
- Author: Cho Yeeun
- Translator: Sung Ryu
- Awards: The book was adapted as a Korean webtoon, titled Teddy Bears Never Die, ran for 43 completed episodes and was rated 15+.
- Goodreads: 3.80/5 , 749 ratings, 268 reviews
Quick Summary: among the best Korean translated books in thriller, Teddy Bears Never Die, is one of the most underrated book. The story is about a teenager, who loses her mother in mass poisoning, yet she is convinced there’s more to her death.
The book continues to explore the spiritual realm, that’s connected to this physical world and with the help of a spirit, that resides in a teddy bear, she works her way to uncover the truth.
7. Seven Years of Darkness by You-Jeong Jeong
- Author: Jeong You-jeong
- English translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Awards: named one of the Top 10 Crime Novels of 2015 by the German newspaper Die Zeit
- The novel was adapted into a major Korean film in 2018, Seven Years of Night, directed by Choo Chang-min.
- Goodreads: 3.72/5, 3,949 ratings, 724 reviews
Quick Summary: Seven years after a catastrophic night at Seryong Lake, Choi Sowon is still living under the shadow of his father’s conviction for causing a devastating flood that killed an entire village. The narrative changes when he finds, a manuscript that displays the actual reality of what had happened that night. Sowon is forced to confront, a chain of murder, revenge, guilt and buried secrets that threatens his life all over again.
8. The Boy Who Escaped Paradise by J.M. Lee
- Author: Jung-Myung Lee
- English translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Awards: Jung-Myung Lee has won Italy’s 2017 Premio Selezione Bancarella
- Goodreads: 3.71/5, 358 ratings, 57 reviews
Quick Summary: this Korean book is about a North Korean prodigy, who was detained along with his family in national prison, which he eventually escapes and continues on to travel across Asia, to America insert of a younger he was introduced to in the prison. The book enlightens about prison life, North Korean prison camps, violence, murder, human trafficking, organized crime and exploitation.
9. The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo
- Author: Gu Byeong-mo
- Translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Awards: The novel was adapted into a major South Korean film in 2025 and the film premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
- Goodreads: 3.49/5, about 9,100 ratings and 1,408 reviews
Quick Summary: The novel uses its unusual elderly female assassin protagonist to explore ageing, loneliness, gender, social expectations and the value of human connection, alongside its crime-thriller plot.
10. The Plotters by Un-su Kim
- Author: Un-su Kim
- English translator: Sora Kim-Russell
- Awards: nominated for the 2016 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, a major French prize for international crime fiction
- Goodreads: 3.56/5, 7,948 ratings and 1,327 reviews
Quick Summary: Reseng, is a Korean assassin who was raised up in a secret library for assassins. Yet, one day, when he starts to question the orders that he receives, he realises that the organization has a long chain of hierarchy and he sets on finding, who controls this organization at the top.
Best Korean Translated Non-Fiction & Memoirs
1.It’s Okay Not to Get Along with Everyone by Kim Soo-hyun
- Author & illustrator: Dancing Snail
- English translator: Sandy Joosun Lee
- Awards: Dancing Snail is also the illustrator of the hugely successful Korean book I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki.
- Goodreads: 3.69/5, 672 ratings, 126 reviews
Quick Summary: it’s a book about how a person cannot please everyone at the same time and be the good books of every single person. The book enlightens about healthy boundaries, peer pressure, people pleasing, emotional and social exhaustion and much more.
2. Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Kim Gwang-seok
- Author: Hwang Bo-reum
- English translator: Shanna Tan
- Awards: the 2025 English edition became a national bestseller in the United States
- Goodreads: 3.82/5, about 6,775 ratings and 1,575 reviews
Quick Summary: It’s collection of 53 personal essays about the experience of being a reader. The book explains the desire behind reading, how people read, how books shape reader’s minds, and how it keeps readers brains healthy. The book itself contains book recommendations for readers from beginners to people with reading as a daily habit.
3. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
- Author: Michelle Zauner
- Awards: 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography
- Became a #1 New York Times bestseller and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 100 weeks
- Michelle Zauner was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022
- Goodreads: 4.22/5, about 648,000 ratings and 77,800 reviews
Quick Summary: it’s authors personal memorial highlighting her journey of living as Korean American, her complex relationship with her Korean mother followed by losing her mother to cancer. She explains in her book how Korean food meant as a connection to her lost mother and how much she cherished her Korean culture and food after that loss.
4. Two Women Living Together by Kim Ha-na and Hwang Sun-woo
- Authors: Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo
- Translator: Gene Png
- Awards: bestseller in South Korea
- New York Times highlighted their story in 2024
- Goodreads: 3.74 from 2,411 ratings and 552 reviews
Quick Summary: it’s a Korean memoir about two women living together, after deciding that a friendship can itself be called a family. The book goes on to highlight the significant amount of stress, struggle and patience, it requires to build the home together.
5. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng by Lady Hyegyŏng
- Author: Lady Hyegyŏng
- Translation: JaHyun Kim Haboush
- Awards: It is one of the rare surviving premodern autobiographical works by a woman in East Asia
- Goodreads: 4.03 / 5 with 1,013+ ratings and 147 reviews
Quick Summary: The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng recounts the life of a woman who entered the Joseon royal court as a child bride and eventually became the wife of Crown Prince Sado. The book describes the political and family struggles she went through and it’s become one of the rare autobiography written by a female author, that has been preserved through ages.
6. Every Moment Was You by Ha Tae-wan
- Author: Ha Tae-wan
- English translator: Shanna Tan
- Awards: 2018 YES24 Book of the Year
- Sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
- Goodreads: 3.95 / 5 with 688 ratings and 103 reviews
Quick Summary: collection of short poems, prose reflections and essays about love, heartbreak, loneliness, youth and self discovery. This Korean book describes the feelings of love, separation, and process of absorbing what has happened in a beautiful manner.
7. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park
- Author: Yeonmi Park
- Awards: Amazon bestseller 2015
- Goodreads: 4.48 / 5, approximately 110,000+ with 10,700+ reviews
Quick Summary: Yeonmi Park’s childhood in North Korea, her family’s struggle with poverty and repression, and her escape with her mother into China. Later on, the book describes how human traffickers exploited their family which led them to escape to Mongolia and finally somehow reaching South Korea.
‘In Order To Live’ is among the most unique books among Korean translated books, as it written by a North Korean.
8. I Decided to Live as Me by Kim Soo-hyun
- Author: Kim Suhyun
- English translator: Anton Hur
- Awards: Korea Book Awards winner, massive bestseller across Asia (selling millions of copies), praised for defining modern youth culture
- 1.8 million copies/readers worldwide
- Goodreads: 3.86/5 with approximately 5,786and 946 reviews.
Quick Summary: is a Korean translated book that illustrated collection of reflections and practical advice about self-worth, comparison, social expectations, work, relationships and becoming an adult. She further explains in her book how one must not compare with other people’s lives as it steals happiness and contentment.
9. Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon
- Author: Kim Hyesoon
- English translator: Don Mee Choi
- Awards: 2019 Griffin Poetry Prize International Winner
- 2019 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize
- 2025 International Literature Award
- Goodreads: 4.03 / 5 with 805 ratings and 133 reviews.
Quick Summary: it’s a collection of 49 poems which deep dive in to the concept of spirits living in an intermediate realm after leaving human physical body. Instead of narrating the poems from a single person’s perspective, the alternate the poem through multiple dead people’s narratives explaining their death, their after life, live they lived and regrets the carry and much more.
10. Ramen Makes Us Complete by Park Jung-seok
- Author: Yoon Ina
- English translator: Chi-Young Kim
- Awards: Acclaimed LTI Korea translation grant recipient and popular essay prize winner
- Goodreads: 4.17/5
- Google Play’s Korean listing shows 4.5/5
Quick Summary: it is a warm, humorous food memoir built around Yoon Ina’s lifelong obsession with instant ramen. The book uses the process of making ramen like choosing noodles, boiling water, deciding when to add the noodles and seasoning as a framework for stories about family, friendship, work, womanhood, adulthood and everyday survival.
Upcoming Korean Translated Books to Read in 2027
Fiction Releases
1. Those Who Prepare the Way (The Bird That Drinks Tears, Book 2) by Lee Young-do, The Heart of the Nhaga (The Bird That Drinks Tears, Book 1) by Lee Young-do
- Author: Lee Young-do
- Translated by Anton Hur
- English publication: January 26, 2027
- Series: four books (currently second book is being released in English)
2. The Last Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-yeon
- Author: Kim Ho-yeon
- English translator: Janet Hong
- English publication: 27 May 2027
3. The Hyehwa-Dong Grandma’s Lunchbox Kitchen by Lee Kkot-nim
- Author: Kim Jiyun
- Translator: Shanna Tan
- English publication: 4 March 2027
4. A Mouth Full of Fins by Kim Mel-la
- Author: Cho Yeeun
- Translator: Lee Kyung Min
- English publication: 18 February 2027
5. The Pain Chasers by Gu Byeong-mo
- Author: Bora Chung
- Translator: Anton Hur
- English publication: 25 March 2027
Non-Fiction Releases
1. So What If I Love My Single Life by Kwak Min-ji
- Author: Seen Aromi
- Translated by S L Park
- Expected Release: January 2027
2. Diary of a Korean Plant Parent: Four Seasons of Growth by Jung Jae-kyeong
- Author: Kim Keum-hee
- Translated by Clare Richards
- Expected Release: April 2027
3. Thank You for Your Suffering by Lee Seong-bok
- Author: Michelle Zauner
- Expected Release: April 2027
4. Traveling Chinatowns: The Architecture of Migration and Violence in Colonial Korea by Se-Mi Oh
- Author: Sujin Eom
- Expected Release: February 2027
5. City in a Future Tense: The Making of a Smart City in South Korea by Bae-Gyoon Park
- Author: Chamee Yang
- Expected Release: Early 2027
Frequently Asked Questions About Korean Translated Books
What is the most famous Korean book translated into English?
The most famous Korean book translated into English is The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith), which won the International Booker Prize. Other globally recognized translated bestsellers include Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin, and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.
What is “K-Healing” fiction, and where should I start?
“K-Healing” (or healing fiction) is a popular South Korean literary trend focused on cozy, comforting slice-of-life stories set in everyday spaces like bookshops, laundromats, and cafes. Top starter recommendations include Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum and The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-yeon.
Where should beginners start reading Korean literature?
Beginners should start based on their favorite reading genres: For Cozy Literature: Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum – For Literary Fiction: The Vegetarian by Han Kang – For Thrillers & Noir: The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong or The Plotters by Un-su Kim – For Sci-Fi & Speculative Fiction: Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung or If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop.
Who are the top Korean authors to read in 2026?
Essential modern Korean authors available in English translation include Han Kang, Cho Nam-Joo, Bora Chung, Hwang Sok-yong, Kim Choyeop, Pyun Hye-young, and Un-su Kim. Acclaimed translators like Anton Hur, Deborah Smith, Jamie Chang, and Sora Kim-Russell frequently bring these works to international readers.
Why are Korean translated books becoming so popular globally?
The global rise of Korean translated books (part of the broader Hallyu or Korean Cultural Wave) is driven by unique genre-blending narratives, compelling social commentary on contemporary life, and strong emotional depth. Themes touching on corporate burnout, mental health, family pressures, and societal expectations resonate widely with international readers.
IF YOU LIKE THIS ARTICLE, CHECK OUT:
