7 Korean Books Translated Into English For Beginners

Book: Welcome To The Hyunam Dong Bookshop

Author: Hwang Bo-reum

A warm, cosy, quietly inspiring novel about a woman, Yeongju, who walks away from burnout, routine and an unhappy marriage to open a small bookshop in Seoul’s Hyunam-dong neighbourhood. As she rebuilds her life between stacks of books, she forms a deep bond with regular visitors — each carrying their own wounds, hopes and quiet transformations.

Book: The Vegetarian

Author: Han Kang

Yeong-hye’s life changes after a series of violent, disturbing dreams. She suddenly decides to stop eating meat — a seemingly simple act that spirals into a complete rejection of societal expectations, family control, and even her own physical form. Told in three parts, each from a different narrator (her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister), the novel traces the consequences of Yeong-hye’s transformation and the ways those around her attempt to control, interpret, or destroy her autonomy.

Book: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Author: Cho Nam-joo

This short, powerful novel follows Kim Jiyoung, an ordinary Korean woman in her 30s whose life reflects the everyday sexism experienced by her entire generation. As she becomes overwhelmed by the pressures of motherhood, marriage, and work, she begins to ‘speak’ in the voices of other women — her mother, her friend, even a stranger — prompting her husband to send her to a psychiatrist. Through Jiyoung’s life story, the novel traces systemic gender inequalities from childhood to adulthood.

Book: Love in the Big City

Author: Sang Young Park

A vibrant, funny, and emotionally honest novel about Young, a queer man in his 20s navigating love, heartbreak, friendship, and the chaos of Seoul. The story unfolds in interconnected sections, moving between his intense friendship with his roommate, Jaehee, his romantic relationships, and the loneliness of urban life.

Book: The Good Son

Author: You-Jeong Jeong

When 25-year-old Yoo-jin wakes up one morning covered in blood, he discovers his mother dead downstairs, and he has no memory of what happened. As he tries to piece the night together, the truth about his past, his family, and his own dark impulses slowly surfaces. Told entirely from Yoo-jin’s perspective, the novel traps you inside the mind of an unreliable narrator, making every revelation more chilling than the last.

Book: Pachinko

Author: Min Jin Lee

This epic, multi-generational saga follows a Korean family over nearly a century — from 1910s Japanese-occupied Korea to postwar Japan. The story begins with Sunja, a young woman from a poor fishing village who becomes pregnant by a wealthy, married man. To avoid disgrace, she marries a kind minister who takes her to Japan. There, her family struggles to survive in a society that sees them as outsiders. Despite hardship, the family builds a life within the Korean immigrant community in Japan, where many work in the ‘pachinko’ gambling industry.

Book: Almond

Author: Sohn Won-pyung

Yunjae, a boy born with alexithymia, a condition that makes it nearly impossible for him to feel or express emotions like fear, anger, or joy. Raised his mother and grandmother, Yunjae lives a quiet, life until a shocking incident shatters his world. Soon after, he meets Goni, an angry boy whose life is the opposite of Yunjae’s. Their unexpected friendship forms the heart of the novel, showing how two broken boys learn to understand each other.