Your Korean ‘to-be-read’ list
In the West, BookTok and Bookstagram have taken off these past years since the first COVID lockdown — but what about in the East?
Bookstagram is enjoyed by a growing community of bookworms.
While anglophone readers have been drawn to TikTok and IG for book recommendations and discussions, South Koreans have also created a reading community on Instagram under the various hashtags “#책스타그램” (chaekseutageuraem), “#북스타그램" (bukseutageuraem), and “#독서스타그램" (dokseoseuteugeuraem), all translating to “#bookstagram”.
Trending in Korea
There are over 4.5 million posts under the hashtag “책스타그램" (chaekseutageuraem) alone, but we combed through them to show you some of the most popular reads.
Two English-language books have piqued the interest of Korean readers; after seeing much success here in the U.K, Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library is also gaining wide readership in South Korea. The book tackles questions of existentialism through the fantasy genre, as the protagonist, Nora Seed, is enlightened to the different paths her life could have taken, through reading the books in a mysterious library.
Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library has achieved increible success worldwide, reaching Number One in Korea.
Lulu Miller’s Why Fish Don’t Exist is also gaining attention on the Korean side of Bookstagram. Described in the blurb as “part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don’t Exist reads like a fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail”.
If you’re more interested in Korean best-sellers, written in their native language, as opposed to translated works, here is the book topping the charts at the moment. Uncomfortable Convenience Store (불편한 편의점) by Kim Ho-yeon can be seen almost everywhere on Bookstagram.
Uncomfortable Convenience Store (불편한 편의점) has been topping the Korean book charts.
The novel follows the story of a homeless man called Dok-go and how he stays afloat working in a convenience store. Currently, there is no English translation for this novel, but hopefully we’ll get one soon.
If you’re a BTS fan, this next title may be one you’ve heard before. First published in 2016, Sohn Won-pyung’s Almond can also be sighted on many Koreans’ reading lists. Almond was recommended by BTS’ RM and was also seen being read by J-Hope and Suga in their 2020 reality show In the Soop.
Sohn Won-pyung’s Almond exploded in popularity after the BTS members were seen reading it.
It tells the tale of a boy called Yun-jae, born with a brain condition called Alexithymia which makes it hard for him to feel certain emotions such as fear and anger. The story intensifies when Yun-jae meets the hot-headed Gon, and their unlikely friendship sparks a change in them. Almond is also soon to be turned into a musical production, debuting in early April 2022 in Seoul.
An English translation of Almond can be found online.
With the growing interest in South Korean literature abroad, we can expect more South Korean books to be appearing on our best-seller lists. And Bookstagram, certainly, should be a space to watch for the next trending South Korean novels.
Edited by Chelsea Cheetham and Gabii Rayner.
*This post is not sponsored.
