Culture News

Korean horror sells in 11 countries as Japan's cosy bookshop novels face a reality check

Jeon Gun-woo's occult mystery You Must Not Hear This, published in Korea in April, has sold translation rights in 11 countries including the US, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Japan, the publisher Rabbit Hole told The Korea Herald on October 30. Advances so far exceed 300 million won ($225,000), and the worldwide English-language deal came from a preemptive offer.

It fits a pattern. In August, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that foreign publishers are increasingly buying Korean novels before they reach shops at home: Hwang Bo-reum's The Upstairs Couple sold to 15 countries before its June release, with advances above 500 million won.

“Foreign publishers have realized that waiting until a book becomes a hit in Korea is already too late.” — Yoon Sung-hoon, Clayhouse CEO, via Korea JoongAng Daily

The same day, The Korea Herald also reviewed Yun Ji-hyun's young adult gothic novel And the River Drags Her Down, in which a girl breaks her family's oldest rule of ancestral magic to bring back her drowned sister.

In Japan, the mood is more reflective. The Japan Times noted on October 25 that translated Japanese fiction is obsessed with quiet stories set in bookshops and cafes, but argued that life and work in Japan are not as idyllic as those books suggest.

How each outlet framed it

• The Korea Herald — a deal story: countries, advances, and Korean genre fiction's pull abroad.
• Korea JoongAng Daily — the trend: rights sold before books are even released.
• The Japan Times — a critical look at the cosy fiction trend and the Japan it presents.

What we don't know yet: when the English edition of You Must Not Hear This will be published.