100 Best Korean Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee

5.0

In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant--and that her lover is married--she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision

Recommended by Emma Watson and Gail Kelly.

Gail Kelly

Former CEO/ Westpac

Member of the Group of 30, and former CEO of Westpac will be spending her summer months reading a memoir, a novel and historical non-fiction. Lab Girl—Hope Jahren Pachinko—Min Jin Lee The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics—Daniel James Brown [source]

2

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Barbara Demick, Karen White, et al

4.9

Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population.

Taking us into a landscape most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to

Recommended by Hyeonseo Lee.

Hyeonseo Lee

She includes great details that show everyday life in North Korea. [source]

3

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom

Yeonmi Park

4.8

Human rights activist Park, who fled North Korea with her mother in 2007 at age 13 and eventually made it to South Korea two years later after a harrowing ordeal, recognized that in order to be "completely free," she had to confront the truth of her past. It is an ugly, shameful story of being sold with her mother into slave marriages by Chinese brokers, and although she at first tried to hide the

4

The Vegetarian

Han Kan

4.8

Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in eve

5

Human Acts

Han Kang

4.7

From the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian, a rare and astonishing (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice.

In the midst of a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed.

The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter s

6

Please Look After Mom

Kyung-Sook Shin, Chi-Young Kim

4.7

An international sensation and a bestseller that has sold over 1.5 million copies author's Korea, Please Look After Mom is a stunning, deeply moving story of a family's search for their missing mother - and their discovery of the desires, heartaches and secrets they never realized she harbored within.

When sixty-nine year old So-nyo is separated from her husband among the crowds of the Seoul subway

7

The Girl with Seven Names: Escape From North Korea

Hyeonseo Lee

4.6

With this compelling and unforgettable memoir based on her acclaimed TED Talk, which has over 10 million views, Hyeonseo Lee becomes one of the first female defectors from North Korea to share her story; like I Am Malala and Infidel, this is a narrative of sacrifice, survival, and extraordinary courage.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by the secretive

8

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

Sun-mi Hwang, Nomoco, Chi-Young Kim

4.5

A Korean Charlotte's Web

More than 2 million copies sold

This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command, only to have them carted off to the market, she glimpses her future every morning through the barn doors, where the other animals roam free, and comes up with a plan to escape into the wild—and to hatch an egg of her own.

An anthem for freedom, individuality a

9

Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

Pierre Rigoulot

4.5

An account of the brutish conditions in North Korea. The Aquariums of Pyongyang is a heartbreaking story of survival. It is to be understood that the story is not unique in that there are thousands of families in North Korea being persecuted and starved even today. That there are still operating concentration camps as well as the implementation of the 3-generation rule, wherein everyone in the fam

Recommended by Andrei Lankov.

10

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1)

Jenny Han

4.5

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed.

But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summ

Recommended by Laura Wood.

Laura Wood

When Lara Jean has a crush on a boy she writes a letter to him, which she doesn’t post. One day the letters all get posted and she has to deal with the fall out of that. [source]

11

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

Blaine Harden

4.4

A New York Times bestseller, the shocking story of one of the few people born in a North Korean political prison to have escaped and survived.

North Korea is isolated and hungry, bankrupt and belligerent. It is also armed with nuclear weapons. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are being held in its political prison camps, which have existed twice as long as Stalin's Soviet gulags and twelve times

Cover unavailable

12

The Island of Sea Women

Lisa See

4.4

Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger

13

No One Writes Back

Jang Eun-Jin, Jung Yewon

4.4

Communication—or the lack thereof—is the subject of this sly update of the picaresque novel. No One Writes Back is the story of a young man who leaves home with only his blind dog, an MP3 player, and a book, traveling aimlessly for three years, from motel to motel, meeting people on the road. Rather than learn the names of his fellow travelers—or even invent nicknames for them—he assigns them numb

14

The White Book

Han Kang

4.4

From the winner of the Man Booker International Prize for The Vegetarian

Writing while on a residency in Warsaw, a city palpably scarred by the violence of the past, the narrator finds herself haunted by the story of her older sister, who died a mere two hours after birth. A fragmented exploration of white things - the swaddling bands that were also her shroud, the breast milk she did not live to d

Recommended by Alina Varlanuta.

Alina Varlanuta

I recently read it and it still flickers on my mind. It is an autobiographical writing reflecting on the narrator’s baby sister who died two hours after her birth. It is fragmented into different perspectives. Each opens a white dimension where mourning, frailty and death are dissolving word by word, in utter silence. I loved the structure as the author makes at the beginning a list of the white things that are connected to the narrative. I read it as a book of and on silence, the silence you feel in front of the big words like death and life. The big, yet fragile words. One of my favorite lines: (related to a particular white pebble) ‘If silence could be condensed into the smallest, most solid object, this is how it would feel’. I know that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but for me it is very important how the paper feels when touched, how the cover completes the whole story. ‘The White Book’ is a beautiful book that feels frail, yet strong when touched (thick pages, just like in a photo book) and the photographs inserted in it complete the visual words. [source]

15

82년생 김지영

Cho Nam Joo

4.4

Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. She is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. A female preyed upon by male teachers at school. A daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. A good student who doesn’t get put forward for internships. A model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. A wife who gives up her c

16

I'll Be Right There

Kyung-Sook Shin, Sora Kim-Russell

4.4

How friendship, European literature, and a charismatic professor defy war, oppression, and the absurd

Set in 1980s South Korea amid the tremors of political revolution, I’ll Be Right There follows Jung Yoon, a highly literate, twenty-something woman, as she recounts her tragic personal history as well as those of her three intimate college friends. When Yoon receives a distressing phone call from

17

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite

Suki Kim

4.3

A haunting memoir of teaching English to the sons of North Korea's ruling class during the last six months of Kim Jong-il's reign

Every day, three times a day, the students march in two straight lines, singing praises to Kim Jong-il and North Korea: Without you, there is no motherland. Without you, there is no us. It is a chilling scene, but gradually Suki Kim, too, learns the tune and, without not

Recommended by Andrew Chen.

18

Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?

Graham Allison

4.3

CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES ARE HEADING TOWARD A WAR NEITHER WANTS. The reason is Thucydides’s Trap, a deadly pattern of structural stress that results when a rising power challenges a ruling one. This phenomenon is as old as history itself. About the Peloponnesian War that devastated ancient Greece, the historian Thucydides explained: “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in

Recommended by Fareed Zakaria, Kin Kariisa, and Will MacAskill.

Fareed Zakaria

A very smart and important book. [source]

Kin Kariisa

It was such a memorable and humbling moment meeting Prof. Allison Graham, professor of government at Harvard, on the sidelines of Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity here in Jeju Island, South Korea. His book Destined for War is a fascinating read. https://t.co/ZB3HhBHgLY [source]

Will MacAskill

The last 70 years are a fairly unusual state. We don’t really know why they’ve been so unusually peaceful. This could all change in the 21st century. [source]

19

The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea

Bandi, Deborah Smith

4.3

The Accusation is a deeply moving and eye-opening work of fiction that paints a powerful portrait of life under the North Korean regime. Set during the period of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il’s leadership, the seven stories that make up The Accusation give voice to people living under this most bizarre and horrifying of dictatorships. The characters of these compelling stories come from a wide varie

20

The Orphan Master's Son

Adam Johnson

4.3

An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother - a singer "stolen" to Pyongyang - and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is gi

21

Talk To Me In Korean - Level 1 (Talk To Me In Korean Textbook #1)

TalkToMeInKorean

4.3

TalkToMeInKorean's lessons are now also available in book format!
TTMIK Books are based on the lessons available on our website and in the podcast but improved and edited to fit the book format, so that you can learn Korean on your own. The book comes with an audio CD including the recordings of all of the major vocabulary words, expressions, sample sentences and dialogues used in the book.

22

Pieces of You

Tablo

4.3

Epik High leader Tablo's short stories weave together the secrets and anxieties of youth, whispering words of solace to a lost generation.

23

Bee-Bim Bop!

Linda Sue Park and Ho Baek Lee

4.3

Bee-bim bop (the name translates as “mix-mix rice”) is a traditional Korean dish of rice topped, and then mixed, with meat and vegetables. In bouncy rhyming text, a hungry child tells about helping her mother make bee-bim bop: shopping, preparing ingredients, setting the table, and finally sitting down with her family to enjoy a favorite meal. The energy and enthusiasm of the young narrator are co

24

The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea

JaHyun Kim Haboush

4.3

Lady Hyegyong's memoirs, which recount the chilling murder of her husband by his father, is one of the best known and most popular classics of Korean literature. From 1795 until 1805 Lady Hyegyong composed this masterpiece, which depicts a court life whose drama and pathos is of Shakespearean proportions. Presented in its social, cultural, and historical contexts, this complete English translation

25

When My Name Was Keoko

Linda Sue Park

4.3

Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul are proud of their Korean heritage. Yet they live their lives under Japanese occupation. All students must read and write in Japanese and no one can fly the Korean flag. Hardest of all is when the Japanese Emperor forces all Koreans to take Japanese names. Sun-hee and Tae-yul become Keoko and Nobuo. Korea is torn apart by their Japanese invaders during World W

26

A Single Shard

Linda Sue Park

4.3

Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated–until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of diggi

27

Integrated Korean: Beginning 1

Young-Mee Cho, Hyo Sang Lee, Carol Schulz, Ho-Min Sohn, Sung-Ock Sohn

4.3

This is a thoroughly revised edition of Integrated Korean: Beginning 1, the first volume of the best-selling series developed collaboratively by leading classroom teachers and linguists of Korean. All series' volumes have been developed in accordance with performance-based principles and methodology--contextualization, learner-centeredness, use of authentic materials, usage-orientedness, balance b

28

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself

Young-ha Kim, Chi-Young Kim

4.2

I don't encourage murder. I have no interest in one person killing another. I only want to draw out morbid desires, imprisoned deep in the unconscious. This lust, once freed, starts growing. Their imaginations run free, and they soon discover their potential... They are waiting for someone like me.

A spectral, nameless narrator haunts the lost and wounded of big-city Seoul, suggesting solace in sui

29

The Sun Is Also a Star

Nicola Yoon

4.2

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good stu

30

One Hundred Shadows

Hwang Jungeun

4.2

An oblique, hard-edged novel tinged with offbeat fantasy, One Hundred Shadows is set in a slum electronics market in central Seoul – an area earmarked for demolition in a city better known for its shiny skyscrapers and slick pop videos. Here, the awkward, tentative relationship between Eungyo and Mujae, who both dropped out of formal education to work as repair-shop assistants, is made yet more un

31

Korean Made Simple: A beginner's guide to learning the Korean language

Billy Go

4.2

Korean Made Simple is a book for anyone who wishes to begin learning the Korean language. No matter your age, you can learn how to read, write, speak and understand Korean.

Learn the Korean writing system, Korean culture, and even history. Learn over 1,000 vocabulary words and phrases through 20 in-depth and fun lessons, filled with plenty of examples. Additionally, practice sections with answer ke

32

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

Masaji Ishikawa

4.2

The harrowing true story of one man’s life in—and subsequent escape from—North Korea, one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian regimes.

Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the

33

The Calligrapher's Daughter

Eugenia Kim

4.2

A sweeping debut novel, inspired by the life of the author’s mother, about a young woman who dares to fight for a brighter future in occupied Korea

In early-twentieth-century Korea, Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother—but her stern father is determined to maintain tradition, especially as the Ja

34

Who Ate Up All the Shinga?: An Autobiographical Novel

Wan-suh Park, Yu Young-nan, Stephen Epstein

4.2

Park Wan-suh is a best-selling and award-winning writer whose work has been widely translated and published throughout the world. Who Ate Up All the Shinga? is an extraordinary account of her experiences growing up during the Japanese occupation of Korea and the Korean War, a time of great oppression, deprivation, and social and political instability.

Park Wan-suh was born in 1931 in a small villag

35

Maangchi's Real Korean Cooking: Authentic Dishes for the Home Cook

Maangchi

4.2

A complete course on Korean cuisine for the home cook by the YouTube star and the world's foremost authority on Korean cooking

Her millions of fans compare her to Julia Child. An Internet sensation, Maangchi has won the admiration of home cooks and chefs alike with her trademark combination of good technique and good cheer as she demonstrates the vast and delicious cuisine of Korea. In Maangchi’s

36

Eleanor & Park

Rainbow Rowell

4.2

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and with her chaotic family life, her mismatched clothes and unruly red hair, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Park is the boy at the back of the bus. Black T-shirts, headphones, head in a book - he thinks he's made himself invisible. But not to Eleanor... never to Eleanor.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix t

37

White Chrysanthemum

Mary Lynn Bracht, Greta Jung

4.2

In the spirit of Lilac Girls, the heartbreaking history of Korea is brought to life in this deeply moving and redemptive debut that follows two sisters separated by World War II.

Korea, 1943. Hana has lived her entire life under Japanese occupation. As a haenyeo, a female diver of the sea, she enjoys an independence that few other Koreans can still claim. Until the day Hana saves her younger sister

38

The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War

David Halberstam

4.2

"In a grand gesture of reclamation and remembrance, Mr. Halberstam has brought the war back home."---The New York Times

David Halberstam's magisterial and thrilling The Best and the Brightest was the defining book about the Vietnam conflict. More than three decades later, Halberstam used his unrivaled research and formidable journalistic skills to shed light on another pivotal moment in our histor

Recommended by Bill Rasmussen.

Bill Rasmussen

One that I would recommend. [source]

39

The Story of Hong Gildong

Minsoo Kang

4.2

The Story of Hong Gildong is arguably the single most important work of classic Korean fiction. Like its English counterpart, Robin Hood, it has been adapted into countless movies, television shows, novels and comics. Its memorable lines are known to virtually every Korean by heart. Until now, this incredible 19th century fable has been all but inaccessible to English readers.

Hong Gildong, the bri

40

Land

Professor Henry Corbin

4.2

Acclaimed as an important piece of modern Korean writing, this book is set against the background of the struggle between conservative and modernizing forces at the turn of the century. It follows the fortunes of several generations of Korean villagers during a time of turbulence and change.

41

Our Happy Time (Cinta Tak Pernah Salah Memilih Waktu)

E. J. Gold

4.1

42

Hangeul Master

TalkToMeInKorean

4.1

Go from being a novice to a Hangeul Master in a short time with this book! Hangeul Master is chock-full of everything you need to know about Hangeul!

-Short History of Hangeul
-Quick Guide to Writing Hangeul
-Basic Pronunciation of Hangeul
-Fun Facts
-How to Read Handwritten and Stylized Korean

43

The Impossible Fairy Tale

Han Yujoo

4.1

Winner of a PEN Heim award

The Impossible Fairy Tale tells the story of the nameless ‘Child’, who struggles to make a mark on the world, and her classmate Mia, whose spoiled life is everything the Child's is not.

At school, adults are nearly invisible, and the society the children create on their own is marked by soul-crushing hierarchies and an underlying menace. Then, one day after hours, the Chil

Recommended by Arifa Akbar.

Arifa Akbar

Han Yujoo toys with reality, crafting scenes that might be real, but could be fantasy or imagined, too – there’s a surreal, hallucinatory quality to it. She does that so well. She sucks you in to an interrogation of reality, of how much reality is actually out there and how much of it is in our heads. [source]

44

The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World

Vincent Bevins

4.1

A hidden history of CIA activities in Indonesia and Latin America---no less violent or consequential than other, prominent Cold War disasters, but widely overlooked for one important reason: here the CIA was successful.

During the Cold War, the U.S. effort to contain communism resulted in several disgraceful and disastrous conflicts: Vietnam, Cuba, Korea. But other conflicts in Indonesia, Brazil,

45

Your Republic Is Calling You

Young-ha Kim, Chi-Young Kim

4.1

A foreign film importer, Gi-yeong is a family man with a wife and daughter. An aficionado of Heineken, soccer, and sushi, he is also a North Korean spy who has been living among his enemies for twenty-one years. Suddenly he receives a mysterious email, a directive seemingly from the home office. He has one day to return to headquarters. He hasn't heard from anyone in over ten years. Why is he bein

46

The Good Son

You-Jeong Jeong

4.1

'The Talented Mr. Ripley meets The Bad Seed in this breathless, chilling psychological thriller by the bestselling novelist known as "Korea's Stephen King" Who can you trust if you can't trust yourself? Early one morning, twenty-six-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange metallic smell, and a phone call from his brother asking if everything's all right at home - he missed a call from their mother i

47

P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2)

Jenny Han

4.1

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

They were just pretending. Until they weren’t. And now Lara Jean has to learn what it's like to be in a real relationship and not just a make-believe one.

But when another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him suddenly return too.

Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the N

48

Honolulu

Alan Brennert

4.1

The story of a young immigrant bride in a ramshackle town that becomes a great modern city

"In Korea in those days, newborn girls were not deemed important enough to be graced with formal names, but were instead given nicknames, which often reflected the parents; feelings on the birth of a daughter: I knew a girl named Anger, and another called Pity. As for me, my parents named me Regret."

Honolulu

49

Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3)

Jenny Han

4.1

“Sweetly funny.” —Entertainment Weekly

New York Times bestselling author

Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to the bestselling To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You.

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next do

50

The Guest

Hwang Sok-Yong, Kyung-Ja Chun, Maya West

4.1

Based on actual events, The Guest is a profound portrait of a divided people haunted by a painful past, and a generation's search for reconciliation.
During the Korean War, Hwanghae Province in North Korea was the setting of a gruesome fifty-two day massacre. In an act of collective amnesia the atrocities were attributed to American military, but in truth they resulted from malicious battling betwe

51

If I Had Your Face

Frances Cha

4.1

A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty, secret room salons catering to wealthy men, ruthless social hierarchies, and K-pop mania

Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul "room salon," an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink.

52

Our Twisted Hero

Yi Munyol

4.1

When the twelve-year-old narrator of Our Twisted Hero moves to a small town and enrolls in the local school, he's confident that his big city sophistication will establish him as a natural leader. He is shocked to find his new classmates and teacher under the spell of the class monitor. As the narrator sets out to overthrow the bully, he is threatened, teased--and finally broken.

53

Native Speaker

Chang-rae Lee

4.1

In Native Speaker, author Chang-rae Lee introduces readers to Henry Park. Park has spent his entire life trying to become a true American—a native speaker. But even as the essence of his adopted country continues to elude him, his Korean heritage seems to drift further and further away.

Park's harsh Korean upbringing has taught him to hide his emotions, to remember everything he learns, and most

54

The Surrendered

Chang-rae Lee

4.1

A stunning story about how love and war inalterably change the lives of those they touch, The Surrendered is elegant, suspenseful, and unforgettable: a profound meditation on the nature of heroism and sacrifice, the power of love, and the possibilities for mercy and salvation.

With his three critically acclaimed novels, Chang-rae Lee has established himself as one of the most talented writers of co

55

Familiar Things

Hwang Sok-Yong

4.1

Seoul. On the outskirts of South Korea’s glittering metropolis is a place few people know about: a vast landfill site called Flower Island. Home to those driven from the city by poverty, is it here that 13-year-old Bugeye and his mother arrive, following his father’s internment in a government ‘re-education camp’.

Living in a shack and supporting himself by weeding recyclables out of the refuse, at

56

Blonote

Tablo

4.1

57

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea

Guy Delisle, Helge Dascher

4.1

Famously referred to as one of the "Axis of Evil" countries, North Korea remains one of the most secretive and mysterious nations in the world today. In early 2001 cartoonist Guy Delisle became one of the few Westerners to be allowed access to the fortress-like country. While living in the nation's capital for two months on a work visa for a French film animation company, Delisle observed what he

Recommended by Sung J. Woo.

Sung J. Woo

Well, this is a comic book really, or a graphic novel if you want to make it sound more serious. Although it’s non-fiction, actually. It’s by a French guy, which is surprising. He went to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, to supervise an animation and he was there for two months getting to know the country. So this book is really a collection of his observations and how he saw the country and how strange it was to be there. The thing about the comic medium is that it’s perfect for representing the completely unreal state of that nation. This is a country unlike anywhere else and the comic book is more apt than any other form. There is a huge amount of propaganda in North Korea against South Korea, where I’m from. They say everyone’s spy, the living conditions are terrible and how horrible it is. But in South Korea there is the exact flip side of that. When I was growing up they said it’s terrible in North Korea, everyone’s a spy and the living conditions are horrible. [source]

58

The Persian Gamble: A Marcus Ryker Series Political and Military Action Thriller: (book 2)

Joel C. Rosenberg

4.1

The instant New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestseller!

Over 100,000 copies sold!

"Joel C. Rosenberg continues to mix his unique blend of prophetic fiction and nonstop action unlike anyone else working today." --The Real Book Spy on The Persian Gamble.

"The plot is intriguing. The pace just keeps accelerating. A must read!" --Porter Goss, former director of the Central Intelligence A

59

The Plotters

Un-Su Kim

4.1

The important thing is not who pulls the trigger but who’s behind the person who pulls the trigger—the plotters, the masterminds working in the shadows. Raised by Old Raccoon in The Library of Dogs, Reseng has always been surrounded by plots to kill—and by books that no one ever reads. In Seoul’s corrupt underworld, he was destined to be an assassin.

Until he breaks the rules. That’s when he meets

60

Dear Leader: My Escape from North Korea

Jang Jin-sung

4.1

In this rare insider's view into contemporary North Korea, a high-ranking counterintelligence agent describes his life as a former poet laureate to Kim Jong-il and his breathtaking escape to freedom.

"The General will now enter the room."

Everyone turns to stone. Not moving my head, I direct my eyes to a point halfway up the archway where Kim Jong-il's face will soon appear.

As North Korea's State Po

61

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: Guidance on the Path to Mindfulness from a Spiritual Leader

Haemin Sunim

4.1

"Is it the world that's busy, or is it my mind?"

The world moves fast, but that doesn't mean we have to. In this best-selling mindfulness guide - it has sold more than three million copies in Korea, where it was a number-one best-seller for 41 weeks and received multiple best book of the year awards - Haemin Sunim (which means "spontaneous wisdom"), a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher born in Ko

Recommended by Arianna Huffington.

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

Not only a useful and practical book, it’s a beautiful one as well. Everyone who wants to thrive more in their life should have it on their nightstand. [source]

62

Korean Grammar In Use: Beginning To Early Intermediate

Ahn Jean-Myung, Lee Kyung-ah, Han Hoo-youn

4.1

This book is the culmination of educational know-how and systematic grammar organization acquired by the three authors from their experience actually teaching Korean to foreigners in the classroom. In focusing strictly on Korean grammar, this series represents a departure from most current integrated teaching materials, allowing foreign learners to more easily concentrate on grammar in their study

63

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty

Bradley K. Martin

4.1

Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader offers in-depth portraits of North Korea's two ruthless and bizarrely Orwellian leaders, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. Lifting North Korea's curtain of self-imposed isolation, this book will take readers inside a society, that to a Westerner, will appear to be from another planet. Subsisting on a diet short on food grains and long on lies, North Koreans

Recommended by Andrei Lankov.

64

Frankly in Love (Frankly in Love, #1)

David Yoon

4.1

High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo--his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance--“Date Korean”--which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful--and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predic

65

Korean Grammar in Use: Intermediate

MIN AHN

4.1

This is the second volume in the Korean Grammar in Use series which is best selling book for the learners of Korean, one of the most effective texts for learning Korean grammar. Along with the first volume, Beginning to Early Intermediate, which covered the major grammar points learned in most introductory (Levels 1 and 2) Korean courses, this Intermediate volume covers the major grammar points le

66

The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat

Bob Drury

4.1

November 1950, the Korean Peninsula: After General MacArthur ignores Mao’s warnings and pushes his UN forces deep into North Korea, his 10,000 First Division Marines find themselves surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by 100,000 Chinese soldiers near the Chosin Reservoir. Their only chance for survival is to fight their way south through the Toktong Pass, a narrow gorge that will need to be held

67

The Name Jar

Yangsook Choi

4.1

The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she?

Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by t

68

Wicked Fox (Gumiho, #1)

Kat Cho

4.1

A fresh and addictive fantasy-romance set in modern-day Seoul.

Eighteen-year-old Gu Miyoung has a secret--she's a gumiho, a nine-tailed fox who must devour the energy of men in order to survive. Because so few believe in the old tales anymore, and with so many evil men no one will miss, the modern city of Seoul is the perfect place to hide and hunt.

But after feeding one full moon, Miyoung crosses p

69

Diary of a Murderer: And Other Stories

Young-ha Kim, Krys Lee

4.1

It’s been twenty-five years since I last murdered someone, or has it been twenty-six?

Diary of a Murderer captivates and provokes in equal measure, exploring what it means to be on the edge—between life and death, good and evil. In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on one final target: his daughter’s boyfriend, who he suspects is also a serial

70

At Least We Can Apologize

Lee Ki-ho, Christopher J. Dyka

4.1

At Least We can Apologize focuses on an agency whose only purpose is to offer apologies--for a fee--on behalf of its clients. This seemingly insignificant service leads us into an examination of sin, guilt, and the often irrational demands of society. A kaleidoscope of minor nuisances and major grievances, this novel heralds a new comic voice in Korean letters.

71

At Dusk

Hwang Sok-yong

4.1

In the evening of his life, a wealthy man begins to wonder if he might have missed the point.

Park Minwoo is, by every measure, a success story. Born into poverty in a miserable neighbourhood of Seoul, he has ridden the wave of development in a rapidly modernising society. Now the director of a large architectural firm, his hard work and ambition have brought him triumph and satisfaction. But when

72

Learn Korean with 10 Best Tales of Korea (Learn Korean with Top 10 Best Tales of Korea)

Korean Unnie

4.1

73

Cheeky Romance

Nana Malon

4.1

74

Shelter

Jung Yu

4.1

Why should a man care for his parents when they failed to take care of him as a child?

Kyung Cho is a young father burdened by a house he can’t afford. For years, he and his wife, Gillian, have lived beyond their means. Now their debts and bad decisions are catching up with them, and Kyung is anxious for his family’s future.

A few miles away, his parents, Jin and Mae, live in the town’s most exclusi

75

The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un

Anna Fifield

4.1

The behind-the-scenes story of the rise and reign of the world's strangest and most elusive tyrant, Kim Jong Un, by the journalist with the best connections and insights into the bizarrely dangerous world of North Korea.

Since his birth in 1984, Kim Jong Un has been swaddled in myth and propaganda, from the plainly silly--he could supposedly drive a car at the age of three--to the grimly bloody sto

Recommended by Demetri Sevastopulo, Marcel Dirsus, and Patrick Chovanec.

Demetri Sevastopulo

Anna has long written great stuff on North Korea. Check out her book on Kim Jong Un https://t.co/geJMplr29j [source]

Marcel Dirsus

Truly fascinating book, can only recommend it https://t.co/y6kXaVR32K [source]

Patrick Chovanec

I'm part of the way through @annafifield's book and it's fascinating. Lots of pieces that I've heard bits of, but never put together to form the full mosaic. I highly recommend it. https://t.co/ax2CQEeu1u [source]

76

Korean for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Korean (CD-ROM Included)

Henry J. Amen IV

4.1

Have you ever considered learning Korean, but been put off by the unusual look of the characters? Don't let yourself be scared away! Korean has been called "the most logical language there is," and with this friendly and thorough introduction you will soon see why.

Using a lighthearted, humorous approach, Korean for Beginners starts by showing you just how reasoned and logical the Korean alphabet,

77

Drifting House

Krys Lee

4.1

An unflinching portrayal of the Korean immigrant experience from an extraordinary new talent in fiction.

Spanning Korea and the United States, from the postwar era to contemporary times, Krys Lee's stunning fiction debut, Drifting House, illuminates a people torn between the traumas of their collective past and the indignities and sorrows of their present.

In the title story, children escaping fam

78

Sky, Wind and Stars

Yoon Dong-Joo, Kyungnyun K. Richards, Steffen F. Richards, Tong-Ju Yun

4.0

Born and raised in northern Manchuria during the colonial period of Korea, Yun Dong-ju was a poet of the utmost purity, beauty, and sincerity. His posthumously published collection of poems under the title Sky, wind, stars, and poems is one of the all-time favorites of Korean readers. Wishing not to have so much as a speck of shame toward heaven until the day I die, I suffered, even when the wind

79

Dragon Pearl

Yoon Ha Lee

4.0

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD MIN comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you'd never know it by looking at her. To keep the family safe, Min’s mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times.

Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would

80

Pavane for a Dead Princess

Min-Gyu Park, Amber Hyun Jung Kim

4.0

Park Min-gyu has been celebrated and condemned for his attacks upon what he perceives as the humorlessness of contemporary Korean literature. Pavane for a Dead Princess is his attack upon the beauty-fetish that reigns over popular culture, detailing the relationship between a man with matinee-idol good looks and "the ugliest woman of the century." To complicate matters further, Park also includes

81

A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea

Eunsun Kim

4.0

Eunsun Kim was born in North Korea, one of the most secretive and oppressive countries in the modern world. As a child Eunsun loved her country…despite her school field trips to public executions, daily self-criticism sessions, and the increasing gnaw of hunger as the country-wide famine escalated.

By the time she was eleven years old, Eunsun's father and grandparents had died of starvation, and Eu

82

The Color of Earth (Color Trilogy, #1)

Dong Hwa Kim

4.0

First love is never easy.

Ehwa grows up helping her widowed mother run the local tavern, watching as their customers - both neighbors and strangers - look down on her mother for her single lifestyle. Their social status isolates Ehwa and her mother from the rest of the people in their quiet country village. But as she gets older and sees her mother fall in love again, Ehwa slowly begins to open up

83

A Step from Heaven

An Na

4.0

When Young Ju is four years old, she learns that her family is leaving their small fishing village in Korea to live in Mi Gook. Young Ju has heard enough about Mi Gook to be sure the place they are moving to is paradise, that she and her family are going to heaven.

After flying through the sky for a long time, Young Ju finds out that Mi Gook is actually a regular earthly place called America. And i

84

A Greater Music

Bae Suah, Deborah Smith

4.0

"Bae Suah offers the chance to unknow—to see the everyday afresh and be defamiliarized with what we believe we know—which is no small offering."—Sophie Hughes, Music & Literature

Near the beginning of A Greater Music, the narrator, a young Korean writer, falls into an icy river in the Berlin suburbs, where she's been housesitting for her on-off boyfriend Joachim. This sets into motion a series of m

85

Princess Bari

Hwang Sok-yong

4.0

In a drab North Korean city, a seventh daughter is born to a couple longing for a son. Abandoned hours after her birth, she is eventually rescued by her grandmother. The old woman names the child Bari, after a legend telling of a forsaken princess who undertakes a quest for an elixir that will bring peace to the souls of the dead. As a young woman, frail, brave Bari escapes North Korea and takes r

86

Free Food for Millionaires

Min Jin Le

4.0

The daughter of Korean immigrants, Casey Han has refined diction, a closeted passion for reading the Bible, a popular white boyfriend, and a magna cum laude degree in economics from Princeton, but no job and an addiction to the things she cannot afford in the glittering world of Manhattan. In this critically-acclaimed debut, Min Jin Lee tells not only Casey's story, but also those of her sheltered

87

This Is Now Your Company: A Culture Carrier's Manifesto

Mike Rognlien and Marcus Buckingham

4.0

88

ナミヤ雑貨店の奇蹟

Keigo Higashino

4.0

夢をとるか、愛をとるか。現実をとるか、理想をとるか。人情をとるか、道理をとるか。家族をとるか、将来をとるか。野望をとるか、幸せをとるか。あらゆる悩みの相談に乗る、不思議な雑貨店。しかしその正体は…。物語が完結するとき、人知を超えた真実が明らかになる。

89

The Interpreter

Suki Kim

4.0

Suzy Park is a twenty-nine-year-old Korean American interpreter for the New York City court system who makes a startling and ominous discovery about her family history that will send her on a chilling quest. Five years prior, her parents--hardworking greengrocers who forfeited personal happiness for their children's gain--were brutally murdered in an apparent robbery of their store. But the glint

90

The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific

Alistair Urquhart

4.0

This is the extraordinary and moving tale by an ex-POW and last surviving member of the Gordon Highlanders regiment that was captured by the Japanese in Singapore.

91

Out of North Korea

Alana Terry

4.0

A single photograph could cost his life ...

Ian McAllister has searched the world over, hunting for that all-elusive perfect photograph.

He finds it on a tourist trip to North Korea when he stumbles upon a young street kid foraging for roots.

Unaware that this single act will brand him a spy and cost his freedom, Ian takes the shot.

Now he must pay the penalty.

A true-to-life novel about an Americ

92

Nowhere to Be Found

Bae Suah and Sora Kim-Russel

4.0

A nameless narrator passes through her life, searching for meaning and connection in experiences she barely feels. For her, time and identity blur, and all action is reaction. She can’t quite understand what motivates others to take life seriously enough to focus on anything—for her existence is a loosely woven tapestry of fleeting concepts. From losing her virginity to mindless jobs and a splinte

93

She Is Mine: A War Orphan's Incredible Journey of Survival

Stephanie Fast

4.0

Her father was an American serviceman, her mother a young Korean woman confused by the ravages of war. Abandoned at age four, nameless, homeless, and utterly alone, this child roamed the bleak, war-ravaged countryside of South Korea for three years and was finally left for dead. But the Creator had other plans and revealed them through the words, "She Is Mine."

94

The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Revised and Updated Edition)

Don Oberdorfer

4.0

Don Oberdorfer has written a gripping narrative history of Korea's travails and triumphs over the past three decades. The Two Koreas places the tensions between North and South within a historical context, with a special emphasis on the involvement of outside powers.

95

The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture

Euny Hong

4.0

A FRESH, FUNNY, UP-CLOSE LOOK AT HOW SOUTH KOREA REMADE ITSELF AS THE WORLD'S POP CULTURE POWERHOUSE OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

By now, everyone in the world knows the song "Gangnam Style" and Psy, an instantly recognizable star. But the song's international popularity is no passing fad. "Gangnam Style" is only one tool in South Korea's extraordinarily elaborate and effective strategy to become a

96

The Dwarf

Se-hŭi Cho, Ju-chan Fulton, Bruce Fulton

4.0

The dark side of South Korea's economic miracle emerges in The Dwarf, Cho Se-hui's enormously popular and critically acclaimed work. First published in 1978, it speaks to the painful social costs of reckless industrialization, even as it tellingly portrays the spiritual malaise of the newly rich and powerful and a working class subject to forces beyond its control. Cho's lean, clipped, deceptively

97

Almond

Won-pyung Sohn, Sandy Joosun Lee

4.0

98

Korea: The Impossible Country: South Korea's Amazing Rise from the Ashes: The Inside Story of an Economic, Political and Cultural Phenomenon

Daniel Tudor

4.0

In just fifty years, South Korea has transformed itself from a failed state, ruined and partitioned by war and decades of colonial rule, into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries.

How was it able to achieve this with no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule? Who are the Koreans and how did they accomplish this second Asian miracle? Thro

99

Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes

Robin Ha

4.0

A charming introduction to the basics of Korean cooking in graphic novel form, with 64 recipes, ingredient profiles, and more, presented through light-hearted comics.

Playful and instructive, Cook Korean! is the intersection of cookbook and graphic novel in one easy-to-use package dedicated to this increasingly popular Asian cuisine. Illustrator Robin Ha presents colorful, humorous comics that full

100

Korean History in Maps: From Prehistory to the Twenty-First Century

Lee Injae, Owen Miller, et al.

4.0

Korean History in Maps is a beautifully presented, full-color atlas covering all periods of Korean history from prehistoric times to the present day. It is the first atlas of its kind to be specifically designed for students in English-speaking countries. There is a map for each era in Korean history, showing every major kingdom or polity that existed on the Korean peninsula, and maps are also inc