‘K-Literature’ takes center stage at Frankfurt International Book Fair

Readers take selfies in front of a large banner featuring a portrait of author Han Kang. Intense discussions unfold about Han Kang's major works, such as The Boy is Coming. Requests such as “Please recommend other Korean authors such as Han Kang” flood in.

This scene might seem like it’s from a domestic bookstore right after the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature on Oct. 10, but this “Han Kang craze” is taking place in Frankfurt, Germany. With publishing companies from 131 countries and over 200,000 visitors, the 2024 Frankfurt International Book Fair saw a spotlight on Korean literature, driven by the enthusiasm for Han Kang.

According to participants from the publishing industry who attended the Frankfurt International Book Fair from Thursday to Sunday (local time), the place where Han Kang’s popularity burned the brightest was the booth of German publisher Aufbau. A large banner of Han Kang staring into the distance was displayed there, along with a picture of the German edition of her new novel, Greek Lessons, set to be published in December. Five of Han Kang’s books, including The Vegetarian, adorned the walls of the booth. Particularly on the weekend, readers from around the world continuously visited to see Han Kang’s books.

The Seoul International Book Fair booth, hosted by the Korean Publishers Association, also featured a banner celebrating Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win. Readers posed for commemorative photos in front of the banner, and numerous rights managers from various publishing houses stopped by to congratulate them. Even Japanese publishers, known for their pride in their literature, praised Han Kang as a deserving Nobel laureate. “We were so busy that we had to conduct meetings every 30 minutes with no time for breaks,” Seok Hyeon-hye, a manager of the Seoul International Book Fair, said. “Particularly at the evening parties, Asian publishers repeatedly expressed their pride in the fact that she was the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.”

At the booth of the publishing company Munhakdongne, inquiries about Korean literary rights were three to four times higher than in previous years. In the past, most inquiries came from Asian publishers, but this year, there was a significant increase in interest from publishers in the English-speaking world and Europe. The rights to Lee Hee-joo’s novel Coming of Age, published in Korea in 2021, were sold to the major American publisher HarperCollins and the U.K.’s Pan Macmillan, each with an advance payment of 100 million won. Pan Macmillan even requested the right to review Lee Hee-joo’s future works for international rights.

Many expect Han Kang’s win to bring more attention to various Korean literary works overseas. Joo Il-woo, the director of the Seoul International Book Fair. “Top international literary agents are not just offering congratulations but are seriously considering which Korean literature to import,” Joo said. “Since Han Kang is relatively young among Nobel laureates, there is likely to be increased interest in works by younger Korean authors.”


이호재 기자 hoho@donga.com