Korean Literature's Overseas Expansion Gains Momentum Through Online Exchanges

Ministry of Culture and Translation Institute to Host Korean Literature Publishers Exchange Event Linked to Hallyu Regions by Next Month
10 Publishers from 8 Countries Participate, "Expecting a Platform for Continued Publication of Korean Literary Works"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea are holding an online exchange event for Korean literature publishers in Hallyu-linked regions from today (29th) until the 31st of next month.

This event was organized to support the strategic overseas expansion of Korean literature and to spread literary Hallyu. Ten publishers from eight countries with high interest in Korean literature are invited online. These include Nostra Ediciones and Editorial Planeta Mexico from Mexico, Editura Paralela 45 from Romania, Sluntse Publishing House from Bulgaria, Assinium Publishing House from Hungary, Dar Al Tanweer and Safsafa Publishing House from Egypt, Women's Publishing House from Vietnam, Nanmee Books from Thailand, and Kawade Shobo Shinsha from Japan.

A Ministry of Culture official stated, “These are publishers that have released Korean literature translations locally, such as Ku Byeong-mo’s Wizard Bakery, Gong Ji-young’s Our Happy Time, Kim Young-ha’s The Empire of Light, Cho Nam-joo’s Kim Ji-young, Born 1982, Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, and Kim Man-jung’s Guunmong,” adding, “We hope this exchange will serve as a stepping stone to explore new trends in Korean literature while continuing to publish Korean literary works.”

Six domestic publishers and agencies are also participating in the event, including Munhakdongne, Wisdom House, Banknamu, Changbi, Imprima Korea, and KL Management. They will promote Korean literature authors and published works and negotiate copyrights with overseas publishers. The Ministry of Culture official said, “This will be an opportunity to expand overseas publishing opportunities for Korean literature while establishing and strengthening publishing and exchange networks within Hallyu-linked regions.”

All events will be conducted online, such as one-on-one video meetings, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Ministry of Culture will produce videos of the entire event process for future promotional use.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.