Author Han Kang won the fiction category of the National Book Critics Circle Award on the 26th (local time) with <We Do Not Part> (WE DO NOT PART). It is the second time a work by a Korean writer has received the National Book Critics Circle Award, following the poetry collection <Phantom Pain Wings> (English title ‘Phantom Pain Wing) by poet Kim Hyesoon, translated by poet Choi Don Mee and published in 2023. It is noteworthy that, in the United States, which tends to be conservative toward translated literature from non-English languages, a translated book, and one judged by book critics, received this award.

The globalization of Korean literature has become pronounced in recent years. In fiction, Han Kang is at the center. In 2016, with the novel <The Vegetarian>, Han became the first Korean to receive the predecessor to the International Booker Prize, the ‘Man Booker International Prize’, and in 2018 she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize with the novel <The White Book>. In 2024 she received the Nobel Prize in Literature, opening a new chapter in the history of Korean literature, and by also taking the National Book Critics Circle Award she cemented her standing as a global author.

Novelist Jeong Bo-ra has also become widely known abroad. With her 2022 novel <Cursed Bunny> she was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and last year she was shortlisted for the U.S. ‘Philip K. Dick Award’. Although it did not lead to a win, it was the first case of a Korean writer being nominated for one of the three major SF awards worldwide. In 2023, the long novel <Whale> by Cheon Myeong-kwan and, in 2024, the long novel <Three Generations of Railroad Workers> by Hwang Sok-yong were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in succession.

Among those who have achieved remarkable results at prestigious international literary awards, poet Kim Hyesoon cannot be left out. In 2024 she became the first Korean writer to win the poetry category of the National Book Critics Circle Award with the collection <Phantom Pain Wings> (Phantom Pain Wings). Then, last July, with <Autobiography of Death> she became the first Asian to receive the International Literature Award conferred by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Germany.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award, known as the ‘Nobel Prize of children's literature’, saw its first Korean winner in 2022 with author Lee Suzy, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award saw its first Korean winner in 2020 with author Baek Hee-na. Author Lee Geum-yi has been named a finalist in the writing category of the ‘Hans Christian Andersen Award’ (HCAA) for 2026, following 2024.

Experts say that the qualitative maturation of translation culture is leading a golden age for Korean literature. In particular, analysis points to policy support from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which founded a Translation Academy in 2008 and has steadily trained translators. According to the institute, overseas sales of Korean literature books that received its translation and publication support reached about 1.2 million copies in 2024, roughly 2.3 times the figure for the previous year (about 520,000 copies). For Han Kang, <We Do Not Part> saw translations and publications in 13 language markets, including English and French, carried out with support from the institute.

However, even as figures in the literary and publishing circles say the world view of Korean literature has certainly changed, there are also calls that policy support for translators is needed for this momentum to continue. On the 27th, Director Jeon Soo-yong of the institute said, “As this achievement is the fruit of the meeting between an author's profound literary artistry and a high-quality translation that fully conveyed it, the institute will, this year as well, spare no comprehensive support so that Korean literature can cross language barriers and reach the hearts of readers around the world.”