International sales of Korean literature have more than doubled in 2024, reaching 1.2 million copies compared to 520,000 in 2023, marking a remarkable 130% increase. This surge in global interest comes less than a year after renowned Korean author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature in October 2023, signaling a new era for Korean literary works on the world stage.
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) released these impressive figures on August 6, highlighting the dramatic impact of Han Kang's historic achievement on international book sales. The institute's data specifically tracks domestic novels that received official support for translation and publication abroad, making these numbers a reliable indicator of Korean literature's growing global footprint.
Han Kang's Nobel Prize victory has proven to be a game-changer for Korean literary exports. Her works alone have been published in 28 different languages across 77 editions with assistance from LTI Korea, selling an impressive 310,000 copies throughout 2024. This represents a substantial portion of the overall sales increase and demonstrates the powerful influence of international literary recognition on market demand.
Several other Korean authors have also established themselves as consistent bestsellers in international markets. "Cursed Bunny" by Chung Bora, "Love in the Big City" by Park Sang Young, and "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" by Cho Nam-joo have each maintained strong sales performance, selling more than 4,000 copies annually for three consecutive years. These works have proven their staying power in foreign markets, contributing to the sustained growth of Korean literature abroad.
Specific regional success stories highlight the diverse appeal of Korean novels across different markets. Hwang Bo-reum's "Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop," which was published in Turkey in 2023, achieved remarkable success by selling over 80,000 copies in that country alone during 2024. Similarly, "Inconvenient Convenience Store" by Kim Ho-yeon found strong reception in Poland, posting sales of more than 20,000 units, demonstrating Korean literature's ability to resonate with readers across various cultural contexts.
According to LTI Korea officials, the expansion of Korean literature readership is primarily concentrated in North America and Europe, regions where leading foreign publishers are increasingly active in seeking out and publishing Korean works. This growing publisher interest represents a significant shift in the international literary landscape, where Korean authors are now being actively pursued rather than having to seek publication opportunities abroad.
The institute emphasized that these sales figures serve as concrete evidence of Korean literature's potential for continued international expansion. The dramatic year-over-year growth suggests that the global appetite for Korean storytelling extends well beyond the initial boost provided by Han Kang's Nobel Prize, indicating a sustained and growing interest in Korean voices and perspectives in the international literary market.
