LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
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The Origin - Back to the Beginning: New Releases from January and February 2026
The Origin - 다시, 시작으로: 1월과 2월의 신간 도서입니다.
The season of winter seems to linger quietly, yet it lets us sense the movement of life carefully sprouting somewhere. As we turn over the cover of a new calendar and catch our breath for a new beginning, we find ourselves relying on the mysteries of the never-ending cycle of seasons: the belief that we will have another opportunity as long as spring arrives, and the courage to start fresh, even as one year gives way to the next. As we prepare for the next season in moving stillness, we ask about the origin of literature. Where does it begin? If life is a sequence of experiences, then it is from these experiences that literature takes root.
We shall gaze upon the books that have sprung from the pens of countless authors over the years, each written in its own language. The new January and February releases pose questions in their own ways under the umbrella of “The Origin.” Questioning the foundation of a world that we deem familiar, we stand at the crossroads of a new beginning, seeing the present in a different light. We realize once more that returning to the starting line we thought we had already passed is, in fact, the most fundamental act of moving forward.
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Stories You’ll Always Come Back To: New Releases from November and December 2025
끝내 선택하게 되는 이야기들, 11월과 12월의 신간 도서입니다.
As the days grow shorter and the year draws to a close, we find ourselves pausing more often—asking where we are and what we’ve held onto along the way. At moments like these, a book feels less like comfort and more like a fixed point. It doesn’t need to explain anything or offer answers. It simply needs to be the kind of story you want to keep close.
KLWAVE presents a selection of Korean titles published in November and December 2025 that readers have been lingering over. Moving across fiction,essays, and poetry, these books offer a sense of the sensibilities and questions shaping Korean literature right now.
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Our Best Efforts as We Strive Toward the End: New Releases from September and October 2025
마지막을 향해 달려가는 우리의 최선에 관하여, 9월과 10월의 신간 도서입니다
「KLWAVE에서는 해외 독자들에게 다양한 한국문학 작품을 소개하고 있습니다. 그중 신간 소개 콘텐츠는 2025년 9월, 10월에 출간된 도서 가운데 교보문고의 ‘이달의 책’과 알라딘의 ‘마법사의 선택’에 게재된 작품을 선별해 작성합니다.」
이제 그만 안심해도 좋다는 듯이 선선한 바람이 불어올 때면, 결승선을 눈앞에 두고 온 힘을 다해 발걸음을 내딛는 마라토너의 모습을 상상해 보게 됩니다. 그의 얼굴은 분명 벅찬 듯 잔뜩 상기되어 있으나, 동시에 홀가분한 감격이 엿보이기도 하는 묘한 설렘의 표정을 띠고 있습니다. 연말이 다가올수록 속도 모르고 물러져가는 마음과 아직 긴장을 놓을 수 없다는 마음 사이에서, 우리는 그저 저마다의 여력을 소진하며 ‘최선에 가까울 무엇’을 지속할 뿐입니다. 가쁜 숨을 몰아쉬면서도 결코 포기하려 들지 않는 까닭은 아마 지금껏 달려온 궤적을, 그리고 그 궤적 위의 나를 저버리고 싶지 않은 데 있을 터입니다. 어렴풋한 기대와 희망으로 부쩍 들떠 있는 우리의 나날을 위해, 다독이는 손길과 함께 9월과 10월의 신간 도서를 건넵니다.
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Consolation Offered Through Summer's Strength: New Releases from July and August 2025
여름의 힘을 빌려 건네는 위로, 7월과 8월의 신간 도서입니다.
「KLWAVE introduces international readers to various works of Korean literature. “New Releases” features titles that have been published in July and August 2025, selected from Kyobo Book Centre’s “Book of the Month” and Aladin’s “Magician’s Choice” lists.」
We find ourselves squinting and furrowing our brows under the dazzling, blazing sunlight. As the sound of cicadas rings in our ears while passing through the narrow, tree-lined streets, and even breathing feels heavy in the stifling heat, it is no wonder summer has long been misunderstood as a “season to be endured.”
And yet, when tossing and turning at the restless buzzing of cicadas, when heaving a long breath into the muggy air, we can sense that we are alive. In this summer, a time that sharpens our sense both joy and sorrow anew, we present the new book of July and August as we await the cool winds of autumn.
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Swinging That Emerald Light into Summer: New Releases from May and June 2025
푸르른 그 빛을 휘둘러 여름으로, 5월과 6월의 신간 도서입니다.
「KLWAVE introduces international readers to various works of Korean literature. “New Releases” features titles that have been published in May and June 2025, selected from Kyobo Book Centre’s “Book of the Month” and Aladin’s “Magician’s Choice” lists.」
Clutching green in our hands, into summerWe swing that emerald light into summer
Like the lyrics of Korean indie rock band Jannabi’s song “Night Park,” summer has arrived. Here’s a collection of newly released Korean books from May and June that cast radiant reflections of summer and its traces.
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A Map of the Heart, Guided by Literature: New Releases from March and April 2025
문학이 이끄는 마음의 지도, 3월과 4월의 신간 도서입니다.
「KLWAVE introduces international readers to various works of Korean literature. “New Releases” features titles that have been published in March and April 2025, selected from Kyobo Book Centre’s “Book of the Month” and Aladin’s “Magician’s Choice” lists.」When our hearts grow restless, we learn to walk again among clear, gentle sentences. We gather the scattered pieces of our hearts from the places we’ve been and the moments we’ve lived. And sometimes, we stumble upon parts of who we are that we never knew existed. From short stories and novels that cling to the fragments of life, to poetry that stays with us like a quiet companion, and to essays that gently remind us of the time we’ve let slip away—we present the new releases for March and April, each one ready to trace a path through your heart.
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Stories That Bloom in Steadfast Hearts: New Releases from January and February 2025
단단한 마음을 향해 움트기 시작하는 이야기! 1월과 2월의 신간 도서입니다.
「KLWAVE introduces international readers to various works of Korean literature. “New Releases” features titles that have been published in January and February 2025, selected from Kyobo Book Centre’s “Book of the Month” and Aladin’s “Magician’s Choice” lists.」
This winter stretched longer than usual. We have been waiting eagerly for the sharp, biting winds to retreat. Now, as we finally open our windows, we are greeted by spring’s quiet arrival. A fresh breeze seeps into our daily lives and into our hearts that have patiently endured the cold. Though we might sometimes feel helpless against winter’s indifferent chill, we know better—hearts that have withstood bone-chilling cold are never truly powerless.
It is time to throw open the doors of our hears and welcome spring. This season, we are delighted to share new books from January and February that will strengthen our hearts and spirits.
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Embracing and Looking After Our Wounds: New Book Releases from November and December 2024
상처를 끌어안고 돌보는 우리들, 11-12월 신간 도서입니다.
「KLWAVE is constantly striving to introduce global readers to a diverse range of Korean literary works. The following titles, published in November and December 2024, were selected among works featured on the Kyobo Book Centre’s “Book of the Month” and Aladin’s “Magician’s Choice” lists.」
We are suddenly struck by a strange yet familiar scent as we walk down the street absentmindedly. Rushing in from who knows where, a biting wind heavy with the smell of winter has found its way to us. The cold makes us hunch and stirs our hearts, still unprepared to face the new season. But instead of urging ourselves to toughen up, we firmly resolve to embrace the wounds we carry within us. And as we wait for the passing of the frigid season and spring’s triumphant return, we reflect on the meaning of “solidarity.”
The new Korean literature releases from November and December 2024 selected by KLWAVE include two poetry collections, one essay collection, and a special edition book set featuring three novels by Han Kang along with some of the author’s very own handwritten notes. Beyond acknowledging, understanding, and showing empathy — it’s about embracing and tending to each other’s wounds. Striving for a future rooted in solidarity. We believe that’s where the beauty of all that is fragile lies.
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New books published in September and October in time for the season of deep thoughts
사색의 계절에 읽기 좋은 9~10월 신간 도서
Fall is a great season to immerse ourselves in deep thoughts, but some feel frustrated from being unable to organize the thoughts swirling inside their minds. It’s because specifying thoughts into sentences can be challenging, even if we want to get them down on paper. In this case, it’s helpful to refer to honed works of writers.
They shape their thoughts into sentences, carefully refine them, and invite readers to contemplate. The new books in Korean literature for September and October precisely possess such power. Comprised of three essay collections and three novels, these September and October releases will give you space to ponder and inspire us to put our thoughts into words.
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Summer's Last Hurrah: New Book Releases for July and August
뜨거웠던 여름을 보내주며! 7~8월 신간 도서입니다
KLWAVE introduces international readers to various works of Korean literature. “New Releases” showcases works that have been published between July and August 2024, selected by Kyobo Book Centre as “Book of the Month” and by Aladin as “Magician’s Choice.”
The endless cicada cries of mid-summer have faded into the soft hum of insects, and the air, once thick with heat, now carries a cooling breeze. The blazing sun of summer has passed, and with it, autumn gently arrives. Though we may feel a tinge of regret as summer slips away, we know that after autumn and winter, another summer will come again. Like the changing of seasons, our lives move in cycles.
The new books of July and August beautifully reflect this rhythm. In these pages, both well-established authors from Korea and abroad, as well as emerging voices in Korean literature, capture the intricacies of life from their unique perspectives. They offer words that continue to draw us in, tenderly soothing the hearts of readers.
Shin Yong-mok's poetry collection, Because We Exist in an Accidental Future, speaks of a future that can only be reached by living fully in the present moment. Bae Su-ah’s novel, Whisper Sunken Garden, chases after the elusive fragments of memory, bringing forgotten emotions to the surface, as it probes deeply into the inner world of humans.
Then there are also those novels that critique Korean society with a knife’s edge. Author Cheong YE, who has garnered attention by winning several major literary awards in Korea, explores the idea of freeing oneself from self-censorship in the sci-fi mystery Orange and the Bread Knife. Meanwhile, Ha Seung-min’s Melanin, which unanimously won the Hankyoreh Literature Award, tackles the invisible yet pervasive gaze of discrimination through the story of a mixed-race boy of Korean and Vietnamese descent.
These are stories that linger, offering insights into the cycles of our lives, much like the seasons that come and go.
Renowned internationally for Dollargut Dream Department Store, author Lee Miye delineates a society shaped by everyday selfishness in her latest work Pantry. In Don’t Call Me Kind, Kim Kang offers profound insight into the duality of our existence. Jeong You-jeong, who has enchanted readers worldwide with her unique universe, continues her exploration of human desire in Eternal Heaven, the second book in her trilogy following Perfect Happiness, racing towards the ultimate extremes of human yearning.
This summer has seen an outpouring of essay collections. Boldly stepping away from the monotony of daily life, Kim Min-cheol chronicles her post-resignation journey through Paris in her travel essay A Shapeless Form of Life. In The Merry Elder, Lee Ok-sun’s debut collection of essays, we are graced with the wisdom of a grandmother who offers life lessons we’ve long awaited. Lee's daughter, Kim Ha-na, and her partner Hwang Sun-woo, together released Two Women Living Together, a work that challenges and redefines the conventional structure of family in Korea.
Brimming with Kim Youngmin's characteristic wit, Light Confessions teaches us how to maintain peace of mind amidst the imperfections of life. Lee Seung-U, who captivated global readers with Quentin, shares his method for understanding both the self and the world through intense, immersive reading in his literary essay collection, A Quiet Reading, distilled from 43 years as a novelist. Finally, Han Jeongwon’s My Fourth-Favorite Season is a poignant reflection, helping us swallow the bittersweet pill of the end of summer. This summer, as we look back at the three seasons passed, how have we changed?
Translated by Snigdha Gupta snigdhagupta9@gmail.com
Snigdha is a literary/academic translator residing in Korea. An ex-fellow of KLTI and a Korean Government scholar, Snigdha bridges gaps not only through her Korean to English translations, but also as a full-time communication specialist in the government sector.
