Rights to Korean novels increasingly sell overseas before books even hit shelves at home

Foreign publishers are increasingly snapping up the rights to Korean novels before they are even released at home, reflecting growing confidence that Korean fiction can succeed globally without first proving itself in the domestic market.

Prerelease overseas sales are more common in the film industry, where distribution rights are often sold before movie premieres. The Korean film "Hope" is one example, sold to about 200 countries ahead of its domestic release. Publishers say a similar trend is now emerging in the book market.

Novelist Dolki Min's latest novel, with a title that translates roughly to "I Want to Kill Goni," published on July 15, had already sold its English-language rights before its release in Korea, with literary agent Barbara Zitwer acquiring the rights directly from the author.

Dolki Min remains relatively little known in Korea, but the author has built a growing overseas readership. The previous novel "Walking Practice" (2022) has been published in several countries, including the United States, Britain, Poland and Italy, while its screen adaptation rights have also been sold.

"The novel deals with queer identity and gender dysphoria, themes that resonated with overseas readers," said Lee Ye-jun, an editor at Yolimwon, the publisher of "I Want to Kill Goni."

A proven overseas track record makes prerelease rights sales significantly easier, as in the case of Dolki Min.

Author Hwang Bo-reum's latest novel, "The Upstairs Couple" (translated), was sold to publishers in 15 countries before its official release on June 24, according to publisher Clayhouse. Advance payments alone exceeded 500 million won ($348,000), the publisher said.

The strong demand followed the global success of Hwang's previous novel, "Welcome to Hyunam-dong Bookshop" (2022), which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

"Her books have been particularly popular in English-speaking markets, as well as Turkey and Japan," said Richard Hong, president of BC Agency, which handled the overseas rights sales for Hwang's works.

Previous hits, however, are not a prerequisite according to publishers.

Even debuting authors with little international recognition are now finding buyers overseas if their works are marketed effectively.

Author Woo Shin-young's upcoming young adult novel, "Black Poodle" (translated), scheduled for release next month, has already sold its rights in Russia.

"We believed the novel, inspired by Faust and centered on a pact with the devil, would appeal to Western readers, so we actively promoted it to multiple literary agencies," said Choi Ji-in, a team manager at the publisher Rabbit Hole. "Korean genre fiction and young adult novels are gaining considerable popularity in Russia."

"The Rainfall Market" (2023), the debut novel by You Yeong-gwang, was also sold overseas before its domestic release.

“We actively promoted the book to international publishers at The London Book Fair,” said Yoon Sung-hoon, the CEO of Clayhouse. It led to prerelease rights sales in six countries, including Poland and Portugal.

The rights to another debut novel, Lee On-hwa's "A Midnight Pastry Shop called Hwawoldang" (2024), were sold to agencies in 11 countries such as the United States, Britain and Germany.

Publishers estimate that the trend began roughly three years ago, which suggests that international interest in Korean literature had already been growing before Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024.

"Separate from the recognition received by literary fiction through major awards, more Korean books have been discovered by overseas readers and become bestsellers," Yoon said. "Foreign publishers have realized that waiting until a book becomes a hit in Korea is already too late, so they're moving much earlier to secure publishing rights."

Choi added that the global success of so-called healing novels, led by "The Dallergut Dream Department Store" (2020), helped broaden international interest in Korean fiction.

"When introducing 'The Rainfall Market' at the London Book Fair, we highlighted that this novel shares many of the strengths that made 'The Dallergut Dream Department Store' successful," said Yoon.

BY YOON SUNG-MIN [shin.woojin@joongang.co.kr]