With the recognition of Han Kang as a Nobel Prize in Literature winner in 2024, book stores in Nigeria have begun delving into stocking Korean Literature on their bookshelves for people interested in Korea and Korean Literature and books. On the 10th of August 2025, at around 2 pm, I went in search of Korean Literature and books, as I have always loved Korean literature, despite it not being easy to get here in my country. For this reason, in my quest to get Korean literature and books, I went to a new bookstore, Roveigheight, in Ibadan, Nigeria.
I was able to find four translated Korean Literature. The First book I found at the bookshop was the famous book titled Human Acts by Han Kang, which Deborah Smith translated. This book was originally published in Korea on 19th May 2014, while the translated version, which I got, was published on the 17th of October 2017 in the UK and the US. The book is 219 pages with seven chapters. It is in the Contemporary and Literary Fiction Genre. The plot is about the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising, and as a historian myself, I find myself interested in reading this book.
The second book and third book I found were I want to die, but I want to eat Tteokbokki and I want to die but I still want to eat Tteokbokki. The books are written by Baek Se-Hee and translated into English by Anton Hur. These books are a self-help, Non-Fiction Memoir Genre. I found this book in the memoir section. Book one is recognised as the Korean runaway Bestseller, and it was recommended by BTS, so I look forward to reading it as it is an intimate therapy memoir.
The fourth book I found was Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop. This book is recognised as the Runaway Korean Sensation. It is written by Hwang Bo-Reum, it has 307 pages and was published on the 20th of February 2024 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It is a slice of life, fiction genre that looks at the life of the character Yeongju and how she takes a leap of faith, leaves her old life behind, moves to a new neighbourhood and opens the Hyunam-dong Bookshop.
Finding these four books over 7000 miles away made me realise how times are changing and Korean Literature and books are becoming widely accepted and available. I look forward to reading these books especially because the books cuts across historical events and issues in Han Kang's Human Act, Also, Mental health and Psychological issue in I want to die, but I want to eat Tteokbokki and I want to die, but I still want to eat Tteokbokki.
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