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  • K-culture

    K-Culture Rising: Exploring the Korean Wave in Books

    What makes the world fall in love with K-pop beats, K-drama twists, and Korean cinema’s poetic darkness—again and again? For over two decades, the Korean Wave (or hallyu) has been sweeping the globe, captivating audiences and scholars alike with its vibrant energy, emotional depth, and cultural richness. From BTS to Parasite, Korean content (K-content) has redefined global pop culture, fashion, and entertainment. Yet in 2025, as trends evolve at lightning speed, a pressing question arises: Is the Korean Wave over? Not likely. If anything, it’s transforming—deepening, diversifying, and expanding its reach.

    This week’s curated selection reflects the full spectrum of K-Culture, offering something for die-hard fans and critical thinkers alike. Discover Han Kang’s haunting and lyrical new novel We Do Not Part, written by the 2024 Nobel Prize laureate. Explore the quiet wisdom of Dancing Snail’s Korean bestseller I'm Not Lazy, I'm on Energy Saving Mode, a charming call for self-compassion in the age of burnout. Dive into Hallyuwood, a visual and narrative tour of Korean cinema’s boldest moments, or trace the intricate tapestry of Korean fashion through the centuries in Dress History of Korea. For those seeking insight into the mechanics behind global K-pop success, The Identity and Emergence of K-pop offers a thoughtful and data-driven analysis.

    Whether you’re here for the aesthetics, the stories, or the scholarship, this list brings together some of the most compelling voices shaping Korea’s global presence. Browse the full collection and let the Korean Wave wash over you—again. Newsletter subscribers enjoy a 14% discount, so don’t forget to sign up before diving in!

    7 161 Ft
    6 230 Ft
    A bestseller in Korea, a biting, fast-paced vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness.
    17 194 Ft
    13 755 Ft

    Learning Korean through Culture is designed to help intermediate to advanced Korean language learners gain a deeper understanding of the language.

    We Do Not Part

    Kang, Han, yaewon, e.; Morris, Paige(ed.)

    9 072 Ft
    7 711 Ft
    69 273 Ft
    55 419 Ft

    With the international rise of K-pop culture, this analysis of BTS and the languages surrounding and related to their music, fans, and media content provides a unique look into how languages are localized, hybridized, and utilized beyond popular entertainment.

    This book examines the linguistic impact of the Korean Wave on World Englishes, demonstrating that the K-Wave is not only a phenomenon of popular culture, but also language.

    19 110 Ft
    15 670 Ft
    THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK—BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive—truly everything about BTS in one volume.
    17 671 Ft
    14 137 Ft

    This new textbook is a timely and interdisciplinary resource for students looking for an introduction to Korean popular culture, exploring the multifaceted meaning of Korean popular culture at micro and macro levels and the process of cultural production, representation, circulation and consumption in a global context.

    Forever Girls explores girlhood and the image of death manifest in contemporary South Korean cinema, where girls' bodies have repeatedly embodied various conflicting socio-political forces that shaped the nation. With the depiction of girlhood from the 1970s as a reference image, Jinhee Choi examines the extent to which the girlhood represented in millennial South Korean cinema still resonates with such an image, ultimately arguing that South Korean cinema needs to more adequately mourn girls' deaths and grant them the very girlhood that has long been denied.
    Charts the incredible rise of South Korea, from colonisation and civil war to today’s thriving nation.

    Translating and Receiving Korean Media: From Squid Game to Life on Mars

    Evans, Jonathan; Choi, Jinsil; Kim, Kyung Hye; (ed.)

    69 273 Ft
    55 419 Ft

    Written by scholars working across translation studies, film and media studies, this volume examines the ways in which Korean media has been received and translated in the UK, as well as how British media has fared in South Korea.

    69 273 Ft
    55 419 Ft

    Since the late 1990s, South Korean cultural products such as pop music, TV drama, and film have shaped the country’s image around the world. This book explores these three internationally best-known media of the Korean Wave global phenomenon, along with a less commonly featured aspect, K-literature.

    Y/N: A novel

    Yi, Esther;

    7 161 Ft
    It's as if her life only began once Moon appeared in it. Surreal, hilarious, and shrewdly poignant-a novel about a middle-aged Korean American woman whose obsession with a K-pop idol sends her to Seoul on a journey of literary self-destruction.

    A Thousand Blues

    Seon-ran, Cheon, Kim, Chi-Young(ed.)

    8 116 Ft
    6 899 Ft
    This book analyzes the key factors driving K-pop's global rise, including cultural hybridity, digital connectivity, and fan engagement, while also exploring how these elements have shaped K-pop's unique position in the global music industry.

    Contemporary Asian Popular Culture Vol. 1: Squid Game, Utopias, and Dystopias

    Kim, Yeojin; Jayasinghe, Dharshani Lakmali; Aleem, Hiba; Ritzenhoff, Karen A.

    66 563 Ft
    53 250 Ft