Seoul: Cyberpunk in appearance, cookery book in content

Korean literature is more than just the next hype. Fresh back from the book fair in Seoul, Heyne editor Elisabeth Bösl reports on what other markets can learn from Korea's multimedia mindset - and also reveals which piece of furniture is now at the top of her wish list.

If Seoul were a book genre - what would it be for you? Urban fantasy? Cyberpunk? Romance novel with dragons?

Visually definitely cyberpunk, in terms of content more like a cookery book - I've rarely been fed as often and as much as in Seoul!

What do you think is currently making Korean literature successful internationally? Is it the themes, the tonality or rather the formats?

The answer is yes. All that, and our readers' hunger for the new and unknown. In short: for books that open doors to new worlds, new cultures, new ideas and fantasies.

What insights did you take away from the expert talk at the German pavilion on rights trading organised by the Frankfurt Book Fair - was there anything that surprised you or made you think in particular?

I was surprised by how multi-media thinking is in Korea. It's never ‘just’ a book - many modern publications, especially for younger target groups, think in terms of comics, TV series and other entertainment media. We could take a leaf out of their book! 

What do you personally bring back from Seoul - be it a good book deal, an inspiring conversation or simply a moment that has stuck with you?

Many, many new ideas and books that could be worth publishing in Germany. Plus encounters with fantastic people, unforgettable experiences and the realisation that I urgently need a table with a built-in barbecue!

More about Elisabeth Bösl

Elisabeth Bösl studied German and Russian literature and is an editor in the fantasy team at Heyne Verlag in Munich. Among other things, she is responsible for the fantasy novels DIE LEGENDE VOM TRÄNENVOGEL by South Korean author Lee Young-do.

More about the German pavilion at the Seoul International Book Fair and the event ‘Three Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier About Rights Trading’ https://www.german-stories.de/german-collective-stands/seoul-international-book-fair-2025(opens in a new window)