Introducing Korean Sci-Fi!

Beginning of Sci-Fi in Korea

To pick the genre that the public has actively consumed in Korea for the past several years, it would be “Science Fiction.” However, considering the massive fandom and cultural influence of Sci-Fi in other countries such as the United States, it has not been long since the public in Korea has highlighted the genre. This is why some people think that the Sci-Fi syndrome in Korea is a sudden phenomenon. However, Korea’s Sci-Fi genre has been shaped to become what it is today from about 100 years ago, creating the foundation for today’s Sci-Fi to be at the center of people’s attention. Then, learning the history of Korean Sci-Fi will be a good way to understand it better and get a clearer glimpse of its future outlook.

The beginning of Sci-Fi in Korea goes back to 1907. The first Sci-Fi work recorded in history is serialized in the journal “Taegukhakbo”- a journal for Koreans studying in Japan, which was a translation of (1818) written by Jules Verne. Since then, translated works have been continuously introduced to Koreans; (1879) by Jules Verne was translated with the title in 1908 and a part of by Diem Novel in the US was translated with the title in 1910. Also, in 1924, play (1920) by Karel Capek, a Czech writer who coined the word “robot” was serialized in journal (meaning “the dawn of civilization” in Korean) with the title .

The first Sci-Fi title written by a Korean is known to be (1929) by Kim Dong-In. Featuring the story where feces is used to resolve the food crisis, this book has a Sci-Fi characteristic in that solutions through scientific imagination are offered for social issues. Since then, as Korean society underwent liberalization and war, the publication of Sci-Fi has been hesitant for a while, but then in the 1960s, it once again gained momentum through books for children and teens. Writer Han Nak-Won was at the center of the trend where he steadily serialized works such as (1964) in journals. In 1965, by Moon Yoon-Sung won the “1st Mystery Fiction Contest” hosted by Weekly Hangook. This story featuring the 22nd century where only females survive on the Earth was published in 1967. After it was republished in 1985 with the title , it returned to its original title in 2019.

Entering the 1990s, Sci-Fi in Korea ushers in a new era with the advent of a new medium called PC.

In 1968, the “Korean Sci-Fi Writers’ Club” was established with by Seo Gwang-Woon. They published their works in 1975 as a collection titled “Korea Sci-Fi Complete Collection,” and in 1978, it was included in the “World SF Masterpiece” organized by Idea Hall. However, even until then, Sci-Fi in Korea wasn’t that loved by the public. The main Sci-Fi works consumed by people were translated works from Western countries or those that were written for kids and teens. They were mostly used as a supplement for understanding science. What’s more, as the genre was perceived to be reserved for a few fanatics, Sci-Fi was regarded as a genre that talks about difficult things related to science – professional knowledge for people of science and engineering or a low-grade story that talks about absurd things. However, entering the 1970s and 80s, more Sci-Fi subjects and stories were produced through videos, comics, and animations, and in the 1990s, the Sci-Fi genre met the new tide in history with the advent of a new medium called “PC.”

Today and Tomorrow of Sci-Fi in Korea

It is not an exaggeration to say that elements that had a direct influence on Korea’s Sci-Fi began with the emergence of PC in the 1990s. During that period, “SF clubs” were born in each of the PC communication services, and the so-called “SF fandoms” began to be created in earnest. And thanks to the nature of the new technology, writing a story no longer required help from the publishing market. This led to the increased number of Sci-Fi writers centered on their fandoms. Writers that emerged around this time had a strong tendency to regard themselves as a Sci-Fi writers. This was a phenomenon that was hardly found in the traditional publishing market, excluding writer Bok Geo-Il who published , calling himself a Sci-Fi writer in 1989 (He also serialized his next title on a PC platform before publishing it as a book).

The writers and fans that had been the major players on the PC platform around that period continue to influence the Sci-Fi genre today. The best example is DJUNA, who began writing Sci-Fi during that time and is still an active Sci-Fi writer. In particular, DJUNA is like the representation of Korea’s Sci-Fi genre itself as the writer has introduced about 120 stories during the past 27 years since the 1990s. In particular, various attempts for “Sci-Fi written in Korean” have been made beginning with (2006), (2002), and (2011), and works that show diverse indicators of Korean scientific imagination are being announced today including the recent works (2013) and (2020).

The characteristic of Korea’s Sci-Fi works is that they are based on Korean sentiment and experiences separate from the Western-centered world view.

Following the PC platform came the era of the “Webzine.” The webzine, the medium with the most “Korean” characteristic like “webtoon” and “webnovel,” has been the foundation for various authors to write stories. Among the many webzines, “Mirrorzine (http://mirrorzine.kr/)”, a webzine for fantasy literature, is a foundation for the past and present of Korea’s Sci-Fi. In particular, webzine platforms have been the supporters for new authors who won the “Science and Technology Literature Contest” that was held between 2004 and 2006 to continue on with their career. Writers that won in the contest include representative Sci-Fi writers in Korea – Kim Bo-Young, Bae Myung-Hoon, Kim Chang-Gyu, and Jung So-Yeon.
Their works began to be introduced in the publishing market after 2010. Notably, <Hello, A.I.> by Bae Myung-Hoon won the 1st Munhakdongne Young Writer’s Award in 2010. He also showed his imagination of a place that has a strong scent of Korea through his work (2006) (This book was translated and published in English by publisher “Honford Star” in 2021). Then, he continued to announce experimental works and created new styles of Sci-Fi through his (2016), (2017), and (2020). Meanwhile, writer Kim Chang-Gyu has announced works including (2016), (2018) and is translating diverse Sci-Fi titles such as (1984), the representative book of William Gibson.

Writer Kim Bo-Young is skilled in linking Korea’s traditional mythological subjects with Sci-Fi and covering social issues in her Sci-Fi stories. These aspects can be found in her collections (2010), (2013), (2017), and (2020), and such unique characteristics have led to the recent sale of publication rights of some of her works to “HarperCollins Publishers” in the US. Also, she participated as the science advisor for of Bong Jun-Ho, and has been showing her capacity in diverse fields such as novels and scenarios for games. Writer Jung So-Yeon had been the first president of the Science Fiction Writers Union of the Republic of Korea established in 2018, and has published various works, including (2015). These writers have been an indirect influence on new writers that made their debut after 2015 by acting as lecturers in all kinds of Sci-Fi writing academies or workshops.

Sci-Fi in Korea is enjoying rosy days today as young new writers are at the center of people’s attention. Good evidence of such a trend is three Sci-Fi writers – Chung Se-Rang, Kim Cho-Yeop, and Chang Kang-Myung, who were selected among the top 10 writers that will lead Korean literature for the next 10 years in a survey conducted by “Aladin,” an online bookstore. Also, making her debut after winning the grand prize and the first prize at the 2nd Korean Science Literature Award, Kim Cho-Yeop won the 43rd Korea Artist Prize with her and the 11th Young Writer’s Award with her following works, emerging as one of the representative Sci-Fi writers in Korea.

Also, writer Chung Se-Rang who made her debut in 2007 through a genre literature magazine called , has been writing stories in various genres, including Sci-Fi and others. Her has been the talk of the town as it was made into a drama series on Netflix. In addition, it is meaningful to look at the works written by new writers who made their debut as they won the Korean Science Literature Award from 2016 to 2019, such as Park Hae-Wool, Cheon Seon-Ran, Kim Hye-Jin, and Hwang Mo-Gwa. The writers of these works signed contracts to have them translated and published in various languages in such a short period of time and even sold publication rights for video productions. In particular, writer Cheon Seon-Ran has been a rising star in the literary circle for her boundless possibilities with her (2019), (2020), (2020).