Written by Fiona Collins

Korean literature in translation is extremely popular at the current time, thanks in no small part to Han Kang who recently became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Her works are available in Korean, English, Swedish, French and German.

Many other Korean authors have their works translated into English including Kim Hyun Sook who was hunted down by the police for reading banned books in 1980s South Korea. Her Freeman Award–winning graphic novel about the experience, Banned Book Club is the subject of this review.

Banned Book Club is a black and white graphic novel which chronicles Hyun Sook’s experiences studying Western Literature in South Korea in the 1980s when the military regime was in charge. Hyun Sook becomes involved in a banned book club by accident and everything she does, from taking part in a masked folk dance to meeting up with a boy she likes becomes linked to protesting against the government. The novel is full of action: students are arrested and tortured; Hyun Sook’s friend Suji is thrown out when her mother discovers she has been hosting the book club in their apartment, and students are threatened with losing their scholarships if they don’t let the police have full details of what the protestors are planning.

The manga style illustrations by illustrator, Ko Hyung-Ju are used to good effect to enhance the story, especially during the protest scenes.

Overall, this graphic novel is a great example of how people can work together to bring about change. For more recommendations about Korean authors in translation, check out “The best Korean fiction in translation” from Penguin, or Goodreads “Korean Literature in English Translation”

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You can buy a copy of Banned Book Club here or find it in a library here.
Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.

Reviews/articles: Publishers Weekly / Video by the Korea Society: New Narratives in Korea: “Manwha” (2020) / NCTAsia Teaching Notes

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NB: A sequel — No Rules Tonight — was published in 2024 — and has been reviewed twice here on GLLI. See Feb 12, 2025, and Mar 22, 2025.

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Fiona Collins is an international school teacher-librarian with 20 years’ experience working in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuwait, and now South Korea on the beautiful island of Jeju.  She has extensive experience working in IB schools and is a Workshop leader, site visitor and Personal Projects examiner.  When not encouraging Middle School students to extend their reading and try new genres, she can be found cycling or hiking around Jeju or absorbed in a jigsaw puzzle.

Katie Day is an international school teacher-librarian in Singapore and has been an American expatriate for almost 40 years (most of those in Asia). She is currently the chair of the 2025 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize and co-chair of the Neev Book Award in India, as well as heavily involved with the Singapore Red Dot Book Awards. Katie was the guest curator on the GLLI blog for the UN #SDGLitMonth in March 2021 and guest co-curator for #IndiaKidLitMonth in September 2022.