The new wave of Korean thriller
Detail of the cover of South Korean writer and screenwriter Park Yeon-seon's debut novel, "Summer, Somewhere, of the Corpses."
© Morning Calm Publishing
Text by: Sophie Torlotin Follow
2 min
You knew the American thriller, then there was the appearance of a wave of Scandinavian thrillers.
It will now also be necessary to reckon with detective novels from South Korea.
A publishing house, Matin calme, created a year ago, has just released its eighth title: “Summer, somewhere, cadavers” and finds enough material to release about one book a month.
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Losing your job can lead to rebirth.
This is what Pierre Bisiou experienced, former director of the generalist publishing house, Le Serpent à Plumes, which closed in 2018 after its takeover.
Already interested in the new wave of Korean thrillers, he created his own house, Calm Morning.
Explore dark areas of society
Appeared during the Cold War in South Korea, the detective books were originally station novels exploring the themes of espionage between the two Koreas, or treason.
Then writers admiring Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie embark on mystery stories.
Pierre Bisiou is more interested in authors who appeared after the years 1990/2000.
With the democratization of the country, writers explore the darkest areas of their society, and denounce the martyred childhood in South Korea or the power of family businesses with their stories of corruption or impunity.
Different humor
And then the editor takes the style of these authors who free themselves from any external influence: "
What often counts are scenes, great scenes, very cinematographic, very written, the art of dialogue, a lot of humor, very different humor scenes.
"
Pierre Bisiou aims to release a dozen titles per year, and also has plans to create a dedicated festival,
Quai du polar
, in South Korea, for the moment postponed pending better days.
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Literature
South Korea
Culture