k-lit

The Korean name for the domestic pop genre that developed in the early 1990s was gayo, but the term K-pop emerged in 1999, following the pattern of J-pop, a Japanese style of pop music blending Western pop with traditional Japanese music.  This development in music in South Korea turned out to have cultural implications so that you can no longer talk about the music alone without mentioning the style and the dance and the fashion that goes with it.

And so k- is beginning to attach itself to other artistic forms.  We have k-drama, k-movies, and now k-lit. The leader in k-lit at the moment is Han Kang whose works won her the Nobel Prize Literature in 2024. K-lit is characterised by having a quirkiness and a subtle darkness that is all its own.