Winter Olympics 2018: Korea Rules |

Since 2014, when Korean pop star Psy's mega-hit, Gangnam Style, stormed the charts, K-Pop (Korean pop music) and K-Drama (Korean T.V. series) have captured the imaginations of millions of fans around the world. And now, with the Winter Olympics starting up in Pyeongchang this week, we're taking a look at all things Korean at the library.

Here are some of Toronto Public Library staff's favourite Korean goodies – from novels to albums to cinema to concert videos.

재미있게 보내요! (Have fun!)

Books For Beginners

If you're new to the world of Korean popular culture, here's a little background on the long buildup to this cultural explosion:

The Birth of Korean Cool, by Euny Hong Book • ebook

K-Pop Now! by Mark James Russell Book

A Geek in Korea, by Daniel Tudor Book

K-Pop on CD

If, however, you want to dive right into the music, here are some selections as recommended by our resident K-Pop experts*:

*UPDATE: THIS JUST IN: if you're looking for music by BTS, it's on order and will be here soon!

Ballads: Mystic Ballad, by Davichi

Pop: Sherlock, by SHINee

Bubblegum pop: Twinkle, by Girls' Generation

Synthpop: Doradora, by UKiss

R & B: So Cool, by Sistar

Hip hop: Power, by B. A. P.

Personal: Palette, by IU

K-Pop on Hoopla

Do you need K-Pop right now? You can stream up to eight albums per month on Hoopla:

Hip hop: Evolution, by Boys Republic

Hoopla Streaming Audio

Bubblegum pop: The Boys, by Girls' Generation

Hoopla Streaming Audio

K-Pop on DVD

You can watch, as well as listen – we just got a slew of new concert videos on DVD:

Concert DVD: Phantasia, by Girls' Generation

DVD

Concert DVD: EXO Planet 2: The EXO'luXion, by EXO

DVD

K-Drama (TV Series)

Last year, Netflix commissioned its first original Korean TV series – a sure sign that K-Drama is trending hard. Here are a few of our resident superfans' favourites:

Romantic Comedy: My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

A college student accidentally releases a mythical nine-tailed fox from a painting. Romance, superpowers and trickery ensue.

DVD

Comedy: Protect the Boss

A woman lands a job as a secretary, but soon falls in love with her neurotic boss. Hilarity ensues.

DVD

Drama: City Hunter

Suspense. Revenge. Action. And an intense father-son conflict.

DVD

Korean Movies

Korean cinema runs the gamut from political dramas to monster thrillers to auteurish genre-busters. Here are just a few of many examples.

Movie: A Taxi Driver

An unassuming taxi driver gets involved with a German journalist covering the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.

DVD • evideo

Movie: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring

A Buddhist monk passes all the seasons of his life in an isolated monastery floating on a lake in the middle of a pristine forest. As gorgeous as it sounds.

DVD

Movie: The Host

A monster menaces Seoul, while a family keeps it together. Runs the gamut from genuinely scary, to touching, to fun.

DVD • evideo

Movie: The Handmaiden

Sarah Waters' novel, Fingersmith, about a lesbian affair in Victorian England, is transposed to 1930s Korea. Highly recommended.

DVD • evideo

Korean Books

We have an extensive collection of books by Korean authors, in both Korean and English.

Book: Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee

One of 2017's great literary hits, Pachinko traces cascading paths of cause and effect through several generations of a Korean family in exile.

Book • ebook

Book: Without You, There Is No Us, by Suki Kim

Korean-American novelist and journalist Suki Kim, posing as a missionary, got a job teaching at a school for the children of the North Korean elite. This is what she saw.

Book • ebook