The Tokyo bookstore where translated Korean literature sparks ‘conversation across borders’

On a quiet street in Jimbocho, a Tokyo neighbourhood known for its second-hand bookshops and publishing houses, one shop stands out: Chekccori. The store’s shelves are lined with Korean literature translated into Japanese, as well as works in the original language. It has become a gathering place for readers eager to cross cultural borders one page at a time. The name Chekccori means “a celebration after finishing a book” in Korean. The store was founded in 2015 by Tokyo-based South Korean publisher Kim Seung-bok. In recent years, it has seen a surge in young women drawn by their love of K-pop, as well as middle-aged men who have discovered the charm of Korean novels after Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024. Ayano Tachibana visited the shop in late August to find books for her coming trip to Seoul. She said she first encountered Korean literature through friends who loved K-pop and later studied Korean at university. “I loved The White Book by Han Kang,” 23-year-old Tachibana said, referring to the author’s poetic exploration of grief and fragility through reflections on white objects such as ice and paper. “Reading it with classmates, guided by a professor who was a fan, made me realise literature could be a conversation across borders.” Chekccori stocks around 4,000 books, including titles from Kim’s own publishing company. Kim founded Cuon in 2007 to bring more Korean literature to Japanese readers, at a time when few bookstores stocked such works. Cuon’s first release was Han’s The Vegetarian, a novel that won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, bringing her international acclaim. The novel, which tells the story of a woman whose decision to stop eating meat provokes a violent backlash from her ignorant husband and authoritarian father, has been acclaimed for its haunting portrayal of repression, desire and the struggle for autonomy. Kim said that while not an easy read, it is the kind of work that serious readers will recognise as extraordinary. “I wanted to establish a reputation for publishing works of real literary achievement,” said Kim, who has been in Japan since the early 1990s, when she came to study literary criticism after learning creative writing at a university in Seoul. Originally from South Jeolla province on the southern tip of South Korea, Kim witnessed how Japanese culture flowed into the country in the 1980s through magazines such as Non-no and novels by Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto. “So I thought, literature could also flow the other way,” she said. After working in advertising, Kim launched Cuon in Tokyo but struggled to promote Korean titles because most bookstores had no dedicated section for them. “The category of ‘Korean Literature’ did not exist, making it hard to find shelf space. Rather than feeling disappointed, I instead decided to create that space myself,” she said. That led to Kim opening Chekccori in 2015. Over the past decade, the number of Korean books translated into Japanese has increased dramatically. Kim estimates that 300 to 400 South Korean titles are now published annually in Japan, compared to only about 20 per year around 2010. The trend was fuelled in part by the success of Cho Nam-joo’s Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, which sold 290,000 copies in Japan after its 2018 release by publisher Chikuma Shobo. The novel, about a woman facing systemic misogyny in a patriarchal society, resonated deeply with readers. Kim credits this popularity to the rise of social media, which has allowed ideas and movements – including feminism – to spread rapidly across borders. The feminist movement in South Korea gained momentum after a 2016 murder case in Seoul, followed by the global #MeToo movement in 2017. Kim’s publisher has released many feminist-themed books, including a collection of essays titled “#Living as a woman who speaks up” by author and lawyer Jeong So-yeon. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Chekccori has set a new goal to introduce more Korean poetry, a genre still relatively under-represented in translation. The bookstore held events for Korean poet Shin Mina, who was in Tokyo for two months earlier this year under a writer-in-residence programme. Interest in Korean poetry is growing. Yukinori Ebihara visited Chekccori for the first time after hearing Mariko Saito, translator of Han’s novels and many other works, read Korean poems on the radio. “Even without understanding the words, the sound was beautiful. It made me want to hear more, to feel that resonance,” the 74-year-old said. Today, Kim’s focus has shifted from growth to sustainability. After recovering from cancer a few years ago, she hopes to ensure that Chekccori continues connecting readers and writers for years to come. “What I’d like to do is to return to the basics – the craft of choosing excellent books, creating them with care, and placing them in the hands of readers in the right way,” she said.

The Tokyo bookstore where translated Korean literature sparks ‘conversation across borders’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Since 2015, publisher Kim Seung-bok has used her shop Chekccori to connect Japanese readers with top Korean authors ‘in the right way’

Since 2015, publisher Kim Seung-bok has used her shop Chekccori to connect Japanese readers with top Korean authors ‘in the right way’