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The history of translating Polish literature in South Korea goes almost 100 years back. In the article Polish literary works translated into Korean have been presented in chronological order. The first Polish literary work offered to Korean readers was Quo vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was translated from Japanese into Korean language in 1916. Since then Korean translators have been presenting Polish literature to their compatriots almost constantly and in many different ways. This also applies to the very difficult moments in the history of Korea such as Japanese occupation (1910–1940) or so called „cold war” period. Around 70 works of Polish literature have been published in Korea so far (not mentioning re­‑editions and several different translations of the same work). Some works have been published several times, translated by different people and published by different publishing houses (for example Quo vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Eighth day of a week by Marek Hłasko, Solaris by Stanisław Lem).

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Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel Quo vadis translated by Hong Nan-Pa published in parts in the press in 1920 (book publication in 1921) had a considerable influence on the social life in Korea. The Korean society of the 1920s showed much interest in Western civilisation and its modern values. At that time many works of Western literature appeared in Korean translation, but due to the political situation censorship interferences were observed (as, for example in the press publication of Quo vadis). Hong Nan-Pa started translating Quo vadis both on account of his patriotic allegory, and due to a developed love affair thread present in the book. For those reasons the novel reached the taste of Korean society in which on the one hand, anti-colonial atmosphere prevailed, while on the other hand cultural and moral changes connected with so-called discourse on love were taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wisława Szymborska first became known in Korea after she won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996, but came closer to readers with the publication of her poetry book entitled The End and the Beginning (including 170 poems) in 2007. The Korean version of Szymborska's poetry book first drew attention of Korean poets and novelists and, later, owing to their active introduction of the book to Korea, her poems became very popular among general public as well. Her poetry book The End and the Beginning went through twelve editions in Korea, and more than 12 000 copies have been sold as the book has become a steady seller. Immediately after the publication of the book, her poems were simply read, cited and critiqued, but later they were used as motifs in the creation of literary works which went on to influence other genres such as film, ballet, and photography. Furthermore, Szymborska's poems have been cited and interpreted in various social contexts beyond the limits of literature and art. Even though she passed away in 2012, many Korean poets, critics, scholars, and general public still enjoy reading and citing her poems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]