Korean Fantasy Epic ‘The Bird That Drinks Tears’ Wins French Literary Prize
Lee Young-do’s four-volume fantasy epic has won France’s 2026 Prix du livre Cultissime, adding momentum to a Korean series now licensed across more than 30 countries.
South Korean fantasy writer Lee Young-do’s epic novel series “The Bird That Drinks Tears” has won the 2026 Prix du livre Cultissime in France, marking another step in the work’s growing international reach.
The award was presented to the first French-language volume of the four-part series at the Cultissime Festival in Angers. The festival announced its winners Friday. The prize recognizes fiction considered likely to endure as a future classic and is decided through a vote divided equally between the public and a professional panel.
Lee’s novel was selected from a field of five finalists. The other shortlisted writers were France’s Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre and Julia Thevenot, American author Virginia Evans and Irish novelist John Boyne.
In a statement released by Korean publisher Golden Bough, Lee thanked readers for the honor and reflected on the position of writers in an era dominated by multimedia. He described authors who rely only on words, without video or background music, as steadfast artists who can draw strength from people willing to seek out their work. He also expressed hope that festival visitors would continue to make time for reading.
First published in Korea in 2003, “The Bird That Drinks Tears” is a four-volume fantasy epic distinguished by world-building that incorporates Korean cultural elements. These include dokkaebi, supernatural beings often translated as goblins, as well as traditional wrestling, the board game yutnori and ondol underfloor heating. The series has sold about 1 million copies in Korea.
The French award is notable because only the first volume has been released in France. Published there in October 2025, it had also been shortlisted for the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire and the Prix Imaginales.
International expansion has accelerated around the series. Publication rights have been licensed in 17 languages and more than 30 countries. The first English-language volume, “The Heart of the Nhaga,” translated by Anton Hur, was released in June, introducing the novel to English readers for the first time.
The French recognition highlights the widening overseas audience for Korean storytelling beyond film, television and popular music. It also demonstrates the export potential of genre literature rooted in distinctly Korean traditions, even as it competes in established global fantasy markets.