VOL.96/2026.07

Korean Publishers

 

Sail and Anchor: A Publisher of Depth and Sensuous Books

 

 

2026.07

 

 

The independent publisher “Sail and Anchor” is a house that publishes books as deeply memorable as its own name. The books from Sail and Anchor instantly capture the eye, containing writings that are both beautiful and profound. From books with keen insights into easily overlooked everyday subjects to titles introduced for the very first time in Korea, they publish works that leave a lasting impression on the reader’s heart—including The Chronicles of Monami 153, The Unknown Grandmother, The Book of Zero, and Captive Stones. In this issue, we aim to examine the unique book philosophy and vision that only Sail and Anchor can showcase.

 

 

 

 

Q. The name immediately catches the eye. Why “Sail and Anchor”? Please explain the origin and meaning behind the name.

 

Around the time I was preparing to launch the publishing house, I spent two years living on Jeju Island. Back then, the imagery of the sea was deeply permeated into my daily life, which naturally led me to view publishing through the perspective of a voyage. Since I started publishing as an expanded platform for my art practice, the question of “How far can these creations actually reach?” was personally a very important theme for me.

 

A book is a medium that takes us to distant places we could never otherwise visit, while simultaneously helping us closely examine the reality where our feet are currently planted. I believe that only when we maintain both directions and find a balance can the act of creating and distributing stories possess true vitality within society. Ultimately, I believe the path of art is quite similar. “Sail and Anchor” is a name chosen with the thought that this pair of metaphors—the “sail” and the “anchor,” both absolute necessities for a ship’s voyage—perfectly expresses this artistic worldview.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. While all books are naturally precious, if you had to recommend a book that overseas subscribers must read, which of Sail and Anchor’s books do you consider to be your flagship title?

 

Lake Journal is a record by artist Mon Sujin, who stayed in a lakeside village one winter and piled up snow with a shovel every day on the frozen surface of the lake. Although the snowdrifts that formed small mountains melt away bit by bit as temperatures rise, the artist continues to build this temporary island that will vanish once spring arrives, all while keeping a journal. Witnessing this futile yet beautiful act, which could simply be termed “shoveling,” prompts us to take a step back from the lake pictured before our eyes and once again ponder the existential meaning of art.

 

 

If I were to recommend one more, I would like to introduce my own humble work, Captive Stones. Artist Keem Youngle, who has focused on the relationship between image and text based on an interest in objects, has been collecting images of stones since 2018. Among them, the artist paid close attention to artworks dealing with stones and compiled writings about them into a book. Exploring the human gaze and desire directed toward stones, these writings possess a genre-blurring nature on the boundary between criticism, essay, and fiction. Since they also reflect Korean culture and the zeitgeist of the times, I believe they could be highly intriguing to overseas readers.

 

 

 

 

 

Q. The book covers of Sail and Anchor seem to possess a power that captures the eye while allowing each title’s unique individuality to shine through. While the books from Sail and Anchor are also highly popular as individual objects, do you have any specific principles you consider regarding the covers when working on a publication?

 

A book is a vessel that contains content, but it is also the content itself. I believe the most important aspect of book design is weaving meaning and form together closely so that the exterior and interior do not become separated. To successfully realize such a design, I engage in deep conversations and discussions with the designer, focusing not only on the book’s outward appearance but also on its textual content. In the case of the essay collection Grandmothers We Didn’t Know, published this year, drawings that hint at specific episodes within the book intertwine to form a single map, offering something to read and decode right on the cover itself. (Design: aloudlab) Sail and Anchor’s bestseller Cat Country is a 1930s Chinese novel, but thanks to its meticulous design—including a modernly reinterpreted cover, as well as the fore-edge painting and illustration layouts that metaphorically reflect the novel’s theme—it has been cherished by domestic readers for a long time. (Design: Lee Jaemin)

 

When making a book, I frequently imagine it placed not just on a store display stand, but on someone’s bookshelf or table. I always try not to forget the fact that before a book is content, it is a tangible object. Even as so many things are shifting toward electronic media, I believe people still purchase, collect, and cherish books precisely because of their charm as physical objects that can be opened, closed, and touched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q. What lies ahead for the tomorrow that Sail and Anchor is heading toward? Briefly introduce what kind of vision Sail and Anchor is painting for Korean publishing culture.

 

The publishing market and cultural contents are heavily influenced by technological shifts and new trends, including artificial intelligence. However, I do not believe that the temporal and spatial stage of “tomorrow” must necessarily be intertwined with change. Rereading contemporary meaning within more essential values that shape human beings, which include things that do not change and things that endure for a long time, might perhaps be a more critical task for us. True to our catchphrase, “Further, Deeper,” Sail and Anchor aims to steadily create books that do not merely drift in a single direction but instead dissolve the boundaries of genres to explore the deeper recesses of humanity.

 

 

 

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Interview with Youngle Keem (Artist, Publisher)

The author studied European literature and art. With an interest in weaving familiar stories into new forms, she has been active across various media, including documentary, installation art, publishing, and translation. Currently living in Seoul with three cats, the author has been running the one-person publishing house Sail and Anchor since 2019.