The current study explored the cross-language transfer of L2 word recognition (WR) among 129 Korean EFL students. Participants underwent measures of L1-/ L2 phonological awareness (PA), L1-/ L2 orthographic awareness (OA), and L1-/ L2 unfamiliar-/ pseudo word recognition (WR). Findings showed that (a) the significant predictors of L1 unfamiliar WR were L1 PA-/ OA; (b) L1-/ L2 PA and L2 OA played an important role in L2 unfamiliar WR; and (c) L2 PA-/ OA were positively predictive of L2 pseudo WR. These results support the linguistic interdependence hypothesis that literacy skills can be transferred from one language to another (Cummins, 2000). The findings of the current study suggest the importance of L1 phonological components in L2 early literacy acquisition. Specifically, the present results propose that knowledge of L1 phonological elements such as syllable onsets, nuclei, codas, and bodies may play a crucial role in successful L2 WR among, at least, early Korean-English readers.