The KCC’s monthly literature discussions restart in February with Un-su Kim’s debut novel The Cabinet. It has quite a different flavour from his Plotters, which was the first to make it into English, but shares its inventiveness and pace. The Cabinet Discussion: Wednesday 23 February 2022, 12 noon Apply by 4 February Full details – … [Read More]
Author: Kim Un-su (김언수 1972-)
Selected publications by Kim Un-su
- The Cabinet (캐비닛, 2006) tr Sean Lin Hilbert, Angry Robot 2021
- The Plotters (설계자들, 2010) tr Sora Kim-Russell, Fourth Estate 2019
A look back at our 2021 reading diary
Looking back at this year, it’s been one of the best for new translations of Korean literature that I can remember. There have been at least ten new fiction titles, and unusually for me I managed to get through all the titles I was intending to. All of them are recommendable in their different ways. … [Read More]
A look back at our 2020 reading diary
Like many readers, we started the year with good intention of blitzing through the pile of new titles that were promised for the coming months, as well as making inroads into the backlog. And we genuinely got off to a good start with a string of fun K-thrillers, some of them new, some not: The … [Read More]
Brief book review: The Plotters
Kim Un-su: The Plotters Translated by Sora Kim-Russell Fourth Estate, 2019, 304 pp Originally published as 설계자들, Seoul 2010 I always find when embarking on a new book it pays to have neutral expectations. That way you won’t be disappointed. But sometimes it’s hard to filter out your own personal prejudices and the word of … [Read More]
Kim Un-su interviewed in Korea Times
Anna Jiwon Park has a good interview with Kim Un-su (author of The Plotters, among other things) in the Korea Times this week. It’s a nice leisurely two-page read for the Weekender section, clocking in at 3,000 words. Park has an engaging conversation with him, and makes an interesting observation: His books not only have … [Read More]
September Literature Night: The Plotters by Kim Un-su
This book took an absolute age to come out in the UK. It’s now here. Will it live up to the hype? Kim Un-su: The Plotters Wednesday 18 September 2019, 7pm @KCCUK Entrance Free – Booking Essential Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 2600 with your name and contact details by Monday 26th August. … [Read More]
Upcoming literature and fiction titles for 2019
Here’s my first attempt at compiling a list of fiction and poetry titles coming up in 2019. Let me know what I’ve missed. Unlike my separate list of non-fiction I have not exercised any editorial control here: this is everything I have been able to find. The list is in four parts: Modern and contemporary … [Read More]
Guardian suggests Korean thrillers are the new Scandi Noir
It was not long ago that people were lamenting the absence of Korean genre fiction – such as crime and mystery stories – in translation. Well, apparently, things are changing. An article in Saturday’s Guardian talks about a “wave of interest in Korean thrillers” – highlighting the six-figure sum which bought Doubleday the right to … [Read More]
New and upcoming literature and fiction titles for 2018
From classic Joseon dynasty ghost stories, via historical fiction set in the reign of Queen Min, to the latest in translated literature, we take a look at some of the books to look forward to in 2018. Our look at non-fiction titles can be found here. Contemporary Korean literature in translation Hwang Sok-yong’s novel At … [Read More]