Shin Kyung-sook (신경숙)

A look back at the 2018 literary year

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by Philip Gowman on 1 January, 2019

in 2018 year-end posts | Book Reviews | Books on Art and Design | Korean literature in translation | Memoirs | Novels in English

A look back at the books and literary events of the year – and a summary of my reading diary. Literature in translation In translated fiction, my reading this year has not managed anywhere near to keep pace with the amount of translations being published. I know I said the same in respect of 2017 […]

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Book review: Shin Kyung-sook – The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness

by Philip Gowman 16 May 2018
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Shin Kyung-sook: The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness Translated by Jung Ha-yun Pegasus Book, New York, 2015, 369pp Originally published as 외딴방, Munhakdongne, 1995 When reading Ahn Jung-hyo’s White Badge, I found myself wondering why, despite what I thought was my general antipathy to novels with listless central characters who can’t seem to find their way […]

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New and upcoming literature and fiction titles for 2018

by Philip Gowman 22 January 2018
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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 […]

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On reading Han Kang’s White Book by the pool

by Philip Gowman 17 November 2017
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In general, I tend not to read much literary fiction. If I’m reading stuff which is unrelated to Korea, it’s likely to be either non-fiction or easy reading – a detective story or something reasonably lightweight. When it comes to Korea-related reading, until relatively recently the balance has again been in favour of non-fiction. But […]

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Korean Women on screen, between the covers

by Philip Gowman 2 December 2015
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As many readers might know, I recently gave a talk at the British Korean Women’s Society on a pretty risky topic: I was asked to give a Western male’s perspective on Korean women.  I decided to play it relatively safe, and discuss the topic through the lens of Korean novels, films and artworks that are accessible […]

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Book review: Shin Kyung-sook — I’ll be right there

by Philip Gowman 24 August 2015
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Shin Kyung-sook: I’ll Be Right There Translated by Sora Kim-Russell Other Press, New York, 2014, 325pp Originally published as 어디선가 나를 찾는 전화벨이 울리고, Somewhere A Phone Is Ringing For Me, 2010 There are people who liked Shin Kyung-sook’s most famous work – Please Look After Mother – and those that didn’t. In the latter […]

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Shin Kyung-sook seeks to withdraw short story

by Philip Gowman 23 June 2015
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Wow – this all happened very quickly. On 17 June author Lee Eung-jun wrote an article in Huffington Post Korea (in Korean) accusing Shin Kyung-sook of plagiarism: Shin is “an author whose works are often accused of plagiarism” and that he decided to risk his career by publishing the article as he wanted the allegations […]

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LBF sketch: the snippets which didn’t quite make it…

by Philip Gowman 17 May 2014
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Sometimes a discussion session is really interesting and you come out of it thinking you’ve get some really good material; and then when you check your notes later there’s just not enough to do a coherent write-up – or the notes don’t make a lot of sense. Or one session might cover the same ground […]

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LBF sketch: Shin Kyung-sook on what modernity makes us forget

by Philip Gowman 11 May 2014
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Shin Kyung-sook attended three London events during the this year’s London Book Fair: a conversation with Arifa Akbar on 8 April, a panel session with Han Kang on Families, Relationships and Society on 9 April, and a panel entitled Separations with Krys Lee and Quaisra Shahraz at Asia House on 10 April. The below  is a digest […]

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LTI Korea video: Shin Kyung-sook in conversation with Arifa Akbar

by Philip Gowman 19 April 2014
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Here is LTI Korea’s video of Shin Kyung-sook in conversation with The Independent‘s Arifa Akbar on the first day of the London Book Fair. The topic is mainly Please Look After Mother, but also we talk about I’ll be Right There, and we learn about what Shin is working on right now. LKL’s question comes […]

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London Book Fair, day 3 – looking forward, looking back

by Philip Gowman 11 April 2014
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The London Book Fair is over now, but the collaboration with Korea continues, for which a huge thank-you is due to the British Council and the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that Britain (or was it the UK?) is invited as guest country at the Seoul Book […]

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London Book Fair, day 2

by Philip Gowman 10 April 2014
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Day 2 of the London Book Fair, in which: Han Kang said very nice things about her translator (Deborah Smith) and Shin Kyung-sook called hers her “twin soul”; We discovered that Kim Young-ha was about to start writing a historical novel set in the Joseon dynasty, only to find out that Kim Insuk had already […]

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LBF event, 10 Apr 6:45pm: Separations, at Asia House

by Events Editor 28 February 2014
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The fourth of six evening events during London Book Fair week, which unfortunately overlaps with a session with Kim Hyesoon at the Festival Hall. Separations 10 April, 18.45-20.00 Authors from Korea, Pakistan and Singapore discuss their work and the question: How does the partition of a country and divisions of families affect its society and […]

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Korean Literature Nights: the programme for the year

by Events Editor 19 February 2014
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The schedule for the literature nights at the KCC this year has been announced. The first one booked out within minutes. Booking for Your Republic is Calling You is now open. Date Author Book 26 Feb Shin Kyung-Sook Please Look after Mother (LKL Review) 26 Mar Kim Young-Ha Your Republic is Calling you (LKL Review) […]

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KCC launches its Korean Literature Night series

by Events Editor 3 February 2014
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You’ve all read Please Look After Mother by now. What did you think of what is probably the most successful piece of translated Korean fiction ever? If you haven’t read it already, the KCC is granting an amnesty, giving you the opportunity to read it and then discuss it with like-minded people afterwards. It’s part […]

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Shin Kyung-sook’s I’ll be Right There arrives in time for London Book Fair

by Philip Gowman 29 January 2014
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Please Look After Mother was a huge hit, so people must be hopeful that Shin Kyung-sook’s forthcoming I’ll Be Right There will be equally as successful. Available on 10 April (according to Amazon) from Other Press, I’m sure we can expect a launch event linked to the London Book Fair (8-10 April). And as Shin […]

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Korean authors Shin Kyung-sook and Krys Lee visit Edinburgh Book Fest

by Philip Gowman 25 August 2012
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We’ve all heard of the Edinburgh International Festival and its fringe; and of the Edinburgh Film Festival. Each year there’s sure to be Korean interest at these events. But this year another festival held at the same time, the Edinburgh Book Festival, together with the World Writers Conference, hosted Korea’s two most famous younger generation […]

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