As I’ve been logging the various publications during the construction of LKL’s K-lit hub, I’ve been keeping an eye on those stories which appear most often in English translation, whether in an anthology or a standalone publication. Charles Montgomery has always said that When the Buckwheat Blooms is the most published story, and I’ve yet … [Read More]
Author: Yi Cheong-jun (이청준 1939-2008)
Selected publications by Yi Cheong-jun
- Two Stories From Korea: The Wounded & The Abject (병신과 머저리 | 벌레 이야기) tr Grace Jung, Jennifer M Lee, Merwin Asia 2015
- The Wounded (Bi-lingual, Vol 1 – Division) (병신과 머저리, 1966) tr Jennifer M Lee, Asia Publishers 2012
- Seopyeonje, the Southerners’ Songs tr Ok Young Kim Chang, Peter Owen 2011
- Your Paradise ( 당신들의 천국, 1976) tr Jennifer M Lee, Timothy R Tangherlini, Green Integer 2005
- The Snowy Road (bilingual) (눈길, 1977) tr Hyun-Jae Yee Sallee, Hollym 2004
- The Wounded tr Jennifer M Lee, Jimoondang 2002
- The Prophet and Other Stories tr Julie Pickering, Cornell East Asia Series 1999
Short stories in anthologies
- The Cruel City in:
- The dream of a mask in:
- Target in:
- The Snowy Road / Footprints in the Snow (눈길, 1977) in:
- The Abject (Worm Story) (벌레 이야기, 1985) in:
- An Assailant’s Face (가해자의 얼굴, 1992) in:
- The Wounded (병신과 머저리, 1966) in:
Where to start in Korean literature – the skinny version
My somewhat meaty post on Monday was prompted by a request for recommendations from a new acquaintance who knew of my Korean interests. He initially asked for three recommendations, which I found completely impossible – hence Monday’s list of ten authors, with a favoured title by each, plus ten additional titles. But now, having thought … [Read More]
Where to start in Korean translated literature
Note: This article was written in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Since then, particularly in 2021, some fantastic translated fiction titles have appeared. We give a round-up of them here. Nevertheless, as of end December 2022 the top ten recommendations below still stand. I do, however, need to edit the choices for … [Read More]
What have we been reading in 2019? Here are the highs and lows of our reading diary
I alternate my reading, on no systematic basis, between fiction and non-fiction, trying to maintain a balance between keeping up to date with the most important new publications and working through the guilt pile of past publications that I failed to read when they came out. I don’t have time to read much apart from … [Read More]
A look back at some of the books of 2016
To cut to the chase, here are my two books of the year for 2016. For more detail, read on. Literature in translation The world of translated fiction seems to have been dominated by two names this year, one Korean and one British. The Korean name of course is Han Kang. Just as The Vegetarian … [Read More]
Deborah Smith wins Literary Translation award.
Han Kang says she’s “amazing”. Deborah Levy says she’s “obviously a genius”. And now, congratulations to Deborah Smith for winning The Arts Foundation Literary Translation Award 2016. According to the TLS blog, the award comes with a £10,000 bursary which Deborah plans to use “to fund research into the Korean author Yi Chong-jun” (Your Paradise, … [Read More]
I’m six pages in to Seopyeonje, and already I’m crying
By contrast to the glacial pace of T’oji, I’m six pages in to Yi Cheong-jun’s Seopyeonje (http://t.co/Z32AGY0p | US: http://t.co/tjQBtaAD) and already I’m crying. [Read More]
Sorok Island joined to the mainland
Yi Chong-jun’s (이청준) novel on the subject is called Your Paradise. Looking at the beach above you see maybe one reason. But Sorok Island (소록도) is Korea’s best known leper colony. As Brother Anthony explains, in Yi’s book, the subject is the relation between the individual and the collective. The setting is the remote leper … [Read More]
Im Kwon-taek reaches 100
With the nationwide release of Beyond the Years (천년학, aka Thousand Year Crane) in Korea today, Im Kwon-taek reaches an amazing milestone: his 100th film. And it’s supposedly his first love story, according to the Chosun – though it has to be said that devoted lovers have appeared in his earlier work – for example … [Read More]
Yi Chong-jun: Your paradise
(Green Integer, 2004) Translated by Jennifer Lee, Timothy R. Tangherlini Originally published as 당신들의 천국, Seoul, 1976 A puzzling story about the struggles of successive managers of a leper colony to improve the lot of the lepers. I think the Complete Review shares my puzzlement. One of the best-selling novels of 20th Century Korean literature, … [Read More]