From the very first moment she set foot in South Korea, Barbara Zitwer, literary agent to some of the most celebrated, prize-winning Korean authors, fell head-over-heels in love, discovering there a renewed sense of happiness and energy. In this fascinating book, Zitwer shares all that she has learnt about this vibrant country, forged by the … [Read More]
Books and literature
Welcome to LKL’s books and literature section. Here you can find book news and reviews, and listings of events relating to literature.
If you’re new to Korean literature in translation, check out our recommended reading list. Or you can browse our list of reviews of fiction and non-fiction books. Our new Korea Book Database can be found here, and a listing of featured Korean authors here.
You might be interested in our coverage of the 2014 London Book Fair, at which Korea was the guest of honour. Ten Korean authors were flown over to London for the duration. You can find LKL’s reviews and coverage of these and other authors (and their translators) by clicking on the links in our Writers directory which can be found here.
Korean Literature Night: Yun Ko-Eun in conversation with Sharlene Teo
Yona has been stuck behind a desk for years working as a programming coordinator for Jungle, a travel company specialising in package holidays to destinations ravaged by disaster. When a senior colleague touches her inappropriately she tries to complain, and in an attempt to bury her allegations, the company make her an attractive proposition: a … [Read More]
February Literature Night: The Age of Doubt by Pak Kyongni
The Age of Doubt collects some of Pak Kyongni’s most famous works, including her 1955 debut and other stories featuring characters that would appear in her 21-volume epic, T’oji. Many of Pak’s stories reflect her own turbulent experiences during the period following the Korean war and the various Korean dictatorships throughout the twentieth century. Pak … [Read More]
Review: Cho Nam-joo – Saha
After the domestic success of Kim Ji-young (2016; English translation by Jamie Chang published in 2020), and of its encouraging sales overseas, it was natural that Cho Nam-joo’s next novel would attract interest. Accordingly, Saha had a slightly shorter journey from Korean into English: after an original publication date in 2019 its English translation came … [Read More]
Book review: Seo Su-jin – Korean Teachers
After what was a fairly downbeat reading experience for us last year, quite by chance we came across the first publication of translated Korean literature from Singapore’s Harriet Press, released without our noticing it in March 2022. Seo Sujin’s debut novel Korean Teachers won the Hankyoreh Literature Award in 2020, and it is encouraging that … [Read More]
Lee Hyemi shortlisted for Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation
Congratulations to poet Lee Hyemi, translator Soje and the pioneering Tilted Axis Press for being shortlisted for the 2022 Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation with the collection Unexpected Vanilla, published in 2020. Awarded every two years, the prize honours the best book of poetry by a living poet from Africa, Asia, Latin America … [Read More]
Unexpected Vanilla – poetry talks and events
About Unexpected Vanilla A sensual, surrealist collection by a young feminist poet, in an equally sensuous and sensitive queer translation. Lee explores a wide variety of relationships, attractions, and sensations. Her erotically charged, surrealist sensibility can be traced back to the paintings of Leonor Fini, a bisexual Argentinian artist whom she admires. Lee subverts the … [Read More]
Review: JM Lee — Broken Summer
A seemingly ideal partnership between a successful artist and a doting wife who is also his manager suddenly dissolves when the wife walks out without warning, leaving behind a surprise which the artist knows will shortly destroy his reputation and career. The artist had clearly been living a lie, with his wife plotting his destruction … [Read More]
A discussion with poet Hakjung Kim
In August we will have a special event as a part of our Korean Literature Night (KLN) with poet Hakjung Kim and this event will be presented at the KCCUK. Poet Hakjung Kim will share his thoughts about why writing as a minority voice in contemporary Korea matters. With the moderator Eugene Kim, Hakjung Kim … [Read More]
August Literature Night: Pachinko and Kim Jiyoung Born 1982
This August we will read the novel ‘Pachinko’ by Min Jin Lee and ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’ by Cho Nam-Joo. This month will also feature a special discussion Zoom event, with all participants able to turn on the camera, speak, and discuss the work during the talk. Prof. Jieun Kiaer (Professor of Korean Language and … [Read More]
Tiger is Coming: Make, Break, Remix
Join us for an exclusive Q&A with author Fiona Bae in conversation with Robert Bound, Senior Correspondent at Monocle, to mark the launch of her new book Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-Style, a bold, stylish look at the global rise of Korean culture and style in the words and images of those shaping … [Read More]
Brief review: Concerning My Daughter
Kim Hye-jin’s Concerning My Daughter is set in a world of agency workers, where no-one has enough money, still less any job security; a world in which a university lecturer gets fired for being gay; a world in which a nursing home asks their staff to cut down on basic hygiene tasks and neglect their … [Read More]
Book launch: Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop
Join author Ramon Pacheco Pardo for the launch of his book Shrimp to Whale: From the Forgotten War to K-Pop and learn about the the incredible rise of South Korea, from colonisation and civil war to today’s thriving nation. ABOUT THE BOOK South Korea has a remarkable history. Born from the ashes of imperial domination, … [Read More]
May Literature Night: Winter in Sokcho
The Korean Literature Night is a monthly discussion group that explores various themes and topics relating to that month’s chosen book. For May we will read the novel Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin. Author Elisa Shua Dusapin and translator Aneesa Abbas Higgins will join us for a live virtual talk about the novel ‘Winter … [Read More]
Two doomed love affairs by Choi Eun-young and Shin Kyung-sook
A parallel review of Shin Kyung-sook’s The Place where the Harmonium Was and Choi Eun-young’s The Summer. Two vivid depictions of the joy and pain of relationships. The Summer is a straightforward and immediately appealing read; The Harmonium is more difficult but nevertheless rewarding. [Read More]
Congratulations to Bora Chung, Anton Hur and Honford Star
Congratulations to author Bora Chung, translator Anton Hur and publisher Honford Star for Cursed Bunny’s inclusion in the International Booker Prize shortlist. Anton Hur had the distinction of having two of his translations longlisted, the other one being Sang Young Park’s Love in the Big City. It was also nice to see one title from … [Read More]