Join Professor Jieun Kiaer for a special evening of storytelling, poetry, and food — an exploration of Korean motherhood, memory, and everyday love. Jieun will talk about her newly released novel Seoul Mothers — a powerful and poignant story of three women navigating parenting, ambition, and identity in contemporary Seoul. She will also share selected … [Read More]
Category: Translated Korean literature
Kim Hyesoon & Will Harris: Autobiography of Death
Join the London Review Bookshop for an evening of poetry with Kim Hyesoon, one South Korea’s foremost poets. Her groundbreaking and radically feminist poetry – ‘a transnational collision of shamanism, Modernism, and feminism’ (Griffin Prize Judges) – has been translated into English by poet Don Mee Choi for over a decade. We celebrate the latest … [Read More]
Book talk: Sohn Won-Pyung’s Counterattacks at Thirty
In celebration of the UK publication of ‘Counterattacks at Thirty’ by Sohn Won-Pyung, the KCC is bringing you an online event featuring translator Sean Lin Halbert and Anton Hur, an award-winning translator of Cursed Bunny, Love in the Big City, and author of Toward Eternity. We’ll be diving into: – The art of translation … [Read More]
Snowy Day – a new collection of Lee Chang-dong short stories
I’ve been following Korean literature in translation now for around 25 years. Back in the day, I’d buy everything I could lay my hands on – after all, there wasn’t much of it around, so there wasn’t much financial commitment involved. At the time, most of the literature available was originally written more than thirty … [Read More]
Between Popular and Canonical Texts: Curating Korean Literature in Cross-Cultural Contexts
KCCUK are delighted to announce a distinguished event on 16th January, featuring Dr. Grace Koh from SOAS University of London. This special evening offers an exceptional opportunity to explore the beauty of Korean literature and its profound significance in the UK, through an engaging dialogue with Dr. Grace Koh. In this seminar, Grace Koh will … [Read More]
Bestselling and Beloved: Korean Literary Treasures
The Korean Cultural Centre UK is pleased to present ‘Bestselling and Beloved,’ a special exhibition that delves into the heart of Korean literature, showcasing both its enduring classics and its dynamic contemporary scene, with a spotlight on Nobel Laureate Han Kang. Exploring beloved Korean literature and contemporary classics, the exhibition illuminates the broader contours of … [Read More]
Meet the authors: Eun Hee-kyung and Lee Geum-yi
Two eminent novelists are making their way to England to meet Korean literature enthusiasts in London and Kingston: Eun Hee-kyung A renowned novelist representing Korea since the 1990s, Eun Hee-kyung is celebrated for her evocative depictions of everyday life and her insightful exploration of life’s subtle truths. Her works vividly portray the nuances of seemingly … [Read More]
Book talk: Return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store
Meet the author and the translator of the international bestseller ‘Dallergut Dream Department Store‘ returning with the English translated version of ‘Return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store’ this November. The author Miye Lee and the translator Sandy Joosun Lee will join us via video-link for a discussion about their captivating work. This is an … [Read More]
Foyles Korean Culture Month: Miye Lee in Conversation
The author and translator of international bestseller DallerGut Dream Department Store join us via video-link for a discussion about their captivating work, as part of the Korean Culture Month programme at Foyles. Miye Lee was born in Busan in 1990. After graduating from the Busan National University School of Materials Science and Engineering, she worked … [Read More]
KCC Literature Night: Kang Hwagil’s Another Person, with Clare Richards
KCCUK is delighted to announce an in-person talk with translator Clare Richards about her translated work, Kang Hwa-gil’s novel Another Person. Starting with Jina’s voice, the novel explores different viewpoints, building a full picture of the incident. A riveting and uncompromising campus novel, Another Person is a confronting and timely book exploring the long-lasting consequences of sexism … [Read More]
Book talk: The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre
KCCUK is pleased to announce the forthcoming author talk with Cho Yeeun about her novel ‘The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre’, published this month. This is an in-person event at the Korean Cultural Centre with the author Cho Yeeun joining via video-link. Join us to discover more about Yeeun’s inspirations and work. Set in a … [Read More]
Book talk: The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories
The KCCUK is pleased to announce a talk about the Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories with the editor Bruce Fulton, moderated by Grace Koh. This eclectic, moving and enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to Korean literature. Journeying through Korea’s dramatic twentieth century, from the Japanese occupation and colonial era to the devastating Korean … [Read More]
A look back at the books we encountered in 2023
When it comes to fiction, 2023 was a year that defied my expectations. Those novels that I hoped or expected to enjoy turned out to be disappointments; those that I thought might be heavy going turned out to be enjoyable. It was a reminder to try better to abide by the maxim of approaching a … [Read More]
Korean Culture Month: Cheon Myeong-kwan talks to Martin Colthorpe
In celebration of Korean Culture Month at Foyles Charing Cross Road, we are delighted to welcome Cheon Myeong-kwan via video-link from Korea for an interview with Martin Colthorpe about his International Booker Prize-shortlisted novel Whale. Originally published in Korean in 2004, Whale secured Cheon the prestigious Korea New Writer Award and, with a place on … [Read More]
Book review: JM Lee – Painter of the Wind
In The Investigation (2012, English version 2014), JM Lee gave readers an historical novel combined with a course in poetry appreciation. Somehow, it didn’t work for us. In Painter of the Wind, Lee gives his readers an historical novel combined with a course in art appreciation and it works a lot better. The novel was … [Read More]
Strangers Press releases a new series of eight short story translations
Strangers Press, which brought us Yeoyu, a series of eight translated short story chapbooks in 2019, this week released a follow-up. The new series is entitled Iyagi and features works by both established and emerging authors – including what seems to be a posthumously published work by Park Wansuh. According to the publisher, “Each of these … [Read More]