I struggled with previous KLTI Essay Contests. With There a Petal Silently Falls, having read it three times, I still couldn’t find an angle into it, and although I wrote an essay it was a pretty uninspired offering. With Who Ate Up all the Shinga, I probably enjoyed the book more, but again couldn’t really connect … [Read More]
Category: Translated Korean literature (page 11)
A look back at some of the books of 2017
This year, I haven’t even come close to keeping up with the volume of newly-published literature in translation, let alone the plethora of new non-fiction. Perhaps to balance my feelings of guilt at falling behind the pace of new publications, I’ve tried to make inroads into my guilt pile in respect of previous years – … [Read More]
Kim Ae-ran: The Essay Contest
UPDATE: Deadline now extended to 30 April 2018. It’s been ages since we last had an essay contest. If I remember right, we’ve had two that have been specifically targeted at UK-based readers: back in 2009 we had one based on Ch’oe Yun’s There a Petal Silently Falls, and then the following year we were … [Read More]
On reading Han Kang’s White Book by the pool
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 … [Read More]
Book review: Han Yujoo – The Impossible Fairy Tale
Han Yujoo: The Impossible Fairy Tale translated by Janet Hong Graywolf Press, MN, USA 192pp / Tilted Axis Press, UK 352pp / 2017 Originally published as 불가능한 동화 (pub 문학과지성사, 2013) Sometimes, I like having my brain stretched when reading a book: something to get stuck into, to make me think. But there are limits. I … [Read More]
Han Kang launches her White Book in London & Manchester
Waterstones will be hosting events to celebrate the launch of Han Kang’s White Book this month. I fear the London event seems to be booked out already, but you can always go up to Manchester: Han Kang in conversation With Max Porter, London Tottenham Court Road, 13 Nov 6:30pm Details With Deborah Smith, Manchester Deansgate, … [Read More]
Event news: Kim Kyung-ju poetry tour
Kim Kyung Ju will be visiting the UK this month with his translator, Jake Levine, to take part in the events below. Kim’s first work to be published in English is I am a Season That Does Not Exist in This World, published by Black Ocean last year. His two plays and another poetry collection … [Read More]
Event news: Hwang Sok-yong introduces Familiar Things at Asia House
Hwang Sok-yong will be heading down to London from the Edinburgh International Book Festival to talk about his latest novel to be translated into English: Hwang Sok-yong: A Modern Tale of Poverty Asia House | 63 New Cavendish Street | London W1G 7LP August 17, 2017, 18:45 – 20:00 £10, Conc £8, Members £5 | … [Read More]
Event news: Han Yujoo launches The Impossible Fairytale
Tilted Axis Press, LTI Korea and The Asia Literary Agency present Han Yujoo talking about her newly translated novel: Metafictional Murder in South Korea Free Word Centre | 60 Farringdon Road | London EC1R 3GA | www.freewordcentre.com Monday 10 Jul 2017, 6:45pm – 8:00pm | Book tickets Join one of South Korea’s hottest young authors to launch her … [Read More]
Event news: Translation Pitch — East and Southeast Asia
English PEN, the Free Word Centre and the Asia Literary Review bring together six translators to pitch their translation projects. For Korea, Jason Woodruff pitches Kim Soom’s The Shoe – an exploration of recent history via art restoration – and Sophie Bowman presents Kim Boyoung’s I’m Waiting for You – a series of love letters … [Read More]
A Korea focus in this week’s TLS
This week’s Times Literary Supplement (26 May 2017) contains no fewer than four Korea-related article-reviews: Min Jin Lee on Bandi’s The Accusation (Serpent’s Tail) (LKL review here), JM Lee’s The Boy who Escaped Paradise (Norton), Yi Mun-yol’s Meeting with my Brother (Columbia) and Jieun Baek’s North Korea’s Hidden Revolution (Yale) Houman Barekat on Han Yujoo’s … [Read More]
Book review: Waxen Wings
There are plenty of anthologies of Korean translated fiction available, and many of them are edited and / or translated by Bruce Fulton, usually with Ju-Chan Fulton involved in the project too. I recently enjoyed the Fultons’ collection The Future of Silence, which reintroduced me to the format after an absence of rather too long. … [Read More]
Book review: Song Sokze — The Amusing Life
Song Sokze: The Amusing Life Translated by Se-un Kim Dalkey Archive, 2016, 233pp Originally published as 재미나는 인생, Kang Publishing Ltd, 1997 The most recent book to be discussed at the KCC’s monthly book club was Song Sokze’s The Amusing Life, a collection of around 50 short “stories”. None of these pieces will detain you … [Read More]
Modern Poetry in Translation – the Korean issue
The latest volume of Modern Poetry in Translation magazine has a focus on Korean poetry. The subtitle of the issue is The Blue Vein – a reference to a line from Kim Hyesoon’s work included in the volume. “Every morning the sky, the blue vein slaps you hard.” The extract is from Kim Hyesoon’s latest … [Read More]
Event news: Poetry reading by Don Mee Choi
After this evening’s poetry reading in the Coronet Theatre’s wonderful Print Room in Notting Hill Gate, Don Mee Choi will be giving another reading at SOAS, tomorrow evening. She promises she will be wearing a special costume for the occasion, at which she will be reading from her 2016 work, Hardly War. Poetry reading by … [Read More]
Book review: Bandi — The Accusation
Bandi: The Accusation – Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea Translated by Deborah Smith Serpents Tail 2017, 245 pp Originally published as 고발, Chogabje.com, 2014. Mike Breen, in his book The New Koreans, describes han as “a kind of rage and helplessness that is sublimated and lingers like an inactive resentment” and is often evidenced in … [Read More]