Kim Yideum: Blood Sisters Translated by Jiyoon Lee Deep Vellum, 2019, 202pp Originally published as 블러드 시스터즈 by Munhakdongne, 2011 I seem to be on a roll with translated fiction this year. Two disappointments (Marilyn and Me and Kim Jiyoung), but now seven that are highly recommendable. I picked this novel off the reading pile … [Read More]
Category: Translated Korean literature (page 7)
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]
Book review: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Cho Nam-joo: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 Translated by Jamie Chang Scribner, 2020, 163pp Originally published as 82년생 김지영, Minumsa, 2016. Kim Jiyoung, as the blurb on the back cover of this translated novel tells us, is every woman. Her given name is unremarkable, familiar, and of course her family name is the most common in … [Read More]
Book review: Jeon Sungtae – Wolves
Jeon Sungtae: Wolves Translated by Sora Kim-Russell White Pine Press, 2017, 196pp Originally published as 늑대, Changbi Publishers, 2009 Jeon Sungtae’s Wolves takes us to another world – the world of Mongolia in the early years of this century, a decade after the adoption of capitalism. The country is modernising rapidly, but out on the … [Read More]
Review: Bae Suah — Untold Night and Day
Bae Suah: Untold Night and Day Translated by Deborah Smith Jonathan Cape 2020, 152pp Originally published as 알려지지 않은 밤과 하루, Jaeumgwa Moeum, 2013 Let me say up-front that I have never regarded myself as a Bae Suah fan. My first encounter with her – Highway with Green Apples – registers in my memory as … [Read More]
March Literature Night: Nine Cloud Dream CANCELLED
This event is now cancelled as the KCC has closed, in common with many cultural venues, as a result of the health situation. The second literature night of 2020 is the classic tale Kuunmong The Nine Cloud Dream By Man-Jung Kim Wednesday 25th March 7-9pm @ KCCUK Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 2600 … [Read More]
Book review: Cheon Un-yeong — The Catcher in the Loft
Cheon Un-yeong: The Catcher in the Loft Translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton Codhill Press, 2019, 191pp Originally published as 생강, Changbi Publishers, 2011 This book came almost out of nowhere. Cheon Un-yeong’s Ali Skips Rope was one of the short stories in the excellent collection The Future of Silence – very approachable, but not … [Read More]
Cho Nam-Joo talks about ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’ at Waterstones TCR CANCELLED
The first big book event of 2020, but sadly now cancelled: TCR Presents: Cho Nam-Joo on ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’ Monday 9th March 18:30 – 20:30 Waterstones | 19-20 Tottenham Court Road | London W1T 1BJ Tickets £7 | Book tickets Join us as we celebrate International Women’s Day (8th March) in partnership with the … [Read More]
Book review: Marilyn and Me
“Where did all the beautiful and hopeful young women go?” That was the thought that occurred to author Ji-Min Lee, looking back at the grim post-war years, and looking at a couple of photographs from the period: one of Marilyn Monroe performing for the US troops in Korea, and one of a female interpreter sandwiched … [Read More]
Review: JM Lee – The Boy who Escaped Paradise
The Boy Who Escaped Paradise J.M. Lee, translated by Chi Young Kim Pegasus, 2016, 288pp Originally published as 천국의 소년, Seoul, 2013. A fifty-year-old North Korean is found shot to death in a flat in Queens, New York; beside him is a wounded man, the presumed killer. On the floor around the bodies are mysterious … [Read More]
Brief book review: The Plotters
Kim Un-su: The Plotters Translated by Sora Kim-Russell Fourth Estate, 2019, 304 pp Originally published as 설계자들, Seoul 2010 I always find when embarking on a new book it pays to have neutral expectations. That way you won’t be disappointed. But sometimes it’s hard to filter out your own personal prejudices and the word of … [Read More]
Book review: When Adam Opens His Eyes
Jang Jung-il: When Adam Opens His Eyes Translated by Hwang Sun-ae and Horace Jeffery Hodges Dalkey Archive 2013, 126 pp Originally published as 아담이 눈뜰 때, Kimyeongsa, Seoul, 1990 Deleuze, Lacan, Bataille… if you’re reading a text that references any of those thinkers, you’re probably reading a rather turgid book on postcolonial or film studies, … [Read More]
February literature night: Marilyn and Me by Ji-Min Lee
The KCC’s literature nights kick off in 2020 with one of 2019’s under-the-radar publications. Ji-Min Lee: Marilyn and Me Wednesday 26 February 2020, 7pm @KCCUK Entrance Free – Booking Essential Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 2600 with your name and contact details by Monday 3 February, or register on the KCC website. The booking … [Read More]
Upcoming literature and fiction titles in 2020 [updated]
![Thumbnail for post: Upcoming literature and fiction titles in 2020 [updated]](https://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/upcoming-fiction-120x120.jpg)
I’m hoping that, as in previous years, by posting my own list of upcoming literature and fiction titles – pulled together by some targeted searching on Amazon and a trawl through Barbara J Zitwer’s website – I might persuade others to supplement it from their own specialist knowledge. Whatever happens, books inevitably fall through the … [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]