This book by David Straub, head of the political section in the US Embassy in Seoul 1999-2002, has just gone onto my wishlist. Reviews by Aidan Foster Carter in the Korea JoongAng Daily and by Bradley K Martin in Asia Times. Available from Amazon.co.uk. Published by Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and distributed by the … [Read More]
Books and literature (page 19)
Event news: August’s literature night features Jung Young Moon
The last two literature nights featuring Hwang Sun-won and Park Wan-suh have been really rewarding. Even if you’re not wholly convinced about the subject book, the opportunity to discuss it with others always provides different ways of looking at it. I hope I’ll get around to writing about both books – Park Wan-suh’s Lonesome You … [Read More]
Those foreigner-friendly cookery books keep on coming…
Time was when you really couldn’t lay your hands on a cookery book focusing on Korean food that was written by someone who understood the UK market. We were all waiting for Judy Joo’s Korean Food Made Simple – which according to Amazon was published on 19 May this year, though it was available on … [Read More]
Book review: Cheon Myeong-kwan — Modern Family
Cheon Myeong-kwan: Modern Family Translated by Kyoung-lee Park White Pine Press Korean Voices Series, 2015 Originally published as 고령화 가족 by Munhakdongne Publishing Corp, 2010 The KCC has been running its Korean Literature Nights for more than two years now. The discussion group has an enthusiastic and regular following, to the extent that seats have … [Read More]
Han Kang’s Vegetarian wins the Man Booker International Prize
The news that Han Kang and Deborah Smith had won the Man Booker International prize for The Vegetarian, sharing £50,000 between them, reached me on Tuesday morning, 17th May, in a hotel room of a vast Lotte resort celebrating Baekje cultural heritage just outside of Buyeo, Chungcheongnamdo. I saw the news on Facebook, and just … [Read More]
Event news: an evening with Korean authors Han Yujoo and Cheon Myeong-kwan
Cheon Myeong-Kwan and Han Yujoo are being made to work hard during their visit to London in support of the special Korea issue of the Asia Literary Review. Asia House on 10 May (with Deborah Smith), SOAS on 12 May (again with Deborah Smith), and KCC on 13 May (with Kelly Falconer): Korean Literature Night: … [Read More]
Tony’s Reading List plugs Bae Suah
There’s a great article in support of Bae Suah’s Nowhere to be Found (tr Sora Kim-Russell) on Three Percent, by Tony of Tony’s Reading List fame. A year ago he did a review of Nowhere to be Found along with Highway with Green Apples. And in his Three Percent article he passes on this bit of … [Read More]
Event news: K-Lit in the age of Korean Cool
For those who are lucky enough to get to the Korean Literature Night at the KCC this month, the author of the featured book will be at Asia House a couple of weeks later: K-Lit in the age of Korean Cool 10 May, 2016, 18:45 – 20:30 Asia House | Book here Hallyu – the … [Read More]
KCC’s April Korean Literature Night features Cheon Myung-kwan’s Modern Family
Cheon Myung-kwan is definitely author of the month – he’s appearing at Asia House in May as well as being the subject of this month’s Korean Literature Night. The novel was made into the movie Boomerang Family by director Song Hae-sung, which was the closing gala screening of the 2013 London Korean Film Festival. Korean … [Read More]
Hong Gildong coming soon to Penguin Classics
I wonder why it’s taken so long. But coming soon, in a new translation by Minsoo Kang, is The Story of Hong Gildong, “arguably the single most important work of classic Korean fiction,” according to the publishers, Penguin Classics. A release date of 7 July 2016 is mentioned, though Amazon UK is offering it on … [Read More]
Why Han Kang’s Human Acts is likely to be my book of the year
Han Kang: Human Acts Translated by Deborah Smith Portobello Books, 2016, 224pp Originally published as 소년이 온다, Changbi Publishers Inc, Seoul, 2014 Han Kang’s Human Acts hits the bookshelves in the UK just as The Vegetarian starts to make waves in the US. The latter book has already made its mark in the UK, making … [Read More]
2016 Korean Literature Nights
Here are the Korean Literature Nights currently scheduled for 2016. Thu 25 Feb The Investigation By Lee Jung-myung Fukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered. Yuichi Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is ordered to investigate. The victim, Sugiyama – also a … [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]
Event news: Korean ‘Comfort Women’ — Listen to Their Voices, Hear Their Cries.
A timely new book on the Comfort Woman issue is out about now from Palgrave McMillan. Its author, Dr Maki Kimura, will be giving a talk at SOAS on 12 February: Korean ‘Comfort Women’: Listen to Their Voices, Hear Their Cries presented by the SOAS Save Jeju Island Society 6:30pm, Friday 12th, 2016, SOAS main … [Read More]
A look back at the books of 2015
In place of our annual “LKL Awards” post, we look at some of the highlights of 2015 in the area of books, film and music. Apart from the field of literature in translation (and of course I’m talking Han Kang here), there are no clear winners or I haven’t covered enough ground to choose one. … [Read More]
Double book review: two takes on Shin Sang-ok
Paul Fischer: A Kim Jong-il Production Penguin / Viking 2015, 353pp Steven Chung: Split Screen Korea – Shin Sang-ok and Postwar Cinema University of Minnesota Press 2014, 262pp The story of actress Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok combines elements of both romance and thriller as well as representing important phases in the history of film … [Read More]