UK journalist asks: What is the Korea we refuse to see?

As individuals, we often see ourselves through the lens of others, giving careful consideration to how we are viewed. However, as a country of such individuals, we may not see or refuse to acknowledge the reality of our social and cultural dynamics until someone -- likely an outsider with an insider’s view -- points it out. A recent book by Raphael Rashid, a Seoul-based freelance journalist from the UK, does just that. In his book “The Korea We Refuse to See,” written in K

Aug. 29, 2022

‘Shrimp to Whale’: Well-told story of S. Korea’s rise to spotlight

From BTS to Squid Game, to its internationally heralded handling of COVID-19, South Korea is enjoying the spotlight on the global stage. Yet, books on Korea out there often feel stale and outdated. If not tunnel-visioned on the country’s economic success, South Korea is a nation heavily seen through the lens of geopolitics, or a country technically still at war. In his book “Shrimp to Whale: South Korea from the Forgotten War to K-Pop,” Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of i

May 26, 2022

Seoul-based Australian academic wins N.S.W. Premier’s Literary Awards

  Dan Disney, a professor at Sogang University, has received the N.S.W. Premier’s Award for Poetry for his latest poem collection “accelerations & inertias.” Disney, who has lived in South Korea for 12 years, was given the Kenneth Slessor Award, which comes with a cash prize of 30,000 Australian dollars ($21,000). Published in 2021 by Vagabond Press, the collection “dissects the psychogeography of information, knowledge and lived experience of place and tim

May 19, 2022

[Book Review] Samsung ex-CEO recalls 'great' chip deal that built Apple empire in memoir

Apple’s ecosystem of a wide array of devices including the iPhone would have remained an elusive dream had Steve Jobs failed to address the memory glitches in iPods in the early 2000s. The idea of iPhone, iPad, iTV and MacBook Air scribbled on Jobs’ whiteboard in December 2004 struck Hwang Chang-gyu, the then-president of semiconductor business at Samsung Electronics, as he was on the verge of a handshake with Jobs in California to replace iPod’s hard disk drives with flash me

May 5, 2022

S. Korea to participate in this year's Bogota book fair as honorary guest

South Korea will take part as a guest of honor in the Bogota International Book Fair (FILBO) set to open in Colombia's capital this month to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, the South Korean culture ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the country will hold various exhibitions, seminars as well as literary and cultural events under the theme of "togetherness, convivencia" at the fair. Launched in 1988, FILBO is

April 13, 2022

Korean novels published overseas win multiple prizes on global stage

The presence of Korean literature is growing widely in the world as local translations have won or been nominated for multiple prizes from literature awards outside of the country. An English translation of Chung Bora's "Cursed Bunny" published by British publisher Honford Star was chosen as one of the six finalists for this year's International Booker Prize announced Thursday. She became the second Korean author to make the shortlist after Han Kang, who achieved the feat in 2016 and 2

April 8, 2022

Korean books to watch for this spring

Park Sang-young's queer coming-of-age tale “Love in the Big City” (translated by Anton Hur) is one of two Korean novels longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. Together with Bora Chung’s ”Cursed Bunny,“ Park‘s debut novel and first book to be translated into English highlights the diversity of contemporary Korean literature. Chung’s short story collection tackles a variety of styles and concepts, from surreal horror and dark fairytales to sci

March 31, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Cursed Bunny’ author Bora Chung on writing from the margins

Like her stories, Bora Chung radiates terse, fierce energy like an electrical cable cut open. On a Thursday morning exactly one week after “Cursed Bunny” -- her collection of 10 short stories translated by Anton Hur -- was announced among the works longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, Chung told The Korea Herald that she was still in shock. “Suddenly people are mentioning my name in the same sentence with Han Kang and Olga Tokarczuk, and I feel this is surreal

March 30, 2022

Published screenplays of hit TV series make bestselling book lists

Popular TV series have recently made their presence felt not only on the global viewership charts but also on local bestselling book lists. The script book of the romantic comedy "Our Beloved Summer," published on Feb. 16, placed second on the weekly bestsellers list for the third week of February by Kyobo Book Center, the biggest bookstore chain in South Korea. On the weekly sales list of Yes24, a local online bookstore, preorders of the series' screenplay book also ranked third in th

March 11, 2022

[Book Review] In ‘Future of Silence,’ Korean women’s voices resound across generations

We turn to literature to understand ourselves and others, across boundaries of time, space, and culture. When fictional characters reveal the whole, unvarnished truth of their lives, it can be a mirror to our own. Readers may experience such moments of recognition while reading “The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women,” a collection of nine short stories spanning five decades from the 1970s to 2010s. In them, women find themselves in situations ranging from the Kafkaesque t

Feb. 24, 2022

2 Korean children's books win prizes at Bolgna Ragazzi Awards

Two South Korean children's books have won prizes at this year's Bologna Ragazzi Awards, one of the world's largest honors for kids' books and illustrations. "Summer," written and drawn by Suzy Lee, was listed as one of the three Special Mention works in the Fiction category, the organizers of the awards said Wednesday (Korean time) on its website. In the Non-Fiction section, "Father's big hands" by Choi Deok-kyu was also selected as a Special Mention piece. "Summer

Feb. 23, 2022

Book of late S. Korean poet Cho's poems published in English

A book of more than 80 poems of late renowned South Korean poet Cho Ji-hoon was published in English in New York more than half a century after his death, his family said Friday. A ceremony celebrating the publication took place in New York on the day with the attendance of South Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations Cho Tae-yul, the third son of the poet, and his other family members.The publishing company, Cross-Cultural Communications, published the book, entitled "Shedding of the Pet

Sept. 21, 2019

New young adult English novel to recount devastation of Japanese wartime sexual slavery

A young adult novel on Japan's wartime sexual slavery, which was recently translated into English, will hit the shelves in the United States and other countries this year to recount the devastation of the Japanese wartime atrocity, according to its publisher Thursday.The 248-page novel, "Trampled Blossoms: What They Stole from Grandma," written by Moon Young-sook and translated by David Carruth, will go on sale at the US online bookseller Amazon and through other global circulation cha

Aug. 22, 2019

Han Kang hands over book to Norway's 'Future Library' project

Prize-winning South Korean novelist Han Kang has handed over a novel to the Norwegian public arts project "Future Library," with her writing to remain unpublished and unread for nearly a century.The 2016 winner of the Man Booker International prize for her novel "The Vegetarian" has been chosen as the fifth writer for the Norwegian project along with 99 renowned authors including English writer David Mitchell. Their works will be kept in secret and published a century later o

May 27, 2019

17th century novel 'Hong Gil-dong jeon' written in Chinese characters discovered

A 17th century manuscript of "Hong Gil-dong jeon" written in Chinese characters has been found in a literary collection left by a civil official of the middle Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), a scholar said Wednesday."The Story of Hong Gil-dong," the first Chinese-character version that has been ever found, is different from the novel of the same name written in the Korean language, whose authorship is generally attributed to Heo Gyun (1569-1618), a radical intellectual. (Yonhap)Lee Yoon-suk, a forme

April 24, 2019

130,000 copies of Korean feminist novel 'Kim Ji-young' printed in Japan

US than 130,000 times since its release more than three months ago, the book's South Korean publisher said Tuesday.The translated version of the book by Cho Nan-joo hit the Japanese market on Dec. 8 and immediately went into a second printing the next day.On the fourth day of its release, the novel went into its third printing, and it has since surpassed 130,000 copies in three months, its Korean publisher Minumsa said, quoting data from Chikuma Shobo, the Japanese publisher. This photo provided

April 2, 2019

Han Kang's novel shortlisted for Man Booker Int'l Prize

South Korean novelist Han Kang, the 2016 winner of the Man Booker International Prize, has been shortlisted for the British literary award of world authority, the organizer said Thursday (British local time).Han's "The White Book" is among the six finalists for the 2018 Man Booker prize. The 2015 winner, Laszlo Krasznahorkai from Hungary, also made the list."The White Book" was translated by Deborah Smith, who was a joint recipient, along with Han, of the Man Booker award two years ago for her t

April 13, 2018

Han Kang's latest novel nominated for Man Booker Int'l Prize

South Korean novelist Han Kang, who won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, has again been longlisted for the British literary award of world authority.Han's "The White Book" was among the 13 contenders picked from 108 entries for the 2018 prize, according to the announcement on the organizer's website Monday (British local time).It was translated by Deborah Smith, who was a joint recipient, along with Han, of the Man Booker award two years ago for her translation of "The Vegetarian."Fir

March 13, 2018

Chae Man-shik, compromised conscience of occupied nation

Chae Man-shik was a prolific Korean novelist, playwright, literary critic, journalist and essayist who boldly confronted society’s pretensions and predicaments under the restrictions of Japan’s colonial occupation using satire.Born in 1902 in Okgu, present-day Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, Chae lived true to his calling as a public intellectual, practicing his “publish-or-perish” ethos until succumbing to tuberculosis in 1950. In a span of about 25 years he produced some 290 novels, tales, play

July 20, 2017

Mistranslation of ‘The Vegetarian’?

A slew of controversies surrounding the English translation of Han Kang’s award-winning "The Vegetarian" have started numerous conversations about accuracy and readability. Even if there were some mistranslations, they should not offend the masses, a literary critic said."The Vegetarian," winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize with translation by British translator Deborah Smith."The Vegetarian" tells the story of a woman who decides to become a vegetarian after waking up from a blood

July 3, 2017