Summer sizzles with mystery, horror, thriller novels

As the heat wave swept through Korea, so did the feverish appetite for spine-chilling tales and gripping mysteries. In July, sales of mystery, horror and thriller novels rose by 56.1 percent over the previous month, according to Yes24, Korea's largest online book retailer. The novels behind recent drama adaptations led the July bestseller lists, while support for genre-specific writers remained strong and major publishing houses released anthologies. Original novels of drama adaptations l

Aug. 14, 2023

New translation prize looks for talent to translate Penguin book

The 2023 New Translator Prize, launched by the Charm Agency, a literary agency based in Seoul, together with New York-based Barbara J. Zitwer Agency, is seeking to discover emerging, talented Korean-English translators. The competition running from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 welcomes submissions from both professional translators and budding enthusiasts who translate Korean literature into English, regardless of age or nationality. The chosen literary work is the winning title of the 2022 New Korean Voic

Aug. 11, 2023

[New in Korean] Post-apocalyptic novel set near Seoul where no humans live

"No Human's Land" By Kim Jeong Changbi Publishers Heat wave warnings are a daily occurrence and the UN says Earth is now in an "era of global boiling." What will Seoul look like in 2050? In “No Human’s Land,” an unprecedented climate disaster strikes and the UN designates various places as uninhabitable. The Korean Peninsula, too, sees its entire territory designated as a “No Human's Land,” and people have left, leaving behind a desolat

Aug. 6, 2023

[New in Korean] 21st century Faust 'Mundus,' inspired by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk

"Mundus" By Kim Jong-young Galmuri Publisher The Hwang Woo-suk scandal in 2005 plunged the entire nation into shock and confusion. The promising scientist claimed an epic scientific breakthrough by successfully cloning human embryos. However, after a series of controversies, it became apparent that his revolutionary research had been manipulated. Kim Jong-young, a sociology professor at Kyung Hee University, created a 21st-century Faust inspired by the disgraced scientist, who was once

Aug. 5, 2023

[New in Korean] Award-winning ‘Tank’ explores faith, belief through cinematic storytelling

"The Tank" By Kim Hee-jae Hankyoreh Publishing A debut novel by Kim Hee-jae, “Tank,” won the 28th Hankyoreh Literary Award with a gripping, speedy narrative, according to the Hankyoreh Publishing. At the core of the novel lies a unique concept called the “autonomous prayer system,” which is a space that exists without a religious leader or doctrines. The tank is an empty container -- a prayer room of about 5 pyeong or 16.5 square meters -- standing on a hill in

Aug. 5, 2023

Bestselling books since 2000: Self-help, essays reign supreme

"The Lessons of SayNo" (direct translation), penned by an anonymous writer who goes by the pseudonym SayNo, achieved an impressive 20 consecutive week reign at the top spot in the weekly bestseller rankings of Kyobo Book Center, as of Thursday. Since its release on March 2, the book has been a top-selling title, dominating the bestseller list for the first half of the year. Although it briefly relinquished the top spot to “A Study of Science by Liberal Arts Man” by former h

Aug. 5, 2023

[Herald Interview] Lee So-ho expands her literary world with ‘Home Sweet Home’

“For those who are looking for ‘home’ even if there is ‘house,’” Lee So-ho writes in the dedication to her third and latest poetry collection, “Home Sweet Home.” Lee describes the collection as "poetry of the outsider.” “I often see myself as a stranger, an outsider even within my own family. People do have moments when they feel like they don’t belong in their own homes. This sense of alienation and marginalization is the co

July 31, 2023

[Herald Interview] Canonical Korean short stories now in English as Penguin Classics

Must-read canonical Korean short stories are now available in English through "The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories," part of the Penguin Classics collection. The anthology, co-curated and edited by Bruce Fulton, a translator and professor of Korean Literature and Literary Translation at the University of British Columbia, marks a milestone as the first collection of Korean literature to join the esteemed Penguin Classics series. The book is described as an “eclectic, moving

July 29, 2023

Poet Kim Hye-soon invited to poetry reading at Harvard

South Korean poet Kim Hye-soon is to give a poetry reading at Harvard University in October. Kim has been invited to the T. S. Eliot Memorial Reading event at the Woodberry Poetry Room in Harvard University’s Lamont Library on Oct. 2, according to Moonji Publishing on Wednesday. The English edition of Kim's 13th volume of poems, “Phantom Pain Wings,” was published in the US by New Directions Publishing in May. The original Korean edition of the collection of 72 poems was p

July 26, 2023

Culture Ministry, Seoul book fair organizer clash over audit

Tensions between the Culture Ministry and the Korean Publishers Association, the organizer of the Seoul International Book Fair, reached a boiling point Tuesday as the two exchanged allegations and criticisms over the association's earnings disclosure. On Tuesday morning, the ministry said in a statement that the chairman of the KPA is attempting to "evade responsibility" and "distort facts" over the ministry's audit of the book fair, in which it said it found finan

July 25, 2023

Seoul book fair organizer withholding details on earnings, Culture Ministry charges

The organizer of the Seoul International Book Fair allegedly did not disclose breakdowns of its earnings from the fair since 2018, the culture minister said Monday. Minister Park Bo-gyoon also accused the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, a public institution under the ministry that oversees distribution and use of government subsidies to the fair organizer, of lax supervision. The Korean Publishers Association, the organizer of the annual book fair, failed to provide detailed info

July 24, 2023

‘Lore Olympus’ wins Eisner Awards for 2nd consecutive year

Naver Webtoon’s "Lore Olympus" notched its second win at the Eisner Awards on Sunday. At the award's 35th edition held at San Diego Comic-Con International, “Lore Olympus” was selected as the winner of the Best Webcomic prize, according to Naver Webtoon, the tech giant’s digital comics platform. Named after Will Eisner, a pioneer in the American comic book industry, the Eisner Awards are regarded as the Oscars for comic books in North America. “Lore O

July 24, 2023

[New in Korean] Emerging SF writer enchants with cosmic fairytales in award-winning 'haenyeo' story

"The Tidal Future" By Seo Yoon-bin Hubble Seo Yoon-bin, who won the grand prize at the Fifth Korean Science Literature Award for medium-length and short stories last year, has published his first collection of short stories, "The Tidal Future." As an emerging and promising young sci-fi writer, Seo has captured considerable attention after securing the prize previously won by notable figures in the genre like Kim Cho-yeop and Cheon Seon-ran. In his award-winning short story, &

July 23, 2023

[New in Korean] Jang Ryu-jin offers hyperrealistic portrayal of joys, sorrows of office workers

"The Training" (working title) By Jang Ryu-jin Changbi Publishers Jang Ryu-jin's latest compilation of six short stories titled “The Training” makes for a delightful reading experience with its fast-paced plot and witty dialogue. Jang’s second collection follows in the footsteps of her first work, “The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work” (2018), offering a lighthearted consolation to young individuals worn out by the daily grind. As one of the leading youn

July 22, 2023

[New in Korean] True story of former drug dealer chronicles tale of redemption, remorse

"The Weight of 1 Gram" By Yim Jae-hun Book Recipe The novel “The Weight of 1 Gram” is based on the true story of a former drug dealer. Having served four years in prison for drug dealing in Cambodia in 2018, Yim Jae-hun reflects on his past as he shares his penitential journey. The book also serves as a warning call to address the grave dangers of drugs that plague our society. Seduced by the promise of a quick fortune, the narrator nicknamed “Baksa” (meaning &l

July 22, 2023

[Eye Interview] Pulitzer-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen on HBO's upcoming 'Sympathizer' with Park Chan-wook

The decision to make a television adaptation of his 2016 Pulitzer-winning novel "The Sympathizer” was a double joy for Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. “It's a thrill for any writer to have their book adapted to the screen, and in my case, a particular thrill because I'm very excited to be working with Park Chan-wook, whose work I've greatly admired even before I wrote the novel,” Nguyen said in an interview with The Korea Herald in June. Powere

July 22, 2023

Jeju-born writer revisits island’s tragedy in epic novel ‘Oh, Jejudo’

Jeju-born writer Hyun Ki-young said he penned his three-volume novel, “Oh, Jejudo,” as an homage to the spirits of the April 3 Incident. On April 3, 1948, when Hyun was 6 years old, Jeju islanders began protesting against US military-led rule after Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule (1910-1945). The then-government distorted the uprising as a communist riot and brutally massacred an estimated 30,000 civilians, roughly 10 percent of the island's population, i

July 20, 2023

Popular web novel ‘Under the Oak Tree’ to be published in English by Penguin

The popular web novel “Under the Oak Tree” by Kim Su-ji is set to make its official debut in print in English, announced the Ridi Corp. on Tuesday. The digital content platform company has signed worldwide English publishing rights of the web novel and webtoon with Penguin Random House. The first volume of the English version is scheduled to hit bookshelves in the second half of 2024, followed by the release of e-books and audiobooks. When asked about the translator and the potential

July 19, 2023

4 out of 10 translated books in Korea were Japanese last year: report

The number of books translated and published into Korean for local readers decreased last year, but Japanese titles maintained their popularity, data from the Korean Publishers Association showed on Wednesday. According to the KPA's annual "Korean Publication Yearbook," the number of foreign books translated and published in Korean for the domestic market last year was 10,472, a decrease of 14.2 percent compared to the previous year's total of 12,210. Out of 10,472 translated

July 19, 2023

[Herald Interview] French philosopher urges attention to decline of rational thinking

Much like how global warming gradually alters the climate over time, and war and terrorism stem from a series of political incidents in the competition for power, the prominent social challenges we encounter today are results of "silent transformations." So says French philosopher Francois Jullien, who used the concept as the title of his book. In "The Silent Transformations," originally published in French in 2009 and recently translated into Korean, the French scholar explo

July 18, 2023