Mah, Hwang win Daesan literary awards

Poet Mah Chong-gi (left) and novelist Hwang Jeong-eun, winners of the 2015 Daesan Literary Awards (Daesan Foundation)Poet Mah Chong-gi and novelist Hwang Jung-eun have been named this year’s awardees for the 23rd Daesan Literary Awards, Korea’s largest annual literary accolade.Mah’s collection of poems “42 Shades of Green,” which deals with different colors the speaker encounters during a train ride, and Hwang Jung-eun’s “Let Me Continue,” a story of persistence through life’s hardships for one’

Nov. 2, 2015

[Herald Review] Novel follows gamer Kansas teen to Korea

(Tuttle)For the many Korean young adults who have come to dub Korea “Hell Joseon” for its intense competition and bleak opportunities, it would be hard to imagine their country as a fantasyland.But in Lawrence Tabak’s novel “In Real Life” -- which might be described as a Judy Blume book for game geeks in the digital age -- Korea is the place where 16-year-old Seth Gordon imagines his wildest dreams will come true. An American teen obsessed with gaming and living in Kansas, Seth hopes to one day

Oct. 29, 2015

Publisher halts sale of book by Nobel economics winner over mistranslations

Sales of the Korean-language edition of “The Great Escape,” written by Angus Deaton, this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, have been halted due to “changes that are not approved by the author.” Princeton University Press, the book’s original publisher in the U.S., requested the Korean publisher Hankyung BP discontinue sales, citing “changes (in the Korean edition) that do not accurately reflect the original work.”A new edition -- which will be “independently reviewed, to accurately

Oct. 27, 2015

[Weekender] Up-and-coming writers test fiction’s boundaries

Since the early 2000s, South Korea welcomed a new group of writers who delved into their unique experiences as Korean millennials, as well as the horrors and joys of modern Korean life.Among them, one of the most prominent writers is Kim Ae-ran, who rose to instant literary stardom in 2003 when her short story, “No Knocking in this House,” won the Daesan Literary Award.Kim Ae-ran (Yes 24)It depicted the life of five young women who live in separate rooms at a boarding house but have minimal cont

Oct. 23, 2015

[Weekender] Book cafes aren’t just about books

The publishing industry might be struggling, but book cafes -- library-like cafes that offer a collection of books for people to read and purchase -- are thriving. Enter most book cafes in the Seoul area on a weekend afternoon, and you will be hard-pressed to find an empty seat.The cafes’ popularity, however, does not necessarily signify an equal love for books among the public, it seems. One glance around the cafes shows the majority of customers working on their laptops or poring over textbook

Oct. 23, 2015

The story of Korean fiction: Proud tradition, humble present

If you’re reading a novel from Korea’s best-seller lists now, chances are that it’s not written by a local author. In this country, with a rising global cultural profile and an ambition to rise even further, fiction, the ultimate art of storytelling, is fading. Or more precisely, the serious, high-caliber, literary fiction that Koreans refer to as “pure” literature is fading.Local readers’ appetite for homegrown novels is dwindling amid a fundamental decline in an interest in books, while writer

Oct. 23, 2015

[Weekender] Guilty-pleasure books drive e-book market

When R-rated flick “Fifty Shades of Grey” opened in theaters here in February, the box-office score was a big disappointment with only 364,410 tickets sold. However, the story was different in the e-book market. The eponymous title, written by E.L. James, nabbed No. 1 in March for several consecutive weeks on major e-book charts, including Yes24, Kyobo Bookstore and Interpark, while the paper copy didn’t even reach the top 10 list. The book’s latest sequel “The Grey” also ranked high on e-book c

Oct. 23, 2015

Engineering professors look into fallacies of Korea's fast growth, remedies

After five decades of high growth and the rags-to-riches transformation, Korea’s economy is finally slowing. Although it might look quite natural to outsiders, particularly in this global era of the “new normal” -- slower but more sustainable growth -- the ongoing economic slowdown worries many in Korea to a great extent. They fear Korea’s half-century stride toward prosperity may be coming to a full stop at the threshold of the much-coveted “advanced economy” status. “Time of Accumulation” arri

Oct. 1, 2015

Anthropologist reveals new insight on Korea

“Way Back into Korea” By Choong Soon Kim(Ilchokak) Cover of “Way Back into Korea” (Ilchokak)　There is always the danger, with introductory books into Asian culture, of stereotyping and the spraying of names, dates and footnotes that seem almost impossible to remember. 　Some of the earlier descriptions of Korea, such as the “hermit nation” and “land of morning calm,” fall short of portraying Korea’s fast-changing here-and-now. On top of that, the love-hate relationship between the flow and inform

Sept. 17, 2015

Book traces roots of K-pop from 1900s to present

　“Introduction to K-pop History”　By Zhang Eu-jeong, Suh Byung-kee　(Sung An Dang)  Cover of "Introduction to K-pop History" (Sung An Dang)　Listeners of K-pop may be surprised to find that the content of a book titled “Introduction to K-pop History” goes all the way back to the year 1907. The term “K-pop” has become so synonymous with the global phenomenon of idol groups, dance music and fandoms that it seems hard to imagine anything before that as being Korean pop.The new book, planned by the Kor

Aug. 20, 2015

Korean office laid bare

In 2003, Eric Surdej, a French sales expert with experience working at Sony and Toshiba, decided to join LG Electronics, seeking out new challenges in his career.He knew about Koreans’ reputation of being extremely difficult to work with, but didn’t care too much. He was determined to see for himself the inner workings of the enigmatic Korean company he believed would soon pose a major challenge to more established brands from the U.S., Europe and Japan. This company would be unstoppable once it

Aug. 6, 2015

[NEW BOOK] ‘IS Report’

“IS Report” By Samuel Laurent, Korean translation by Eun-Jung Felsner / (Hanul Publishing Group) Since it declared statehood about a year ago, the Islamic State, a jihadist militant group, has been making headlines with beheadings of hostages, terrorist attacks and other nefarious activities to push for its religious causes.Despite the U.S.-led fight against the radical group, the IS has been strengthening its clout in Iraq, Syria and beyond, as if to confirm the revival of a “caliphate,” a poli

July 23, 2015

Book delves into identity factor of Korea-Japan relations

In the field of political science, the issue of national identity has been marginalized due to its abstract, impractical and amorphous nature that makes it difficult for one to empirically back his or her analyses of international relations.For mainstream theorists -- be they liberalists or realists -- material power, trade volume, investment amounts and other tangible, thus, measurable, data are critical sources of research, while “soft” concepts like identity have largely been overlooked.This

July 16, 2015

'Beautiful Bonds' a tribute to Koreaphiles

“Beautiful Bonds: Friends of Korea.net,” a new book that tells the stories of 35 “Koreaphiles,” is a tribute to those -- both Korean and foreigner -- who have taken an interest in Korea, discovered its charms and helped spread its culture to the global audience.The 620-page book is a compilation of in-depth interviews given by an eclectic group of people, ranging from former Philippines President Fidel Ramos and farmer-singer Kim Baek-keun to James Hooper, British Everest climber and former cast

July 9, 2015

Korean politics through the eyes of British journalist

  “Democracy Delayed”By Daniel Tudor(Munhakdongne) 　For Daniel Tudor, a former Korea correspondent for the Economist, Korean politics seems a bit strange. 　With blurred ideological differences between the right-wing and left-wing parties, the left is mired in the past and lacks professionalism while the right has no concrete agenda other than a pro-conglomerate, me-first policy.　“Is Korean democracy in retreat?” Tudor, 33, asks in his latest book “Democracy Delayed,” which was recently published

July 2, 2015

Seven experts provide thorough look at dansaekhwa

“Dansaekhwa”/By various authors (The Grenfell Press) Amid the emerging interest in Korean monochrome paintings in the global art world, an in-depth examination on Korean abstract art has been published in English this week. The book titled “Dansaekhwa,” written by multiple art experts, traces the roots of the Korean monochrome painting movement called “dansaekhwa” and its historical context and developments in ideas and expressions. It also offers individual examinations of seven leading dansaek

June 18, 2015

A daughter buried in father’s heart and words

“A Goodnight Kiss for My Daughter”/By Lee O-young (Yollimwon) Lee O-young’s new book, “A Goodnight Kiss for My Daughter” (unofficial translation), is a collection of anecdotes, essays, letters and poems in memory of the writer’s late daughter Lee Min-ah. She was a pastor who died in 2012 after battling with cancer, the death of her firstborn and near blindness during her lifetime. Lee is an esteemed writer and scholar who served as Korea’s first culture minister from 1990-91. The book, written i

June 18, 2015

World of chef Corey Lee captured in debut book ‘Benu’

Korean-American chef Corey Lee, the mastermind behind the three Michelin-starred restaurant Benu in San Francisco, has packed his debut book, “Benu,” to the brim. “It’s ultimately a cookbook first, but also a book that was trying to communicate the inspiration behind the restaurant and meditation on the menu,” he said.The book is stunning, a big, white hardcover with over 250 pages of recipes, essays, and breathtaking photography.  Corey Lee, chef and patron of Benu. (Phaidon 2015, www.phaidon.c

June 4, 2015

A gay N.K. defector’s journey to find love

With almost 30,000 North Korean escapees calling South Korea home now, many of their stories have been printed in novels, essays or poems. In fact, there are so many that literary works by or about North Korean defectors now form a new genre in South Korean bookstores. North Korean refugee Jang Young-jin’s debut novel “A Mark of Red Honor” departs from the typical conventions of this genre. In the 368-page book, written in Korean, he narrates his own childhood, growing up and major events that l

May 28, 2015