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

Underdog status pays off for Korean novelist

A chronic inability to talk to attractive women can eventually reap rewards. That was the takeaway message from author Cheon Myeong-kwan as he addressed the Seoul Literary Society at the Swedish Ambassador’s residence in Seongbuk last week.Thirty years ago, the now critically acclaimed novelist lived a markedly less glamorous life. The only gig he could find was selling golf clubs, and he had to mooch off friends just to get by. Chronically miserable, his only source of joy was riding the bus an

June 23, 2017

Korean authors to attend overseas literature events

Popular Korean authors will get to meet readers and translators in overseas literature events, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Tuesday. The photos provided by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea shows Kang Young-sook (left) and Jeong Ho-seung. (Yonhap)Novelists Hwang Sok-yong will attend the Turin International Book Fair in Italy from May 18-22. His book, including "Mr. Han's Chronicle" and "Princess Bari," have been translated into Italian.At the book fair, Hwang wi

May 16, 2017

Amazon expands literary horizons, making big imprint in translation niche

SEATTLE - The literary translation community in the US has a tradition of being highbrow, a carefully tended yet narrow reflection of the stirrings of global culture beyond the Anglosphere.Then Amazon.com jumped in, like a whale into a koi pond.Armed with financial might and an intimate, machine-learned knowledge of reader behavior, the e-commerce giant made a big splash.Gabriella Page-Fort, the editorial director for AmazonCrossing, poses for a portrait on March 8, in Seattle, while holding a c

April 20, 2017

[Herald Interview] ‘Korean poems delight global sense and sensibility’

While the world’s eyes are gradually turning away from poetry, Korea’s poems are leaving their marks in the pantheon of international literature, acquainting readers with their ethereal elegance. Unlike in the West, where many illustrious poets self-publish, some writers in Korea have become so popular that they earn considerable royalties, deemed “unimaginable” elsewhere, says Kim Seong-kon, president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. The institute recently collaborated with fam

April 6, 2017

New books on Russian Revolution 100 years later

“Russia in Revolution: An Empire in Crisis, 1890-1928” by S.A. Smith; Oxford University Press (455 pages, $34.95)“Lenin on the Train” by Catherine Merridale; Metropolitan Books (353 pages, $30)“Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917: A World on the Edge” by Helen Rappaport; St. Martin‘s Press (430 pages, $27.99) Russian President Vladimir (right) denounces Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin for his brutal rule and for placing a “time bomb” under Russia. (AP PHOTO)One hundred years ag

April 2, 2017

[Eye Interview] Korea through eyes of an outsider

Michael Breen, a consultant and a former journalist, has just published a new book on Korea as seen through his eyes.“The New Koreans” was originally intended as a sequel to his previous book “The Koreans,” written in the late 1990s. But as is natural with the passage of time, much in Korea has changed and so has Breen’s perceptions and observations about the nation. In his first book, Breen proposed the idea that Korea’s economic miracle, so-called the “Miracle on the Han,” led to the second mi

March 31, 2017

LTI Korea digitalizes classical, contemporary Korean literature

Classical and contemporary Korean literature will be available electronically through the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which has digitalized 33 masterpieces.The project involved digitalizing 28 classical pieces, which had been previously translated into English, French and German from Korean, as well as five works which were translated through the institute but had not been published abroad. Titled, “The Digital Library of Korean Classics,” the 28 classical works include “Printemps

March 13, 2017

Margaret Atwood says Trump win boosted sales of her dystopian classic

Canada‘s best-known writer Margaret Atwood said it was largely worries about women’s issues after the US election that made her book “The Handmaid’s Tale” the latest dystopian novel to shoot back up best-seller lists.The book, about a theocratic dictatorship in the United States where women are forced to bear children for the ruling class, topped Amazon’s best-seller list earlier last week.In an interview during Cuba‘s international book fair, where Canada is guest of honor, Atwood said sales of

Feb. 13, 2017

UK newspaper to spotlight Korean poems in regular feature

Korean poems will become a regular feature in the Guardian newspaper this year.The poems -- selected in partnership with Asymptote, a website specializing in translations of literature -- will be featured on the “Translation Tuesdays” corner of the British daily. The works of seven Korean poets, including Kim Ki-taek, Moon Tae-jun, Yoo An-jin and Choi Seung-ja, will be introduced this year, according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea which jointly manages the project with Asymptot

Feb. 7, 2017

New book details old New Orleans’ hooker directories

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- “Josie came to this city ... to have a good time and she is going to have it while she lasts,” one madam advertised in a 1903 directory of Storyville, then New Orleans’ flourishing legal red-light district.It’s the ads that add interest to the pocket-sized directories sold a century ago for 25 cents, Pamela D. Arceneaux writes in “Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans.” The $50 coffee-table book will be released Saturday by The Historic New Orleans Coll

Feb. 5, 2017