Found on the Web

A couple more things found on the web that don’t merit a full post, but deserve being noted.

First, an excellent interview with Yi Mun-yol, possibly Korea’s greatest translated man of fiction (partly because he’s had a relatively large number of works translated, partly because he’s just that good^^). The interview is part of a series with international pioneers among Korean artists that marks the 61st anniversary of The Korea Times.

Among other things the interview reveals that his 문학관 does exist and is open for business, which means that KTLIT will shortly have to take a trip out to it with the camera. There is a bit of orientalized hocus-pocus in the text, but in general it is worth reading and sums Yi up quite well, when it says:

Yi proves to be a most astute student of human psychology, history and sociology, and moreover, a master of transcending self and culture to evoke profound emotions and imagination. His 30-plus books, in the vastness of their genre, style and structure, defy categorization – the more works of his one reads the more impossible it becomes to define his oeuvre.

Announcement of the winners of the LTI Korea/Knopf 5-state Please Look After Mom essay contest. Residents of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey,  New York and Pennsylvania were eligible to enter, and a quick look at the winners indicates that either ethnically Asian writers are better writers^^, or more ethnically Asian writers entered the contest.  Sadly, although the contest says the essays will be available on the Korean Cultural Service New York website, they don’t seem to be available to read, which seems to defeat part of the purpose of the contest (though some pictures of the winners can be found here).

Finally, a short piece on Chinese publisher Yilin Press, which has just released translations of Korean fiction:

The last issue, for example, is dedicated to Korean literature. Author Ku Hyo-seo’s novella, Rhapsody in Berlin, forms the centerpiece. Others featured are Young Kong-Ji (The Correct Way of Getting Along with People) and Kim Young-ha (Moving Home).

See you next time, on the web!

http://en.ce.cn/Life/book/201201/06/t20120106_22979590.shtml