Found on the Web

A few things of some interest, but not worthy of entire posts.

• First, HanCinema (in a designation that is amusing to me) labels Shin Kyung-sook “the future of Korean literature.”  It is just possible that there is a more nuanced take on this^^ but nuanced takes aren’t really what this article does:

[Interview : Kim Jeong-oh, Visitor] “Shin Kyung-sook is like a candle. She communicates through warm emotion”.

[Interview : Kang Seul-gi, Visitor] “Shin Kyung-sook is like a comma, a pause in life. Her words reach to your soul”.

Hmmm.. I’m not sure I’d want to be compared to a comma!

• A really interesting author response to ‘illegitimate’ translations of The Moonlight Sculptor a Korean manhwa by Heesung Nam. The work was translated three years ago, the second volume is hung up in some kind of snafu, and online folks have apparently been doing fan translations of it. The author gives limited and I guess semi-official permission for that (I wonder how Nam’s evil^^ agent thinks about this!?!?)

As of now, the Moonlight Sculptor published in US haven’t reached the break-even point. In fact, there is no commercial profit from the book. And I doubt it would ever in the future. My guess is that official translation of the following story wouldn’t happen in near future; not in three years at least. Therefore, I will not exercise my copyrights over the translated works of fifth volume of the story published in Korea. For now, I am saying that my promise will take effect until December, 2014.

Of course, the promise will stay valid under one condition; the readers translate the story with noncommercial intention and enjoy it.

If someone officially profit from the translated work by selling them over Amazon.com and such, it might make things difficult and complicated.

I love that second condition, “enjoy it!”

• Finally, for those of you interested in the competition over at the MAN Asian Literary Prize, @ConzieSays (from the “If I Had a Minute to Spare” blog) tips me off to a page that briefly discusses all the competition. About Please Look After Mom, the site says:

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin: Kyung-Sook Shin is something of a literary phenomenon in South Korea. Please Look After Mom (Mother outside the US) is her seventh novel, and it has sold in excess of one million copies in her homeland. Maybe the most remarkable thing about her latest offering is how she manages to fashion something so unique and soul-searching out so ordinary a conceit. So-nyo, an ailing wife and mother, disappears on the Seoul subway on a trip from the country to visit her eldest son. Her siblings and their father join together in a futile quest to find her. In the course of their search – split between the points of view of son, daughter, father and finally, So-nyo herself – they agonise over how they took her for granted, and in doing so raise the kinds of questions that can apply to us all. Most of all, it offers rare glimpses of life in rural South Korea, and asks whether the nation’s insatiable push for progress has come at a price.

Check out the whole thing.

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

Found on the Web

• A new (to me anyway) blog for poetry people: Korean Poetry in Translation. It’s by Dr. Chae-Pyong (“J.P.”) Song, who by the look of it should be completely bilingual.^^  Two years ago, along with Anne Rashid, he won the 40^th Korean Literature Translation Awards for translating Kim Hye-soon’s poems. In any case, if you’re into that poetry thing, give it a look.

• Next, from the good folks at Subject, Object, Verb, comes Ian Hideo Levy: An original work of literature, if it is good, should read like a translation. Levy, who writes in Japanese,  makes the point that translations should have a sense of being and original work. But he goes on to say that even original work should be seen as translation, “ some sense of being a translation, a sense of a way of communicating, a way of feeling, a way of being that has been lost in the final product.”  It’s a good read and ends with a very bittersweet anecdote.

• Finally, a note about the Korea Times Translation Awards. They are reported here, but what is most interesting to me is that no one received the award for poetry translation. One of the judges analysed, ““Always there is intense competition in literature but not so much in poetry.”  This seems an opening for some young and aspiring interpreter.^^

Found on the Web

First, an interesting article from the Hankyoreh titled Writing during dark ages of Japanese occupation reexplored. The article is concerned with, “Works considered “pro-collaborationist” (being) reexamined for themes of opposition to Japanese rule.” This is an interesting topic (See Yi Kwangsu on KTLIT here and here, and at the Gypsy Scholar here and here ) and I suspect the Hankyoreh is interested in it for partly ideological reasons, although I can’t tell if those would be nationalist or leftist (or both) in origin (readers?).

The book under review is by Professor  of the Seoul National University Department of Korean Literature, and

Bang wished to reevaluate authors like Lee Hyo-seok, Chae Man-sik, Lee Tae-jun, and Park Tae-won, who were forced to write “pro-Japanese” work due to intimidation and cajoling from authorities. Bang argues that while these writers did address themes in line with Japanese propaganda in novels written in Korean and Japanese, including the “oneness of Korea and Japan” and “greater East Asian co-prosperity,” they also presented criticisms and opposition to Japanese rule through rhetorical devices, disguise, and analogy in their more personal short fiction.

though I instinctively get suspicious whenever I read this kind of theoretical ass-covering^^:

Bang says that “Blade of Glass” and other works of “personal fiction” by Lee Hyo-seok “may not present a direct and explicit refusal of the system, but they maintain a position of clear repudiation of a situation in which the discourse of politicism runs rampant through wartime policies and mobilization and national literature.

Second, I found this very interesting – A course from USC in Korean Literature in Translation. I partly found it interesting because I taught a very similar course in our Ph.D. program last year, to our translation students, and it was an amazing class to teach. For our students it was an attempt to get them to see how western conceptions of literature, publishing, and reading influenced interpretations of translated works that the interpreters often saw differently, or had attempted to translate with a different effect in mind. I think I’ll have to contact professor Jeeyoung Shin and see if I can get my hands on a syllabus.

To round up, a fairly conventional article in the JoongAng Daily, titled A better chance for Korean literature, but one that does a nice nutshell version of outlining the history of Korean translation into foreign countries (bonus surprise info, the first translation was into French, and done by an assassin!). This was published in concordance with the recent KLTI conference, and mentions a few things related to that event.

Found on the Web

A couple of things found on the web..

First, from the estimable Zen Kimchi, a trip to Pyeongchang to explore buckwheat cuisine in the land that Lee Hyo-seok immortalized in  Buckwheat Flowers. Having eaten buckwheat noodles in Seoul, I can attest to their tastiness.^^

Second, a fine new blog on Korean literature the Korean Literature Blog in which Jerôme de Wit shares his interest of Korean literature  comments  on books he has read, and also on Korean literary history. I think I’ve mentioned here, before, de Wit’s excellent three-part post on the origins of Korean modern literature.

Finally, an article on the lack of translation (sound familiar?) of Korean literature into Vietnamese:

Organized by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) and the Korean Literary Translation Institute yesterday, the international conference drew a great number of translators from across Asia to discuss the translation of Korean literature into Vietnamese.

Phan Thi Thu Hien, a professor of the HCMC USSH said more Korean literary works the number of Korean literary works that have been translated in Vietnam is not on par with the scale of Korean literature.

Since 2006, only 30 Korean books have been published in Vietnam. And this is out of more than 13,700 international literary works that have been translated here, Hien said.

Of these 30, Hien said the National Library of Vietnam keeps 9, against 85 translated works from Japan and 539 from China.

Those are some pretty grim numbers.

The bookstore conducted a survey on “Great Authors” from May 4 to 15 by questioning some 20,000 readers. The readers selected the top 10 authors whom they would like to meet. The selected writers were Gong Ji-young, Kwon Bi-young, Kim Jin-myung, Shin Kyung-sook, Yoo Hong-jun, Yi Mun-yol, Lee Oi-soo, Lee Hae-in, Cho Chang-in and Choi In-ho.

Yoo will hold a lecture about cultural heritages on June 18 while Kwon and Kim will meet readers and give lectures on history on July 2.

Gong and Lee will take readers on a literature tour to Mt. Jiri while Choi and Yi will .. talk about Korean literature in July. In August, Lee Oi-soo will meet his fans to talk about youth in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. Shin and Cho are scheduled to talk about Korean mothers and fathers in September.

A special exhibition will also be held at the bookstore to highlight “30 Big Brands” including Minumsa and Gimmyoung Publisher which have influenced the Korean publishing market over the last 30 years. Some 300 books from 30 publishers will be exhibited in Gwanghwamun and through the Internet Kyobo Bookstore until June 30.

Anyone interested in attending these author events should drop me a line, as I will at least be dropping by to take photographs.

Found on the web

A nicely matched set of interviews.

First, over at the Ask A Korean blog (an invaluable take on aspects of Korean culture), The Korean translates an interview in the Dong-A Ilbo with the author of Please Take Care of Mom, Shin Kyung-sook. It begins with a perhaps over-optimistic take on the role of the KLTI in the success of Korean literature, and is a bit cliche in general, but worth reading for the fan. Thanks to The Korean for the work of translation.

Second, over at subject object verb, a two part interview with Chi-young Kim. The first part is here, and the second part is here. Because the interviewer is also a translator, there are some cool exchanges (with some wonderfully specific examples) about how difficult it is to get sense and sensibility across the language barrier.

Found on the Web

Two bits of good news about modern authors and one bit of good (with a strong side order of ludicrous) news about and older one.

First, the a very short article, nearly a press-release, announcing that Author Kong Ji-young, 48, will donate the entire royalty from her four novels released in Japan to victims of the recent tsunami.

Kong notified her agency of her plan to help victims affected by the tsunami and earthquakes Wednesday.
Kong wrote on Twitter on Thursday: “I will donate the entire amount of royalty for my released books in Japan,” and added “I hope my small sincerity is a help.”
Kong’s books in Japan include ― “Our Happy Time,” “Things that come after love,” “My Sweet Home,” and “Go alone like a rhino’s horn.”

LOL – I’m certain she doesn’t really mean that she has “small sincerity?”

Next, Yi Mun-yol at a high school in Pennington New Jersey, looking fit and with a bit of a new dye-job on his hair. ^^

Finally, another translation that looks like it might be interesting for scholars and has the singular attribute of having been translated by a professor at my previous university.^^  The author  “Park Ji-won (1737-1805), better known by his literary name Yeonam, was an unusual intellectual who went against the tide in a profoundly conservative and inflexible Confucian social system during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910).” Emanuel Pastreich, who is the director of the Asia Institute and associate professor at Woosong University in Daejeon, has translated 10  of Park’s short stories  into English in “The Novels of Park Jiwon: Translation of Overlooked Worlds.”  For which, kudos to him..

However, it seems that he may have tread outside of the known world of marketing  when the article reports:

The professor views Park’s novels as ultimately attaining a global reach.
Regarding his translations he said, “I think that there is a clear appeal for the Western readers in that his novels have a subtle irony to them that is both questioning of accepted norms, but does not preach.

And then tries to prove that Park will burn up the bestseller list with the following:

“The Tale of the Yangban Scholar” implies his [Park's] poignant views on the Confucian social system by lampooning the hypocrisy and inability of the ‘yangban’ (noble/scholar class).

Park satirized the yangban by writing that, “The yangban does not plow the earth, nor does he engage in commerce. With just a cursory knowledge of literature and history, a yangban can pass the higher exams and succeed in the civil service. Even those who are not particularly distinguished pass the exams and become a licentiate.”

First, that’s some pretty uninspiring text from Park. Second, it doesn’t really hold up as satire. Third, no western reader outside of an Asian Studies library will have the slightest idea what a Yangban is. Basically it’s the equivalent of a modern day writer complaining that people with bad eyesight can pass the test for a driver’s license.

Now imagine the person reading the complaint about the driver’s license test travels by teleportation, and has no idea what a car is, much less a driver’s license.

Then, of course, there is the insane price of 55,000 won (which I sure can’t be in the slightest ascribed to Professor Pastreich – this has all the smell of a Seoul National University Press decision).

Oh well, it’s another thing for some readers to eventually go to and read, and I will certainly try to find a library copy and review it.

1) From the lovely and talented (and limping) James at Grand Narrative (who will be presenting at RASKB this Tuesday) on Korea Society’s vimeo, The Korean War in Korean Voices through Literature with Professor Jin Young Choi. The website describes it:

On November 2, 2010, Dr. Jin Young Choi, professor of American literature (emeritus) at Jungang University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke at The Korea Society to secondary social studies and language arts teachers as part of the New York City Department of Education’s After School Professional Development Program Korean History through Literature. Dr. Choi introduced Korean literature that deals with the Korean War, including One Woman’s Way, a collection of her columns published in the Korea Herald, The Naked Tree, written by Pak, Wan-so, and The Red Hill written by Ha, Geun-chan. As a survivor of the Korean War, Dr. Choi shared her vivid memories and experiences of the Korean War and emphasized that the Korean War, which is often called as the forgotten war, needs to be remembered and taught in a meaningful way.

2) Elton LaClare (who seems to be leaving Korea?) leaves with an amusing shot at “Buckwheat Seasons.”  Longtime readers of this blog know that is has always boggled me how much Koreans love this story and how often it has been translated. After reading much other Korean literature I’ve come to understand Buckwheat.. but… well.. let’s just let Elton take the moneyshot:

As an avid reader of Korean literature in translation, I’ve often had cause to wonder about the factors taken into consideration when deciding if a particular book warrants the time, effort and expense required to produce a translation. Rendering a story in another language while still being true to the spirit of the original is no easy task. It’s a wonder, therefore, that Lee Hyo-Seok’s ‘When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom’ has been translated, not just once, but five times in a single volume. It would seem to suggest that the story is of such genius that it’s nothing less than a moral imperative to bring it to the attention of a worldwide audience.

That last sentence says it all, and so cleverly that if you don’t want to understand it you don’t have to.  In any case, you can read the rest of his review, which focuses on what the “moral imperative” means for Koreans.

3) An interesting blog for folks interested in translation in general, Gina Choe’s blog, blog books in translation. And I don’t just say that because she said nice things about me.

• The Hobbit
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Where the Wild Things Are

This “tagmash” thing may not be an exact science…