One of the less explored relationships between translation and success of that translation is that between genre and impact in the target culture. This paper will discuss the role of genre on several levels. On the macro level it will explore the fits, and misfits, between Korean literary and English-language genres and how this impacts choices of translations and their successes.
A great email interview with Chi-Young Kim in the JoongAng Daily in which she frankly discusses some of the changes needed when translating from Korean to English. One of the money quotes: Do you have your own principles for translating? My principle is that translated books should give readers almost the same feelings as the…
LOL… here’s a little pictorial representation of a success. These are screenshots from Amazon, taken on a couple of days this week. The show the steady March of “Please Look After Mom” up the boards. The day before publication (Tuesday) it sat in the mid-100s. Then it went on sale: Moving on up… To the…
This page will continue to evolve over here on the KTLIT authors page for Shin Kyung-sook, but for people using search engines, this blog post is much easier to find. SO HERE IS ALL THE INFO I HAVE AT THE MOMENT: Shin Kyoung-sook: Complete INTRO | EXTENDED BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | AWARDS | LINKS |…
Tune in this morning just after 11 (Seoul “tomorrowland” time) to hear The Editor discuss Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom” and what it might mean for the future internationalization of Korean modern literature. 10 minutes or so of the purest ear candy!
Mythili G. Rao writes a brief review of Please Look After Mom under the title “A Woman Goes Missing in Seoul,” in the New York Time Book Review and its another one to add to the long hit list. Mythili notes (and rightfully mentions brilliant translator Chi-Young Kim): Shin’s prose, intimate and hauntingly spare in…
Janet Maslin’s interesting review of Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look After Mom” in the New York Times. The reviewer is a bit superior towards South Korea, jibing that “Please Look After Mom”, “Sold more than a million copies in South Korea, where there may not be a dry hankie left in the land,” but with some…
The hits just keep on coming. Regular followers of my twitter account (see link to the right) know that I call “Please Look After Mom” an “Oprah-genre” book. Well, now “Please Look After Mom” has hit O Magazine, the magazine named for Oprah. “Please Look After Mom” has been named one of the 18…
It looks like Shin Kyung-Sook’s “Please Look After Mom” may be the breakthrough novel that Korean Literature has been looking for. An article at the Chosun Ilbo (sorry, Korean only, so far) reports that even prior to its official publication, a second print run is being readied on top of the first run of 100,000…
1) Singer IU wants to study Korean Literature! She notes that her grades have slid a little bit since her career has taken off: I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I want to learn more about Korean literature because I’m interested in writing. Ever since I made my debut, my grades have dropped…