“I guess there is a reason why three coffee shops exist on every street corner, no matter which city you visit,” Christopher Jones, 43, the co-founder of Itaewon Book Club, said in a phone interview with The Korea Herald on the adventurous journey of hosting a book club in a foreign country. “People like to sit down, look someone in the eye, and share what they have seen, read, and experienced.” ...

The Daesan Foundation will spend 180 million won ($156,385) to support translations of Korean literature, the foundation announced Monday. A total of 13 literary works, 11 novels and two poems, were chosen from 72 applications for this year’s “Korean Literature Translation, Research, and Publishing Support” program. The selected works will be translated into seven different languages: English, ...

“I honestly thought I would die before I got the book in my hand,” Cha said. “It is a common fear. Because it takes so long.” The process also opened her eyes to the reality of publishing in the US as a woman of color. “It was interesting that when we are pitching the book, the editors that I heard back from were all Asian women,” Cha said. She says the shelves of US bookstores are further evi...

Veteran translator puts out a collection of essays on the difficulty of writing easy-to-understand texts

First Asian to win prestigious crime fiction prize talks about working closely with translator Lizzie Buehler, difficulties of packaging book for global audience

Novelist Yun Ko-eun become the first Asian to win a prestigious CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger on Thursday. The Dagger awards, conferred by the Crime Writers’ Association in the United Kingdom, recognize excellence in the art of crime writing. This year’s winners were announced during an online event hosted by the winners from last year. Yun was the first Asian winner since the associa...

“It was after reading a story about four people who have leprosy in the Bible,” he said. “I found myself through this story.” The Bible’s Book of Kings tells the story of four lepers who are starving outside the city gates during a famine. Desperately searching for anything to eat, they come upon empty tents left behind by an enemy army, full of food and wealth. After enjoying some food in one o...

Exhibition of photos, poems written from conflict regions show writer Park No-hae’s love for humanity

Creators of ‘Batman: Moonin’ talk about their work process, introducing Korean elements that people around the world can relate to, including Korean readers

The National Library of Korea received more than 1,000 books on Tuesday and will send them to major libraries around the world through its International Materials Exchange Program. The library signed an agreement in 2016 with the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, the publisher of the books, to carry out and expand overseas research on Korea while promoting Korean cultural assets over...

“Iparapa Yamooyamoo” is a children’s book, but Lee has a different view. “Even though the book is made for children, anyone can easily approach my book, such as the reader’s parents. I wish the parents to feel unlimited happiness when they see their children’s smile while opening my book,” Lee told The Korea Herald. The world‘s leading event for children’s books, Bologna Children‘s Book Fair wi...

DC comics’ global collaboration series “Batman: The World” has Seoul as main stage

The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) is calling for submissions for this year’s Korean Diaspora Literature Essay Contest to expand the base of literary exchange through discovering and supporting writers of Korean diaspora literature. The writing contest will be based on 25 essays, novels, and poems written by people of Korean ancestry living in Central Asia, Europe, Japan, ...

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Friday appointed poet Kwak Hyo-hwan as the new president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. His term will run through May 13, 2024. “With new president Kwak Hyo-hwan, we hope that LTI Korea expands its role as the key player in exporting Korean literature overseas,” a Culture Ministry official said. “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and ...

Lindsey Miller recounts the stress of constant questioning, her decision to believe in authenticity of relationships during her two years in Pyongyang