The first work of Korean literature to be translated into English was “The Cloud Dream of the Nine” in 1922, translated by Canadian missionary James S. Gale. That was almost a century ago, but until recently Korean literature still did not get much exposure in the global market. “The markets in the US and UK are growing a lot for Korean books,” founder of the BJZ Agency Barbara J. Zitwer told Th...

Hwang Sun-mi “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly,” by Hwang Sun-mi, has sold more than 2 million copies around the world since it was released in 2000 and translated into more than 27 languages. Several adaptions of the book have been made: play, puppet show, family musical and an animated movie that was released in 2011. Hwang’s “Black Sheep Live in the Backyard,” which was published in 2014, ...

Sohn Won-pyung Born in 1979, Sohn Won-pyung is a talented screenwriter and movie director, as well as an author. She wrote and directed a number of short films, including “Ooh You Make Me Sick” and “A Two-way Monologue.” Most recently, she wrote and directed the thriller “Intruder,” starring Song Ji-hyo and Kim Moo-yeol. The release of the movie, originally scheduled for March, has been postpon...

The Korea National Opera announced its recently reinstated artistic director Yoon Ho-geun quit on Monday, preventing chaos for the troupe that was to be led by two heads. According to the national troupe’s press release Tuesday, Yoon quit his position to “prevent confusion for the opera troupe, and to encourage the advance of the Korean opera scene.” Earlier this month, the national opera troup...

Korean American actor Daniel Dae Kim, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, spoke on social media about his coronavirus testing experience and xenophobia. On Friday, Kim posted a 10-minute video on Instagram announcing that he had tested positive and spoke about violence toward Asians stemming from xenophobia. He had also tweeted on Monday against ongoing acts of racism in the US. Kim, ...

Large churches in Seoul are continuing with their Sunday services online, as Korea is still in national battle against COVID-19. Like the past weeks, Sarang Church in southern Seoul, one of the several megachurches here, is going online for its Sunday services this week. On Sunday, more than 40,000 people viewed the online stream by the church. “The decision was voluntarily made by the church c...

Celebrities in Korea are making donations to help people fight against the spread of COVID-19 across the nation. On Friday, actress Yum Jung-ah donated 100 million won ($82,200) to Green Umbrella Child Fund Korea to help purchase masks and hand sanitizers for children in need. Singer-turned-actress Yoona, members of K-pop band Red Velvet, and singers Kang Daniel and Zico also made donations to ...

Cho Hee-sook has been named Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2020 by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, one of the most influential groups in the cuisine industry in Asia. Cho, who owns Hansikgonggan in Seoul, a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant specializing in royal court cuisine, started her culinary arts career more than 20 years ago. She has worked at five-star hotels in Seoul and in 2005, s...

South Korean star actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo has been injured in a traffic accident and will cancel all of his scheduled activities, his agency said Tuesday. According to King Kong by Starship, Lee was hit by a car violating traffic signals on Saturday last week. "He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture," the company said. ...

Cho has been an inspiration to those around him. Three others in his work team have also been awarded by the KRC for giving blood over 100 times, according to Samsung SDI. The Korean Red Cross said the blood donation is chronically insufficient in the country, but that with the ongoing coronavirus spread, people’ reluctance to give blood has risen. The KRC considers the current situation dire a...

Last year, Lee Nak-joon had thought about making a second donation -- using part of his earnings from the “Trauma Center: Golden Hour” webtoon -- to the trauma center at Ajou University Hospital. However, he ended up donating to Doctors without Borders instead, as Lee Guk-jong convinced him over the phone that money was not what the center needed. As for how his web fiction came to be adapted i...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- US silver screen legend Kirk Douglas, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants who rose through the ranks to become one of Hollywood's biggest-ever stars, has died, his family said Wednesday. He was 103. One of the last survivors of the golden age of cinema and the father of Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker Michael Douglas, the "Spartacus" actor was renowned for the macho tough...

Munhaksasang, the publishing company that confers South Korea’s prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award, apologized Tuesday for the controversy that emerged when three of this year’s runners-up refused to accept their awards to protest contract terms they deemed unfair. “We apologize to everyone who was hurt and disappointed by this issue,” Munhaksasang CEO Lim Ji-hyun said in a statement. “We now re...

The norm of interviewers having limited roles in front of the camera no longer holds true, as more South Korean interviewers are starting to shine on YouTube. Interviewer and producer Lee Eun-jae of variety show “MMTG,” a program that kicked off on SBS’ YouTube platform in February 2018, is one such example. The program, which features interviews with stars in different fields, has a separate Yo...

With the world anxiously waiting to see if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will resume intercontinental ballistic missile testing, to include potentially testing a missile capable of reaching the eastern United States, it is well to remember the conflict that is the root of the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula. On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the Nor...