Most Popular
-
1
[H.eco Forum] H.eco Forum calls for transition to clean, carbon-free energy
-
2
[Exclusive] LACMA admits it needs further research on donated Korean paintings
-
3
AI Seoul Summit adopts declaration on safe, innovative, inclusive AI
-
4
Russia likely offering N. Korea technology aid to expand threats to US, others: Pentagon official
-
5
[Bridge to Africa] Africa-Korea partnership: Why it matters for future
-
6
[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots
-
7
[Graphic News] Medical tourists visiting Korea reach record high
-
8
Revote on Marine probe bill to be held next week
-
9
Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction
-
10
Illit’s agency sues Ador CEO Min Hee-jin for defamation
-
Korean novel enthralls Mexican young adults
A Korean young adult novel is gaining popularity in Mexico, with positive reviews spreading via social media, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Friday. “Wizard Bakery” by Koo Byung-mo was published by Mexican publisher Nostra Ediciones under the translated title “La Panaderia Encantada” in December last year. Since then, the novel has been receiving positive responses on social media. Readers have posted reviews on over 30 blogs, prompting the publishing house to produce a sho
April 1, 2016
-
New study shows gender gap narrowing in book coverage
NEW YORK (AP) -- A new study of literary publications finds that men remain the majority of book reviewers and authors reviewed, but the gap is narrowing. VIDA, otherwise known as Women in Literary Arts, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the New Republic and Harper's were among those showing notable increases in the representation of women in their book coverage. VIDA chair Amy King said the report showed some “upticks worth noting,” but also cautioned against possible backlash that “h
March 31, 2016
-
Author writes that rape in her novel came from her life
NEW YORK (AP) -- The author of the best-selling novel "Luckiest Girl Alive" posted an essay online Tuesday saying that the gang rape in high school her character suffered was based on an assault in her own life. Jessica Knoll, writing on a website for young women that's co-managed by Lena Dunham, said that since the book came out last year she has deflected questions about similarities between herself and the protagonist, TifAni. "I’ve been running and I've been ducking and I’ve been dodging be
March 30, 2016
-
Haunted Mansion comic book unearths history behind the Disney ride
Early in the first issue of Marvel Comics’ “Haunted Mansion,” a new one-off, five-issue series inspired by the Disneyland staple, readers encounter a ghost. This is expected. After all, as Haunted Mansion lore tells us, there are 999 of them living inside the manor. Only this ghost isn’t of the grim, grinning sort, as described in the attraction’s popular song. This ghost is all bones and menace, with a foreboding cape and a sword flailing wildly. It’s the Haunted Mansion Disney aficionados know
March 30, 2016
-
Red Riding Hood packs heat in US gun group’s reinvented fairytale
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Here is Little Red Riding Hood, rifle slung over her shoulder, confidently striding through the forest. Now we see her granny, taking aim with a shotgun at the Big Bad Wolf. What’s that? You don’t recall your favorite Brothers Grimm characters packing heat? Then you must not have read the versions of classic fairy tales that have been reworked by the National Rifle Association, to help empower children by teaching them that well-armed citizens -- even in the world of storybo
March 30, 2016
-
Behind the scenes of CIA briefings
“The President’s Book of Secrets” By David Priess PublicAffairs (384 pages, $29.95) On Aug. 6, 2001, the third day of his August vacation in Texas, President George W. Bush welcomed two visitors into the living room of his ranch house. Steve Biegun, the executive secretary of the National Security Council, was filling in for National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Michael Morell was a CIA analyst assigned to brief Bush daily on intelligence developments. He handed Bush the President’s Daily
March 30, 2016
-
Life in 1930s China made relatable through simple details
“Half a Lifelong Romance” By Eileen Chang Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (400 pages, $12.33) “Half a Lifelong Romance” is broad in its scope and exceptionally moving in its characterizations, painting a picture of life in China in the 1930s. The novel, by Eileen Chang, was originally published in serialized form in Shanghai in 1950, under the name “Eighteen Springs (Shiba chun).” A translated U.S. edition recently was released. “Half a Lifelong Romance” introduces a broad cast of characters a
March 30, 2016
-
Popular Korean poet’s works translated into English for the first time
“No Flower Blooms Without Wavering” By Do Jong-hwan, translated by Brother Anthony and Jinna Park Seoul Selection (182 pages, 11,000 won, $18)Do Jong-hwan’s poems have been translated into English for the first time in “No Flower Blooms Without Wavering,” a bilingual compilation of the popular poet’s most recognized work. Overall, the translation stays faithful to the text, never veering too far from the literal definition. The book is divided into four chapters, each containing poems that cente
March 30, 2016
-
Marilynne Robinson wins Library of Congress fiction prize
NEW YORK (AP) -- Marilynne Robinson, the acclaimed author of novels such as "Gilead" and "Housekeeping," is this year's winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a lifetime achievement honor. In a statement released Tuesday, acting Librarian of Congress David S. Mao cited the "depth and resonance" of Robinson’s novels. The 72-year-old Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for "Gilead," the first of a trilogy of Iowa-based novels that also includes "Home" and "Lila." Previou
March 29, 2016
-
Harper Lee hated Trump's Taj Mahal resort, letter reveals
LOS ANGELES(AFP) - Harper Lee, one of America's most celebrated novelists who died in February, thought Donald Trump’s infamous Taj Mahal casino was hell on Earth, a stash of her private correspondence revealed Monday. The “To Kill a Mockingbird” author, whose masterpiece about racial injustice was read by millions, slammed the billionaire presidential hopeful's boardwalk resort in New Jersey in a letter to a friend in 1990. “The worst punishment God can devise for this sinner is to make her spi
March 29, 2016
-
Discover contemporary Asian culture in Eastern Trends
Multilingual international lifestyle magazine Eastern Trends is emerging as the go-to source for in-depth, culture-related reporting on major cities in Asia. In its April edition, the magazine features perspectives on Korean television programs and their dynamic production process.The cover of the Eastern Trends April edition, featuring Korean actor Hong Jong-hyun (Eastern Trends) Titled “Television, A Spectacular Frame,” the cover story peers behind the scenes of Korean TV production, with anec
March 27, 2016
-
French writers’ existential woe as their incomes dive
PARIS (AFP) -- It is nothing short of an existential crisis, as crippling as the ones that had Left Bank intellectuals like Albert Camus or Jean-Paul Sartre staring gloomily into their coffee. French writers have never felt more badly paid, undervalued or under pressure, with a new survey showing more than half of established authors earn less than the minimum wage. Many are so depressed by the state of the book industry that they are considering giving up altogether, according to a new report.
March 23, 2016
-
New author hopes her novel ‘The Nest’ lives up to its buzz
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney was on her way to meet her family for brunch in New York when she had an idea for the opening scene of her debut novel, “The Nest.” Sweeney imagined family members “all needing to meet but all needing a drink before they met and all getting their drink in proximity to each other without knowing that they were all doing the same thing,” she said in a recent phone interview from her home in Los Angeles. She was intrigued by why they needed to drink before s
March 23, 2016
-
A stirring tale of Thomas Francis Meagher, ‘The Immortal Irishman’
“The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero” By Timothy Egan Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (384 pages, $28) Green beer aside, the most appropriate way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day would be to learn more about one of Ireland’s greatest exports, Thomas Francis Meagher. And there’s no better way to do that than by reading this stirring and magnificent biography by Timothy Egan, “The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero.” Few people ha
March 23, 2016
-
How CJ Group came to dominate the culture industry
“Creative Journey” By Ko Seong-yeon Yolimwon Publishing Group (280 pages, 13,800 won, $11.90)“Creative Journey” offers a case study into how a small sugar company grew to become CJ Group, a global lifestyle company and the nation’s largest cultural contents provider. Locally, the letters CJ have now come to represent Korea’s popular culture, from films, music, and TV programs to food, and the worldwide hallyu phenomena, writes author Ko Seong-yeon. Ko, a journalist with expertise in creative c
March 23, 2016
-
Ambition and poverty in lives of rural Indian fishermen
“The Dance of the Sea” By Soosaiya Anthreas Gatekeeper Press (447 pages, $11.95) A long-winded tale of people battling for life in a slum fishing town in southern India, “The Dance of the Sea” spans the life of Sebastian, who seeks to escape his squalid hometown of belligerent, mostly uneducated fisherman. After successfully becoming an engineer under the pressure of his parents, he goes on to desert his lover and turn his back on his poverty-stricken sister. A tsunami wave later strikes his hom
March 23, 2016
-
Famed publisher opens Paris’ first on-demand only bookshop
PARIS (AP) -- To many Parisians, the letters PUF have always been associated with the intellectual heart of the French capital. So when the 95-year-old venerable publishing house specializing in human and social sciences was forced to close its historic bookstore on the Place de La Sorbonne in 1999, it left a big void in the heart of many students and researchers. But Les Presses Universitaires de France (PUF) is back in town, just a stone’s throw from their previous location in the Quartier Lat
March 21, 2016
-
Universality and marketability matter for Korean books to work in foreign market: agent
Good quality translation on top of universal appeal are the requisite elements needed for a Korean book to succeed overseas, said a Korean book agent on Thursday."Quantity doesn't really matter. The bottom line is it should be in good quality to help a foreign reader's understanding of Korean literature," said Im Young-hee at French publishing company Philippe Picquer, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on the sideline of the Paris Book Fair. South Korea is the guest of honor to mark the 13
March 18, 2016
-
[Herald Interview] Defining and redefining Sohn Jie-ae
Sohn Jie-ae, who has spent 30 years in the English-language media, has written a memoir chronicling her journey. Published last month, “Sohn Jie-ae. CNN. Seoul” resembles its writer: It is ambitious and expansive, touching on everything from career advice to journalism, government work, North Korea, feminism and family life. “So many people seem to think to themselves, ‘This is it for me. This is the end of my capacity,’” Sohn told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. “I hope
March 17, 2016
-
Sales of Han Kang's novel soar after Man Booker nomination
Sales of "The Vegetarian," a novel by South Korean author Han Kang, have soared since it was nominated for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, an online bookseller said Wednesday.According to the Internet-based bookstore Aladin, the book was sold 12 times more from Thursday to Tuesday compared to a month ago. The prize's organizer announced on its website on Thursday that Han's "Vegetarian," translated by Deborah Smith, was among the 13 books contending for the 2016 prize. She has become th
March 17, 2016