Most Popular
-
1
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
2
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
3
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
4
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
5
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
6
[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
-
7
Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
-
8
NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
-
9
China outpaces Korea in smaller OLED shipments for 1st time
-
10
Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
-
For some Christians, King James is the only Bible
400-year-old translation still commands a loyal followingCHICAGO ― On its 400th anniversary, the King James Version of the Bible is universally recognized as a literary masterpiece that profoundly shaped both modern Christianity and the English language.But at the Bible Baptist Church in Mount Prospect, Illinois, it’s accorded a much higher level of reverence.“Using anything but the King James Ver
March 20, 2011
-
Korea Best Seller
A man torn by history Land of BanishedBy Jo Jung-rae(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)A heart-rending tale of a man warped by the hardships of the Korean War, Jo Jung-rae’s “Land of Banished” vividly portrays a victim of Korea’s checkered history.Mahn-seok, the protagonist, is born into a family of landless peasants in the late 1920s Korea. All the members of his family are servants of a nobleman called Choi
March 18, 2011
-
New books
Journalist takes readers back to future Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now Our Culture, Our Politics, Our EverythingBy David Sirota(Ballantine Books, $25)Ah, the 1980s. Those carefree years spent spinning the gears of Rubik’s Cubes, popping Pac-Man cartridges into Atari consoles, slipping on legwarmers or parachute pants, and checking out the latest episodes of “Fam
March 18, 2011
-
52 women recount their time in the deep south of the ’60s
A restlessness in her soul would not let Gloria House be.She was a graduate student in 1963 studying French at the University of California at Berkeley.But how could she study when four little black girls were blown to bits by dynamite that tore through their Birmingham, Ala., church? And when the bodies of three boys ― two white, one black ― who’d gone south to help black people, were found burie
March 18, 2011
-
China writer Bi Feiyu wins Asia’s top literary prize
HONG KONG (AFP) ― Acclaimed Chinese author Bi Feiyu on Thursday won Asia’s top literary prize for his “Three Sisters,” set during the Cultural Revolution.Bi edged out four other shortlisted authors to secure the $30,000 Man Asian Literary Prize with the story of three women who “strive to change the course of their destinies” in one of China’s most chaotic political periods.“When I entered the sho
March 18, 2011
-
Multiple lives of a Swedish literary giant
STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― In one life, Per Olov Enquist has been an oppressed child, an athlete, a journalist and a depressed and destructive alcoholic, but in another life ― the one that really counts in his eyes ― he is an author, a giant in the world of Swedish literature.Spry for his 76 years, Enquist tells AFP in an interview that he is savoring “a different life,” which is also the title of his latest work, an autobiography.“The last 20 years have been a fantastic time. I’ve written a lot of books
March 18, 2011
-
Kim calls Jasmine Revolution another ‘candlelight vigil’
Poet shares his view on Korea’s 2008 candle-lit protest and its significancePoet Kim Ji-ha thinks Korea’s 2008 candle-lit protest against U.S. beef imports was a crucial moment in world history.“It was the very first protest that was initiated by the most marginalized in the patriarchal society,” Kim said at a literary circle meeting held at the residence of Swedish Ambassador to Korea in Seoul, T
March 17, 2011
-
S. Korea welcomes accord with France on transfer of 'Oegyujanggak' royal books
South Korea on Thursday welcomed an agreement with France to transfer centuries-old Korean royal books from Paris to Seoul between March and May beginning with the first shipment later this month.Officials from the national museums of the two countries signed the agreement in Paris on Wednesday to transport 297 volumes of the "Oegyujanggak" to Seoul in four shipments from March 28, according to th
March 17, 2011
-
New Books
Essays on mountain, life Story of Dobong MountainBy Pyo Jae-doo(Hansom Publishing House Co., 10,000 won)Former journalist Pyo Jae-doo loves climbing mountains, especially Dobong Mountain in Seoul. He finds the mountain fascinatingly beautiful and therapeutic, offering opportunities for its visitors to connect with nature.Pyo’s newly released book, “Story of Dobong Mountain” consists of seven chapt
March 11, 2011
-
Korea Best Seller
Trauma and ethicsThree Days in That AutumnBy Park Wan-suh(Jimoondang, 5,000 won)Among the many Korean novels dealing with the Korean War (1950-1953), Park Wan-suh’s “Three Days in That Autumn” tells a rare and original account of a female protagonist who tries to overcome her personal trauma while faced with ethical questions surrounding her profession.Raped and pregnat with an unwanted child duri
March 11, 2011
-
How independent bookseller survives
‘Focusing on good books, experience: key to success’As thousands of booksellers around the United States lose their jobs this month at bankrupt Borders, Nicola’s Bookstore buyer Bill Cusimano feels no pain.Here in the cramped back office at this profitable, American independent bookstore, Cusimano is swamped getting new orders in for rush customers, planning events such as the appearance of local
March 11, 2011
-
Couture looked better in the 20th century
There is a lot to like in “Couture in the 21st Century,” a collection of essays by prominent fashion designers edited by Deborah Bee, and produced in conjunction with the British department store, Harrods.It’s an excellent way to get a feel for the history of the century-and-a-half -old fashion industry started by Charles Worth in the mid-1800s.However, it also provides some stark contrasts betwee
March 11, 2011
-
Literary agent Owen Laster dies at age 72
NEW YORK (AP) ― Owen Laster, a literary agent and executive of old-fashioned self-effacement and intregity whose many clients included Judy Blume, Gore Vidal and the estate of Margaret Mitchell, died Wednesday. He was 72.Laster, who retired in 2006, died in his Manhattan apartment after a brief illness, said his friend and attorney Richard Snider.Numerous friends had visited him recently, includin
March 10, 2011
-
Puppy love in the country
The CamelliasBy Kim Yu-jeong(Jimoondang, 5,000 won) Revealing author Kim Yu-jeong’s mastery of colloquial dialect and his commanding insight into the charms of peasants, “The Camellias” tells a humorous tale of two young souls living in the countryside in the 1930s.The protagonist, a naïve young boy from a peasant family, does not like it when his rooster gets into fights with Jeom-soon’s rooster.
March 10, 2011
-
Used book bliss in Seoul
Cheap prices, personal service and the smell of musty pages draw in lovers of literatureThough not fresh and new, used books have their own charm. It could be their faded pages, old fashioned covers, or maybe it’s their price.While it’s now easy to spot English-language books ― both used and new ― in Seoul’s big chain bookstores, some smaller stores like to keep doing things the old way. The Korea
March 4, 2011
-
[New books] New Books
Swiftly paced satirePymBy Mat Johnson(Spiegal & Grau, $24)A swiftly paced satire, Mat Johnson's “Pym” skewers Edgar Allan Poe, race in America, the snack-food industry, academia, landscape painting and abominable snowmen while following a band of black adventurers seeking their fortune in Antarctica.Recently fired American literature professor Chris Jaynes is obsessed with Poe’s only novel,“The Na
March 4, 2011
-
20 questions for author Kim Edwards
“Labyrinth walker” and award-winning author of “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” Kim Edwards talks about allowing oneself to head out into uncertain territory ― be it in the middle of a lake or the middle of a story ― and see where the journey takes you.Her latest novel, “The Lake of Dreams,” was published in January.1. The latest book or movie that made you cry?“Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides left
March 4, 2011
-
Hemingway marriage comes alive
Was there a St. Louis woman who could resist Ernest Hemingway?He married and divorced three of them, prompting Gertrude Stein to quip: “Anyone who’s married three girls from St. Louis hasn’t learned much.”One might argue it was the “girls” who didn’t learn.Yet we’ll forgive Hemingway’s first wife, who fell in love when he was only 21.Handsome and magnetic, Hemingway had little (although some) bagg
March 4, 2011
-
Rare book collection on display at Stanford
PALO ALTO, California ― Over hundreds of years, and thousands of miles, a collection of rare historic books now on display at America’s Stanford University bristles with an excitement as fresh as yesterday.The collection, “The American Enlightenment: Treasures from the Stanford University Libraries,” offers a glimpse of trans-Atlantic intellectual debates triggered by the discovery of the New Worl
March 3, 2011
-
Children’s book fair winner blurs line between fiction and non-fiction
What does it take to inform kids about a wide range of non-fiction topics?Understanding kids’ sensibility to language and their use of language, children’s book writer Kim Hee-kyung answers.Children’s writer Kim Hee-kyung has been selected as the winner of the BolognaRagazzi Award at this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair.Kim, who also works as a program coordinator for the visually impaired at
Feb. 25, 2011