Korean literature is going global. But don't leave its past behind

Thirty years ago, Anders Karlsson walked into a large London bookstore looking for books about Korea. He was directed to the Southeast Asia section. Today, Korean books occupy prominent displays in bookstores across London and around the world. Korean writers win major international literary prizes. Publishers compete for translation rights. And readers line up to meet their favorite authors. For Karlsson, a Swedish translator of Korean literature and an associate professor of Korean studies at

2026-08-31 14:15:40:00

She took pansori to Avignon. France called her a 'rock star'

"Are you 'Neige, Neige, Neige'?" Last month, at a souvenir shop during the Avignon Festival in southern France, staff members recognized the pansori performer Lee Ja-ram. "Neige" means snow in French, and they were referring to the local title of "Snow, Snow, Snow," Lee's pansori reimagining of Leo Tolstoy's short story "Master and Man." A friend had watched the technical rehearsal the day before and told them they "had to see it." "It was a place filled with people who love the arts. Everywhere

2026-08-29 16:00:00:00

Beyond technique: What world ballet leaders say Korean dancers need next

Eight current and former artistic directors from some of the world's leading ballet companies, including American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet and the Mariinsky Ballet, gathered in Seoul on Thursday for the opening of the 2026 Seoul Global Ballet Forum. Participants discussed the achievements of Korean dancers on international stages and what Korean ballet needs to take another step forward globally. The forum was organized by Kim Sun-hee, an emeritus professor at the Korea National University

2026-08-28 16:43:59:00

Real-life ‘Billy Elliot’ Jeon Min-chul’s leap to ballet superstardom

His father wanted him to give up ballet. The boy refused. "Can't you see that I'm happy when I dance?" It was a familiar argument, one that would play out in countless families with children dreaming of careers their parents considered too uncertain. Tears filled the boy’s eyes. His father worried that it would be difficult for a man to build a successful career in dance in Korea. The boy was doing well in school, the father reminded him. Why not keep ballet as a hobby and pursue a more stable c

2026-08-26 14:24:21:00

Actor Jang Dong-yoon to wed in October

Actor Jang Dong-yoon will tie the knot with fellow actor Kim Seung-yoon. BH Entertainment said Monday that the couple will marry in October. The two have been dating for a long time and will hold a small Christian wedding attended only by family, according to the agency. Jang announced the marriage in a handwritten letter posted to social media on Tuesday. "We have spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other's different sides," the 34-year-old actor wrote. "As we have come to unders

2026-08-25 19:59:07:00

Novelist Jo Jung-rae chooses love for his final novel

Jo Jung-rae had spent more than five decades writing about war, history and the upheavals of Korean society. He had never written a love story. "I'm getting older, and the time I have left to write stories is growing shorter as I approach the final chapter of my life," Jo, 83, said at a press conference Monday in central Seoul. "The thought suddenly came to me: Why not write a love story now?" Jo made his literary debut in 1970 and devoted much of his career to exploring Korea's turbulent histor

2026-08-25 13:17:34:00

Folklore says rabbit made it out of Dragon Palace. But what happened next?

What happened to the rabbit after he was lured by a turtle to the Underwater Dragon Palace, only to outwit his captors and barely make it back alive? The playful premise gave rise to "Rabbit’s Eight Sufferings" in 2022, one of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea's biggest hits. Four years after its premiere, the pansori-based musical drama, or changgeuk, returns with a newly designed LED stage and a fresh cast of lead performers. The story picks up where "Sugungga," one of Korea's best-known

2026-08-19 07:00:00:00

Disney taps Korean fantasy bestseller for live-action film

South Korean author Lee Mi-ye's bestselling fantasy novel "The Dallergut Dream Department Store" will be adapted into a feature by Disney Live Action. British author and screenwriter Patrick Ness is on board to adapt the screenplay. Ness is best known for his books for young adults, including the "Chaos Walking" trilogy and "A Monster Calls," both of which he has adapted for the screen. Wildfire, the novel's English-language publisher in the UK, shared the news of the project Thursday on Instagr

2026-08-18 15:13:49:00

'The pressure to be exceptional is making us miserable'

In Korea, an ordinary life is often treated as one that falls short, says Han Gru, a professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut and the creator of the life-advice YouTube channel newyorkcrab, which has about 90,000 subscribers. In his new memoir, "I've Decided to Live Like an Enlightened Wild Animal" (literal translation), Han reflects on the value of an unremarkable life, suggesting that there is nothing wrong with not being exceptional — and that the pressure to become so can make people

2026-08-18 07:00:00:00

One quartet, two visions of life and death

The Seoul Metropolitan Ballet celebrated its second anniversary with a double bill, "Death and the Maiden," which ran Friday to Sunday at the National Theater of Korea's Haeoreum Theater in Jung-gu. The program took Franz Schubert's celebrated string quartet, "Death and the Maiden," as its central motif, setting signature works by two international choreographers side by side: Christian Spuck's "The Seventh Blue" and Alexander Ekman's "Cacti." Though both works began with Schubert's music, the t

2026-08-17 13:37:45:00