Marking the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and France, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea on Tuesday announced its yearlong series of events introducing Korean literature across France.
The project kicks off this month with a five-day event centered on Korean genre fiction, held in Paris and Lyon.
The Librairie Le Phenix, a bookshop specializing in Asian literature, will host a book talk on April 1-2, bringing together Kang Ji-young and Lee Hee-joo. The two novelists, whose works have recently been published in French, are expected to discuss their literary worlds, with a focus on “Mrs. Shim Is a Killer” and “Holy Boy.”
Kang and Lee will then travel to Lyon, where they have been invited to participate in the 22nd Quais du Polar, a festival of crime fiction in print and film, from April 3-5.
An English-language edition of “Mrs. Shim Is a Killer,” translated by Paige Morris, is set for release next month. The novel follows a recently widowed mother of two who, facing an empty refrigerator and dwindling job prospects, answers a cryptic advertisement that sets her on a darkly comic path as a contract killer.
“Holy Boy,” translated by Joheun Lee and published in English last month, centers on the kidnapping of a K-pop idol by four devoted fans. Their vision of love spirals into obsession and madness, blurring the line between love and destruction.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
