With South Korea riding high on the wave of its international success in the pop culture arena, ranging from the hugely popular “Squid Game” to children’s book illustrator Suzy Lee winning the prestigious Andersen Awards just last week, a foundation hopes to pay it forward by introducing Koreans to relatively unknown Southeast Asian literature. In pursuit of this goal, the Hansae Yes24 Foundatio...

Lee Ji-won, a South Korean critic who was one of the 10 judges for the award, said Suzy Lee‘s works played a critical role in expanding the readership of illustration books to include not only children, but also adults. “Suzy Lee’s lifelong work is outstanding and she is constantly trying new things through her work. It is certain that she will make a lasting contribution to children’s literatur...

The 13 works will be whittled down to six for the shortlist announced on April 7, with the final winner to be announced May 26. Prize money of 50,000 pounds ($65,000) will be shared equally by the author and the translator. By Lee Si-jin ( sj_lee@heraldcorp.com )

The Daesan Foundation is accepting applications for translation of Korean literary works. Applicants can choose a Daesan Literary Award prize-winning work that has not been translated into the target language, or others that the translator wishes to work on. The foundation funded translations of 13 Korean works last year. This year, up to 15 million won ($12,400) will be given for a single tran...

Meanwhile, Lee’s work has also been chosen for the final shortlist of the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Following her first in 2016, this is the Korean illustrator’s second nomination as a finalist for the prestigious award. She remains the only Korean finalist for the award since its establishment in 1956. The winner will be announced during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair period, following th...

Songpa Book Museum, situated in eastern Seoul, is an establishment dedicated to reading. The museum, which opened in 2019, is the first public book museum in Korea. At the museum, visitors can learn more about the practice of reading through various exhibitions. Some exhibitions explain how Korean ancestors read books during the Joseon era (1392-1910) or during the Japanese occupation (1910-194...

“As more television dramas become available in various local and global streaming platforms, the number of new drama fans continues to increase, leading to the rise in demand of popular series-related contents, including the script,” a Yes24 official said in a press release on Wednesday. “With more drama fans showing their love and support by purchasing the scripts, reading the original script i...

The work sold some 300,000 copies in 10 different languages over five years

'Korean culture is both diverse and dynamic, placing importance on family-oriented mindsets such as respect for the elderly, different honorifics per situation, and subtle social cues.'

LTI Korea added that increased interest in Korean literature is due to Hallyu’s ever-growing global influence as well as quality translations. These changes are partially due to several Korean writers like Yun Ko-eun and Ma Yeong-shin winning international awards, LTI Korea said. In July, Yun’s novel “The Disaster Tourist” became the first in Korea to win in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dag...

A team behind the translation of “Yi Sang: Selected Works” received a literary translation award from the US-based Modern Literature Association, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Monday. This is the first time the award has been given for a work of Korean literature, according to LTI Korea, which sponsored the book‘s translation and publication. Jack Jung, a visiting assistant...

Park In-won among 13 translators recognized for excellence in translating Korean literature

With an aim to gather Asian literary writers to discuss current and future agendas, the 2021 Asia Literature Forum is set to kick off Wednesday at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. Under the theme “Reading the lives and wounds in Asia,” the six-hour event will be held both at the location and through the ACC’s YouTube channel. Twelve writers from five countries will participate in the forum, ...

The Daesan Foundation announced the four winners of the 29th annual Daesan Literary Awards on Wednesday. The organization founded by Kyobo Life Insurance awards winners in four categories, recognizing the best poetry, novel, drama or literature review and translated work. The award for best translated work is given to English, French, German and Spain translations, one for each year in sequentia...

Exhibition shows 78 Korean books to share with Japan, some depicting current social issues Koreans are faced with