SINGAPORE -- A wave of “healing” Korean literature has gained momentum this year, with a growing number of titles winning hearts and more to come just over the horizon. At the center of the wave stands Shanna Tan, the Singaporean translator who debuted with runaway bestseller “Welcome to Hyunam-dong

Acclaimed Korean-to-English translator and newly minted novelist, Anton Hur is navigating his busiest year yet. Based in Seoul, Hur was born in Stockholm and raised in Hong Kong, Ethiopia and Thailand, “but mostly in Korea.” So far this year, he has published six translated works, made his debut as

Mira, a resident of Yeonnam-dong living with her daughter, Nahee, and her husband, Woochul, finds herself at a crossroads. Despite her past success, her reality feels bleak as she struggles to find work amid all her concerns about her daughter and financial worries. When her old washing machine brea

At 3 a.m., a young woman stands alone on Mapo Bridge in Seoul, leaning against the railing. Cars speed past, no one noticing her. She is contemplating ending her life: The pandemic has stripped her of her job, her debts are mounting and her hope is waning. It’s been two hours of deep, dark introspec

Author Lee Mi-ye hopes she has added magical reason for why one-third of our lives is spent asleep We all have that experience of waking up from a delightful dream, only to find it slipping away after a few hours, or suddenly waking up in a cold sweat from a nightmare. What if there was a store wher

Dagger-shortlisted novel follows anonymous narrator masterminding perfect murders The man is very good at his “job” -- crafting simple, elegant and effective solutions for “restructuring.” Not so obvious or messy, certainly nothing anyone would ever suspect as murder. The natural deaths he plans hav

Co-translator says poems show resilience, potential of humanity A monumental work of Korean labor literature, Park No-hae’s poetry collection “Dawn of Labor” has recently been published in English. In 1984, Park Ki-pyung, better known by his penname Park No-hae, meaning liberation of laborers in Kor

‘Cursed Bunny’ author writes about robots ‘sweeter’ than human Few voices resonate as uniquely as that of Bora Chung, whose gripping stories like the haunting narratives of “Cursed Bunny” captivate readers worldwide. With her genre-defying short story collection, translated by Anton Hur, Chung becam

People are now living longer, well up to the age of 100. Many things have changed compared to 100 years ago, but the pursuit of happiness remains a constant thread. Rhee Kun-hoo was in his 70s and retired from a prestigious career in psychiatry when he took up writing. Born in 1935, the 88-year-old lived in a pastoral society in his youth, survived the Korean War (1950-1953), witnessed turbulent events in Korean history and even served time in prison for opposing the country’s totalitarian

[Herald Interview] Lee became first Korean to be shortlisted for Andersen prize in writing award Every grown-up has been through childhood and adolescence on their journey to adulthood. And the emotions experienced during these formative years are fundamentally universal, with only slight variations