Professor Kim Seong-kon of Seoul National University has been appointed the new director of Korean Literature Translation Institute, the Culture Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Kim, who has been teaching the University’s English literature program since 1984, also served as the director of Seoul National University Press, Seoul International Forum for Literature, and International Association for Contemporary Korea Studies. He also served as the president of the Korean Association of Modern Fiction in English and the American Studies Association of Korea.

Kim, 63, has been a long-time advisor to KLTI as well. Most recently, he participated in the institute’s joint project with American publisher Dalkey Archive Press in developing of their upcoming English-language translations of Korean literary works.

He has also translated works of local poets Hwang Dong-gyu and Moon Jeong-hee into English, which were published in the U.S. He has written a number of literary reviews in Korean as well.

By Claire Lee
(dyc@heraldcorp.com)