LTI Korea renews literature magazine
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Novelist Han Kang featured in LTI Korea’s new magazine “Korean Literature Now”
By Yun Suh-young
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) launched its new quarterly literary magazine, "Korean Literature Now” (KLN), Aug. 19.
LTI Korea is a subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that promotes Korean literature overseas. The new magazine is a revamped version of its predecessor, "―list: Books from Korea," started in 2008.
The periodical features poetry, fiction, interviews, book reviews and essays. Whereas the previous version focused more on commentaries from local experts and introduced a narrow pool of Korean writers, the new magazine includes wider content, notably contributions from overseas experts. The magazine is distributed to 4,500 entities worldwide, such as publishers, agencies, educational institutions and libraries.
"We revamped the magazine so that Korean literature is experienced by a wider range of people," said LTI Korea’s managing director Park Chan-woo.
"Previously, we focused on simply listing numerous Korean literature books. Now, we're offering more in-depth information on Korean authors, the content of the books themselves (such as exclusively revealing excerpts of recent releases), and providing a broader view on Korean literature trends through reviews, commentaries and critics from overseas literary experts, ranging from translators and writers to publishers and critics.
Cover of the August edition of LTI Korea’s quarterly magazine “Korean Literature Now” / Courtesy of LTI Korea
"This new endeavor comes at a time when interest in Korean literature is increasing overseas. We hope to provide more insight into the industry for our foreign audiences."
The first edition of KLN has an interview with Man Booker Prize-winning author Han Kang, as well as English excerpts from her latest release, "The White Book," which was translated by Deborah Smith. This is the first time an excerpt from the book has been released in any literature publication and comes before the book’s release. The English translation of "The White Book" will be released in Britain next year by Portobello Books.
Smith, who won the Man Booker Prize along with Han Kang earlier this year for translating "The Vegetarian," contributed an essay to the magazine, "The Globalization of Korean Literature and the Status Quo." It provides insight into how to promote Korean literature overseas.
Other magazine content includes reports on several Korean books, such as "Diary of a Murderer" by Kim Young-ha and "Snow" by Shin Kyeong-nim, and book reviews and excerpts of numerous Korean publications.
Korean-American writer Krys Lee, who rose to fame with her English book "Drifting House" and who recently published "How I Became a North Korean," contributed an essay, "Connecting the World through Words." This is about the achievements of Korean literature and LTI Korea’s role. Daniel Hahn, who translated "A General Theory of Oblivion" by Jose Eduardo Agualusa, who was a Man Booker Prize finalist this year, contributed the essay "Some Morning-After Translation Thoughts." It is an interesting column on the connection between Brexit and translated literature.
The magazine is available in print and online at www.koreanliteraturenow.com. LTI Korea publishes a webzine that provides all the articles in the printed magazine free online, and videos on book previews, authors' interviews and audio books.