Winners of 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards
Fiction Grand Prize winner Breanna Hundley, left, and fiction Commendation Award winner Jude Vandervort / Courtesy of Breanna Hundley and Jude Vandervort
The Korea Times is pleased to announce the winners of its 57th Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, one of the longest-running honors dedicated to Korean literary translation.
The Grand Prize in fiction, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, went to Breanna Hundley of the United States for her translation of novelist Cho Ye-eun’s “How to Get Your Deposit Back.”
The Commendation Award for fiction was given to Jude Vandervort of the U.S. for his translation of Jeong Ji-a’s novel “Bead by Bead.”
Poetry Commendation Award winners Noh Hye-yeon, left, and Park Se-yeon / Courtesy of Noh Hye-yeon and Park Se-yeon
Two Commendation Awards in poetry went to Noh Hye-yeon for her translation of poems by Lee Su-myeong, including “To Unfold a Bird,” and to Park Se-yeon for her translation of poems by An Hee-yeon, including “There Was a Fire.”
No Grand Prize was awarded in poetry this year, as the jury found the poetry submissions less strong overall than those in fiction and judged that two commendations would more fairly recognize the promise shown by translators.
Kevin O'Rourke Prize winner Ku Bon-seung / Courtesy of Ku Bon-seung
The Kevin O’Rourke Prize was awarded to Ku Bon-seung of the U.S. for his translation of Danyao’s “Giraffe Is the Name of the World.” Presented in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in Korea, the prize honors the legacy of the late Kevin O’Rourke, a distinguished translator of Korean literature.
The Korea Times congratulates this year’s winners and thanks all participants for the care and effort they put into their translations. Through the awards, the newspaper seeks to nurture translators who can bring Korean literature to readers around the world. It welcomes submissions for next year’s competition as international interest in Korean writing continues to grow.
This year’s award ceremony will be held on Nov. 10 at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. The awards are sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KB Financial Group.
Grand Prize in fiction: Breanna Hundley (Cho Ye-eun’s “How to Get Your Deposit Back”)
Commendation Award in fiction: Jude Vandervort (Jeong Ji-a’s novel “Bead by Bead”)
Commendation Awards in poetry: Noh Hye-yeon (selected poems by Lee Su-myeong) and Park Se-yeon (selected poems by An Hee-yeon)
Kevin O'Rourke Prize: Ku Bon-seung (Danyao’s “Giraffe Is the Name of the World”)
Judges: Sora Kim-Russell (award-winning translator), Krys Lee (associate professor in the Underwood International College at Yonsei University) and Ji-Eun Lee (professor in the Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Emory University)