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Game over: Minumsa wins Murakami sweepstakes

The Japanese version of his book, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” / Korea TimesFamed author Haruki MurakamiBy Baek Byung-yeulAfter months of anticipation, the Minumsa Publishing Group announced itself as the winner of the Haruki Murakami sweepstakes, which garnered rapt attention in the publishing industry in the past months. Korea’s financially–squeezed publishers had ferociously competed to secure the rights to publish the Japanese superstar author’s new book. Minumsa, which plans to publish the Korean version of "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’’ in July, didn’t disclose how much it bid for the rights. But industry sources believe the company was cutting a check for at least 150 million yen (about $1.47 million), which would represent the highest royalty payment to a foreign author.In a country where book readership is hitting new lows amid a bad economy and the explosion of mobile Internet devices, Murakami is one of the few writers capable of moving a large volume of h

May 28, 2013
Game over: Minumsa wins Murakami sweepstakes

Recent book

 My Dream Is Not Over YetMin Hoon-ki; Brain Store Publishing: 344 pp., 15,000 won Korean professional baseball was reshaped in 1998 after foreign players were allowed to play. These players, many of them the products of Major League Baseball farm systems, were credited with improving the quality of the competition in the Korea Baseball Organization league, which enjoyed an attendance boom in recent years.In this book, veteran baseball journalist Min Hoon-ki provides an entertaining tale of 19 foreign players who have played or are playing in Korea. The players’ daily experiences are portrayed in details, and their efforts to overcome the cultural and language barriers, adjust to different strategies and deal with the pressure to produce give the book its drama.Min, who has covered former Korean major leaguer Park Chan-ho during his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has a fluent command of English, which clearly benefited him in writing this book._Baek Byung-yeul  

May 24, 2013
Recent book

Realities of the Confucian past

Maija Rhee Devine borrows from her personal experience in “The Voices of Heaven,” which revolves around the story of a couple and their secretly adopted daughter in the days leading up to the Korean War. Their quiet life begins to split at the seams after a mistress moves in with the family to bear a male child, which was deemed necessary in a society dictated by Confucianist culture. / Yonhap Author offers poignant and absorbing story of war and family“The Voices of Heaven,” Maija Rhee Devine, Seoul Selection, 305 pagesBy Kim Young-jinKorea’s past is often presented in a redacted form, focusing on the story of its dazzling rise from the ashes of the Korean War (1950-53) and glossing over the complex, often dark, changes it has undergone to become an economic force.In many ways, the life of author Maija Rhee Devine is a product of the less recounted history of this period. Her birth family relinquished her because society favored sons over daughters. She recalls the horror of the war, but also the perseverance that saw people thr

May 24, 2013
Realities of the Confucian past

recent books Eerie Tales from Old Korea

Eerie Tales from Old KoreaCompiled by Brother Anthony of Taize; Seoul Selection: 176 pp., $15Everyone loves a good ghost story and Homer B. Hulbert and James S. Gale, North American Christian missionaries who came to Korea in the 1880s, were no exceptions. During their stay in Korea, they became fascinated about the Korean folktales that featured ghosts, goblins, fairies and magical beasts, and committed themselves to translating these stories for international readers. Hulbert published a magazine, "The Korea Review,’’ from 1901 and 1905, which was focused on denouncing the Japanese colonial rule and introducing Korean history and culture to the international audience. The monthly also introduced many folktales about ``dokkaebi,’’ a mythical being frequently representing grotesque-looking spirits and goblins. While having a similar passion for folktales, Gale also showed much interest in classic literature like "Chunhyangjeon,’’ a 17th century romance novel, and "Guunmong,’’ a fantasy adventure written by Kim Man-jung in 1687. Gale's 1

May 17, 2013
[recent books] Eerie Tales from Old Korea

Good writing is intelligent and economic

Korean students and office workers spend an enormous amount of time and money to improve their English skills, but not all of their education has been effective. / Korea Times photo by Im Jae-beom"How to Write Concisely," Lee Chang-sup, Hannarae PlusBy Jung Min-hoDefining what great writing is will always be a difficult subject because there are so many standards. With an increasing demand for short articles in the fast-changing 21st century, however, there seems to be a demand for concise writing in almost every form. And that is what the book, “How to Write Concisely” by The Korea Times Executive Managing Director Lee Chang-sup, is all about.“The longer writing gets, the obscurer a message becomes,” Lee wrote. “Writing can be described as a sculpture that becomes art after carving and polishing processes.”Concise writing is only possible when the writer fully understands a subject matter, he added. If the writer fails to grasp the concept, the writing comes out in a complicated form. In essence, keeping it simple, avoiding redundancies and pickin

May 17, 2013
Good writing is intelligent and economic

Recent book

Paintings for Married WomenKim Jin-hee; Munhakdongne Publishing: 272 pp., 13,800 won There is a perverse Korean saying that a married woman is no longer a woman. The author of this book hates that saying with passion.In her collection of illustrations and essays, Kim makes a warm and sophisticated tribute to devoted mothers and self-giving wives.She draws from her own experience as a working mom and the struggle to maintain a work-life balance in a society that provides little freedom for it.Kim has a gift for describing the meaning of little moments, such as the time during her post natal period when she developed a new passion for art after looking at postcards she bought for a friend when she visited the National Portrait Gallery in London.― Baek Byung-yeul

May 10, 2013
Recent book

Paintings for Married Women

Kim Jin-hee; Munhakdongne Publishing: 272 pp., 13,800 wonThere is a perverse Korean saying that a married woman is no longer a woman. The author of this book hates that saying with passion.In her collection of illustrations and essays, Kim makes a warm and sophisticated tribute to devoted mothers and self-giving wives. She draws from her own experience as a working mom and the struggle to maintain a work-life balance in a society that provides little freedom for it. Kim has a gift for describing the meaning of little moments, such as the time during her post natal period when she developed a new passion for art after looking at postcards she bought for a friend when she visited the National Portrait Gallery in London. ―Baek Byung-yeul

May 10, 2013By Do Je-hae

Plot turns for the worse

Hwang Sok-yong decided to take his novel, "Yeowulmulsori," off the market after his publisher was found to have stockpiled the copies of the book to inflate sales records. / Korea Times photo by Park Seo-gangStruggling publishers needed stockpiling scandal like hole in the headBy Kim Tong-hyungAllegations that publishers are inflating the sales of books are another scandal the country’s terminally ill book market can do without.Two of the country’s most celebrated authors, Hwang Sok-yong and Kim Yeon-su, have taken their newest works off the shelves as their reputations and dignity came under threat. Kang Byung-chul, the CEO of Jaeum & Moeum, is stepping down after his publishing house was found to have stockpiled large volumes of the books and fraudulently represented them as being sold.The writers claim they didn’t know about the deception and Kang insists it was an isolated case. However, book industry insiders say publishers hoarding copies is the industry’s worst-kept secret, a habit so-deeply rooted it would require considerable time and effort to cl

May 10, 2013
Plot turns for the worse

Recent book

New Business Paradigm for EntrepreneursMasahisa Kogure; Thoth Publishing; Translated by Lee Ji-hyun: 224 pp., 13,000 wonThe book attempts to provide new ideas on how companies can find a balance between maximizing profit and improving the society it’s doing business in. Kogure’s arguments are backed by his personal experience _ the veteran business consultant also heads a non-profit organization committed to community work and helping companies with corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies.His motivation to write the book came from a simple statistic he didn’t notice until 2007 and found interesting: the world has roughly the same number of people suffering from food shortages as health problems related to obesity. Then, as a consultant for Mckinsey & Company, Kogure established his non-profit organization, ``Table for Two (TFT),’’ aimed at opening new discussions on the divergence between a society’s material success and the wellbeing of its communities.The TFT Healthy Menu Program, which has a dual goal of promoting healthier eating h

May 3, 2013
Recent book

Desperate publishers fight over new Murakami novel

Haruki MurakamiBaek Byung-yeulKorea’s financially-squeezed publishers are ferociously competing to secure the rights to publish the new novel by Japan’s superstar author Haruki Murakami.In a country where book readership is hitting new lows amid a bad economy and explosion of mobile Internet devices, Murakami is one of the few writers capable of moving a large volume of hard copies and paperbacks.In Japan, more than a million copies of his new work, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage,”were sold in just the first six days of its release in mid-April, surpassing the pace of Murakami’s previous work, ``1 Q84,’’ which needed 12 days to reach that mark.Murakami’s books have always sold well in Korea, where publishers are chasing "Colorless’’ like a pack of starving dogs fighting over a piece of steak. The bidding war is led by major publishers like Gimmyoung Publishers, Minumsa Publishing Group, Munhak Sasang and Munhakdongne Publishing, which sold more than 2 million copies of 1Q84 here.Since his debut in 1979

May 1, 2013
Desperate publishers fight over new Murakami novel
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