my timesThe Korea Times
Lifestyle

Books

Book fest to honor Asian publishing experts

By Do Je-hae One of the new highlights of the Paju BookSori Festival, to be held from Sept. 15-23, is the introduction of the Paju Book Award, organizers said Monday. “We hope that the establishment of the Paju Book Award will contribute to spreading the spirit and message of Asian writers and publishers,” Kim Eun-ho, head of the festival’s organizing committee, said during a press conference in central Seoul. “We selected the winners with cooperation from experts across Asia.” The organizers said that the award was the first of its kind that honors unique achievements of Asians in the field. The ceremony will be held on Sept. 17. The nine-day festival will offer a diverse range of programs for book lovers, publishers and authors. The programs include meetings with authors, book readings, performances, exhibitions, workshops and seminars, among others. It also features a lecture series with 30 guest authors. Visitors are also allowed to visit printing shops and publishers in the complex to observe the book-making process. A collection of ancient documents will be on di

Sep 3, 2012By Do Je-hae

Recent Books

Freestyle Hero Park Tae-hwan; Joongang Books: 312 pp., 13,000 won What is the life of an Olympic gold medalist like? That is what the nation’s fastest swimmer tries to explain in his self-penned book. He has experienced both the highs ― gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics ― and the lows ― disqualification in Athens four years earlier and even worse, a no-medal showing at the 2009 World Championships. He catalogs these events, starting from Athens in 2004 to London this year. While any Korean vaguely interested in Park would know all these facts already, the 23-year-old’s take shocks with its candor. He talks about the hours following the disqualification scare after the preliminary 400-meter freestyle race in London and how he cried in the post-race press conference. He wanted to pour his heart out but his eyes did the talking for him. None of the confessions or the events feels especially monumental, however; the swimming champion seems to have transcended them all. His skirmish with his parents over choice of college, especially, lacks drama. That’s it, a reader may b

Aug 31, 2012

Kim Ran-do consoles ‘adult child’

By Kwon Mee-yoo It is difficult for young college graduates to land a decent job in Korea. However, those who do find one continue to agonize over troubles with bosses, low salaries and difficult work. They find themselves asking Kim Ran-do, a mentor of young Koreans why the workplace is not easy to deal with. In his new book "It Takes 1,000 Wobbles to Grow into an Adult" (OUA, 14,000 won), Kim gives advice to those in their late 20s and early 30s, who struggle with work, family, love and self-realization. The Seoul National University professor’s lectures are among the most popular at the prestigious university. His previous book "It Hurts Because It's Youth" is a bestseller in Korea, about to reach sales of 2 million. The books convey his compelling yet comforting lectures in written form. While his first book targeted university students, the latest one aims to help those new to the workforce. He calls them "adult children" who have suspended fundamental thoughts about themselves in cutthroat competition in order to find a job and jump into society. According to Ki

Aug 31, 2012

Recent books

President and Louis Vuitton Hwang Sang-min; Deulnyeok Publishing: 368 pp., 15,000 wonWhy are Koreans so crazy about designer handbags and other luxury goods? Why do they pay more for a cup of take-out coffee from a major chain than they do for their lunch? Why do they keep buying lottery tickets even though it’s highly unlikely they will hit the jackpot? The author, a well-known psychologist, attempts to explain to readers the reasons behind the hard-to-understand consumer behavior. He analyzes and describes the psychology of the consumer from their point of view and not that of the vendor. Hwang — a star professor who has actively expressed his opinions on social, political and economic issues via various media — says people buy luxury items and large-size sedans as status symbols to show off. As American author Barbara Kruger said: “I shop therefore I am,” people are defined by what they buy and own these days. They want to show off their social standing with their expensive belongings. This is because they are empty inside, writes Hwang. He said consume

Aug 24, 2012

‘Mommy porn’ better in translation

Korean ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ unleashed from original’s poor writing By Kwaak Je-yup You don’t have to look up TV ratings to realize that Koreans have a soft spot for Cinderella-type romance. Korean soap operas are filled with impeccably-groomed and well-mannered heirs of conglomerate fortune, who inevitably fall in love with a girl of a class far below. (Think the runaway success “Lovers in Paris,” 2004, starring Park Shin-yang and Kim Jung-eun, for example.) So in a way, few should be surprised by the phenomenal success of E. L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy being repeated here, too, given its poor-woman-rich-man theme. After its Aug. 8 release, the first part, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” immediately became the country’s bestselling novel and e-book; more than 150,000 copies of “Grey” and its sequel “Fifty Shades Darker” combined, have flown off the shelves in the first two weeks, according to its publisher Sigongsa. (The final installment, “Fifty Shades Freed,” has yet to be printed.) But the Grey series is not a classic Disney Cinderella, where small-town college

Aug 24, 2012

Gyeongju to host int’l literary congress

By Do Je-hae More than 300 authors from 114 countries will visit Korea next month, including former Nobel Literature Prize winners Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, for the 78th International PEN Congress. The tourist destination of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, will host the event from Sept. 9 to 15. Under the theme of “Literature, Media, and Human Rights,” the congress will host forums, lectures and recitation of poems. “It will be an opportunity to present Korea’s literary achievements to the world, while discussing ways to help writers fighting for freedom of speech in various countries,” said Lee Gil-won, president of the PEN International Korean Center, during a press conference in central Seoul, Wednesday. Lee, a poet, joined Korea PEN in 1993, and was elected president in 2009. His poems have been translated into English, French and Spanish. “We hope to show the global literary community that Korea has culturally matured as well, aside from political and economic transformations we have achieved since we last hosted this even

Aug 22, 2012By Do Je-hae

Bestselling history cartoon gets facelift

By Do Je-hae A local publisher has recently re-issued one of the most popular comic book series, the “Faraway Neighbor Countries” by the nation’s first-generation cartoonist Lee Won-bok. Since its first publication in 1987, the 14-book series on the history of European countries, Japan, China and Korea has sold more than 15 million copies. Because of its lasting popularity among the youth, the local press has labeled it a “people’s comic.” But because times have changed so much here and abroad since the 1980s, the publisher and the author felt the need to update the series. “When I first started to work on the series, Korea was an economic underdog. Back then, I worked on the cartoons on Europe with a sense of envy for their prosperity,” Kim writes in the introduction. The series started with Europe because the author, 66, had spent ten years studying in Germany in the 1970s. Starting from the Netherlands, the series has covered six European countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the U.K. Subsequently, Lee published two books on Japan, one

Aug 17, 2012By Do Je-hae

Recent book

Traditional Village Markets in Korea Text and photography by Juoung Yong-sin; Noonbit Publishing; 480 p While they may not be the first choice for shoppers in this day and age, traditional markets offer a unique look at the culture, history and life of Koreans. Photographer and novelist Juoung Yong-sin has toured traditional markets around the country for the past 25 years. He has put together 430 photos in this book, adding stories of his experiences at 82 famous markets. There are some 1,500 traditional markets nationwide. The number keeps dwindling as more traditional markets close due to the overwhelming expansion of discount chains and department stores. The photos are categorized per nine provinces. The author also gives information about the regional specialties to be found in the markets. A photo exhibition of the author’s works is underway at the Dukwon Gallery in Insa-dong. — DO JE-HAE Public Opinion Walter Lippmann; Translated from English to Korean by Lee Choong-hoon; Kachi Publishing: 409 pp., 20,000 won This classic was written by Walte

Aug 17, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Recent books

Korean History 1945-1948 Lee Wan-bom; Translated by Chong Kyong-ran; The Academy of Korean Studies Press: 224 pp., 18,000 won The Academy of Korean Studies Press has translated Lee Wan-bom’s 2006 work “Korean History 1945-1948” into English. Lee is a professor at the academy, specializing in the time period of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. He is a scholar who insists that the liberation should be re-viewed from a middle ground, as neither success nor failure and participated in by both right- and left-wing academic circles’ research on the liberation history. Lee has added more than 100 footnotes for the English edition for foreign readers to better understand Korea in terms of a divided country. — Kwon Mee-yoo Iron Butterflies Birute Regine; Translated from English to Korean by Ryu Ga-mee; Feelbooks: 528 pp., 17,000 won A transition is taking place in the male dominated society. An increasing number of women have started to exert power and leadership in various fields. This book is about the stories of dynamic female role mod

Aug 10, 2012By Do Je-hae

Mary Quant, British fashion icon

By Do Je-hae Britain’s contribution to fashion is enormous. For the younger generation, London is best known for its high-street fashion with brands like Reiss, Topshop, River Island, Next and Debenhams, offering affordable fashion to the masses. Britain has produced many style icons such as TV presenter and model Alexa Chung and Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge. The British capital first came to the forefront of fashion in the 1960s and it was Welsh designer Mary Quant who led the way by popularizing miniskirts and hot-pants, items that have continued to make comebacks ever since. Her 1966 autobiography has been published in Korean for the first time under the title “Mary Quant: The Woman Who Completed Women” by Books On Wednesday Publishing last week. The original was published as “Quant by Quant.” Ernestine Carter, an authoritative and influential fashion journalist of the 1950s and ‘60s, wrote: “It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior, and Ma

Aug 10, 2012By Do Je-hae
previous page
116117118119120
next page

Most Read in Lifestyle