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EXCLUSIVE Powerful storyteller Kim Un-su touches global readers

Novelist Kim Un-su writes for several hours in the early morning from 3 a.m. to about noon every day at his home in the countryside in a southern region of Korea. Courtesy of Kim Un-suBy Anna J. ParkNovelist Kim Un-su, 47, is one of the most-sought-after Korean writers in international book markets. His 2010 novel “The Plotters” has been translated into several languages and published in dozens of countries since its international debut in France in 2016. That year, the book was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere ― the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in France. The book's popularity and literary recognition in France drew the attention of editors at big publishing houses in countries like the U.S., Australia and Russia, resulting in the book's sales success in those markets. The book made its U.S. debut early this year after its rights there were sold 12 months earlier to the prestigious Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is now a part of Penguin Random House. Kim's book received many favorable critical reviews from major o

Dec 26, 2019By Anna J. Park

[EXCLUSIVE] Powerful storyteller Kim Un-su touches global readers

Travelogue dissects East Asia stuck in historical animosity

Highschool students join the consumer boycott of Japanese products in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in this July 26 file photo. / Korea Times file photoBy Kang Hyun-kyungBritish travel writer Michael Booth is one of many Westerners struck by the paradoxes of East Asia. In the eyes of Westerners, East Asia is two-faced. On one side, it is a region of wonder full of fascinating culture that keeps attracting people of the rest of the world and resilient economies full of opportunities. The other side of East Asia is rather regressive. Three countries ― South Korea, China and Japan ― are stuck in historical animosity over their tragic past shaped from the 1880s to the end of World War II. For this reason, it is a region of historical backwardness. Booth was perplexed at the lingering diplomatic spat, wondering what makes it so difficult for the countries to seek a future of mutual gain together. With a mission to find convincing answers to the question, the British author of seven books decided to explore four East Asian nations ― South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. He chose a

Dec 20, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

Travelogue dissects East Asia stuck in historical animosity

LTI Korea honors devoted literary translators

From left, translators Kim Hwan, Li San-lun, author Kim Un-su, translators Sora Kim-Russell, Yoon Sun-me, and author and publisher Pio E. Serrano attend a press conference held in central Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of LTI KoreaBy Anna J. ParkThe Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), a state-run translation arm aiming to promote Korean literature worldwide, held its annual awards ceremony Monday in central Seoul. Three different kinds of awards were jointly given ― the LTI Korea Translation Award, Distinguished Service Award and Translation Award for Aspiring Translators. The LTI Korea Translation Award, the representative award by the translation institution launched back in 1993, had been awarded every two years until 2013, when the award has changed into an annual event. This year's award winners are Yoon Sun-me for her Spanish translation of novelist Han Kang's “Human Acts,” Sora Kim-Russell's English translation of novelist Kim Un-su's “The Plotters,” and Li San-lun and Kim Hwan for their joint Russian translation of Cheon Myeong-gwan's &ld

Dec 16, 2019By Anna J. Park

LTI Korea honors devoted literary translators

'Solely about me' theme dominates 2019 publishing market

 "Solely about me" has been the overriding key word for the 2019 publishing market, with several essay collections with the theme selling the highest numbers of copies this year, according to the biggest bookstore chain.Summing up the trend of the publishing market this year, Kyobo Book Center said 2019 could be characterized by "increased attention on oneself.""The reading trend focusing on 'oneself' translated into the tendency to personally choose the reading list and focus on personal tastes, as well as into the sustained popularity of the essay genre in the era of social network services that spawned emotional hunger," Kyobo said in its summary of the 2019 publishing market.According to the Kyobo analysis, 22 out of the top 100 books in 2019 were of the essay genre, including the top three best-sellers.Novelist Kim Young-ha's essay "Reasons for Travel" topped the 2019 sales chart, followed by another illuminating essay by Buddhist Jogye Order Rev. Haemin, "Things that Grow Brighter When It Gets Quieter."Kim Soo-hyun's essay book "I Decided to be Me" came in third place.The

Dec 14, 2019

Scientist explains the unexplainable

gettyimagesbank'Interconnectedness' puts physics in layman's termsBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe internet is gripped by conspiracy theories as the economy is showing low growth and few signs of breaking out of a stalemate. Some experts present the possibility of an economic crisis that could be equivalent to, or even worse than the fallout from the Asian financial crisis which began with the collapse of the Baht, the Thai currency, in 1997.Statistical physicist Kim Beom-jun says such a view is scientifically incorrect. “Predicting whether the stock market will be bullish or bearish in the near future is almost impossible,” he says in his new book “The Science of Interconnectedness: The Wonder of Statistical Physics Explaining Interactions of the Complex World.” “Predicting the stock market is as meaningless as guessing when the next wildfire will occur. The same holds true for an earthquake. No one knows when the next earthquake will hit the nation. Some experts tried in vain to find out if there is a cycle for earthquakes based on past data.” In &ldqu

Dec 12, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

'Fake News Battle' makes case for regulation

By Kang Hyun-kyungHa Jae-sik's “Fake News Battle” is a fresh update about fake news and its irreversible, devastating consequences on the community. The fallout of fake news goes far beyond what we can possibly imagine and what's worrisome is that the entire globe is grappling with the phenomenon, according to the author.He claims that fake news has led to the mass killings and deportation of Rohingya people in Myanmar as the military created and disseminated fabricated stories about them on social media with malicious intent to pit the majority Buddhists population against the minority Muslim group. Ha, an assistant professor at the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Springfield, voices his concerns about social media, claiming it has become a conduit for misinformation, and encourages those who are involved in the media to stand up against fake news.“It's regrettable that social media has become the epicenter of fake news,” he wrote. “Conspiracy theories are rampant on social media and they are out of control. It seems inevitable

Dec 6, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

'Fake News Battle' makes case for regulation

US scholar brings Brazilian slum music to light

Funk carioca is counter-cultural, homegrown underground style of music full of provocative, sensual elements that romanticize violence and glorify drug traffickers. / gettyimagesbank 'Machine Gun Voices' digs into funk carioca By Kang Hyun-kyungBack in 1990, Paul Sneed, then an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in the United States, went all the way down to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for an independent research project about drug trafficking and residents in the shanty district of Rocinha. Through mingling with the favela locals to move his project forward, Sneed, now a professor of the Department of Hispanic Language and Literature at Seoul National University, found himself at a dance party thrown by a drug gang. The poor inhabitants of the slum district were invited there to have fun with their neighbors. Oddly, armed gangs were part of the crowd and their brawls with favela inhabitants over trivial issues sometimes led to tragic incidents ― gang fights resulted in injuries and deaths. Some gang members fired their guns in the air to threaten the residents.Surprising

Dec 5, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

US scholar brings Brazilian slum music to light

'Unorthodox' English grammar book on sale

By Park Si-sooAn English grammar book exploring the subject in an unorthodox way has gone on sale in Korea.The title itself stands out: “Counterattack on the Rules of Conventional English Grammar.”The 612-page book, co-written by veteran English educator Ahn Seong-ho and Ahn Seong-jin, looks into English grammar from three perspectives ― (1) trade and commerce, (2) Protestantism, and (3) war and sports.The authors say the perspectives clarify “all the underlying principles and logics” of English and that by looking into grammar this way, people will be able to grasp how grammatical elements are jumbled in sentences logically. The book costs 29,000 won.

Dec 2, 2019

'Unorthodox' English grammar book on sale

Swedish company hopes to trigger audiobook boom

Helena Gustafsson, head of global publishing at Sweden-based audiobook streaming service Storytel, speaks during a news conference for the launch of their service in Korea, at CGV Myeongdong in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of StorytelBy Kang Hyun-kyungStorytel, a Swedish audiobook streaming service, kicked off its service in Korea Thursday amid a growing interest in audiobooks.Helena Gustafsson, head of global publishing at Storytel, said the Swedish streaming service will create business opportunities for local publishers which were hit hard by sluggish book sales. “(Our consumption trend data show that in all countries,) backlist titles are more consumed than newly released books,” she said during a news conference for the launch of Storytel in Korea at CGV Myeongdong in Seoul. “I think backlist titles are more popular than new books probably because of our personalized services which recommend our customers books they should try. This is good for publishers because they can create revenue with their books.”Founded in 2005 by Jon Hauksson, the Swedish company

Dec 1, 2019By Kang Hyun-kyung

Swedish company hopes to trigger audiobook boom

Remembering Hulbert's love for Korea

By Kim Se-jeongAlthough Homer B. Hulbert (1863-1949) is a household name in Korea, he's still underappreciated when considering everything he did for the country.As Korea's first modern educator, Hulbert studied Korean language extensively and wrote about it academically within and outside Korea. He lamented the writing system of Hangeul was not in widespread use and made a textbook for Koreans. The missionary also gave the song “Arirang” its Western musical notation and shared it with the outside world for the first time. He published the musical notes in the English periodical, “Korean Repository” published in Korea in 1896, and helped it make into the History of Foreign Music, a paper published in New York in 1908. He praised a turtle ship invented by Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the war against Japan in the late 1500s and attempted to showcase it at an international expo in the U.S. As Joseon fell under Japanese rule, Hulbert helped Emperor Gojong reach out to the world to protest Japan's taking control of the Korean Empire. He advocated Korea's stance in man

Nov 29, 2019By Kim Se-jeong

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