Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Seoul International book fair kicks off

The Seoul International Book Fair, which kicked off Wednesday, will be held under the theme of “metamorphosis” at the World Trade Center in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, through Sunday.Some 161 local book publishers and 23 book stores, along with 80 overseas publishing companies from 18 countries, including Turkey and Canada, are participating in the five-day event.This year, instead of publishers promoting books at their separate booths, companies will join together to introduce diverse book store trends.In the special “Era of Book Stores” section, 20 small concept book stores thriving in local neighborhoods will be highlighted. In the “Discovery of Books” section, 50 small- and medium-sized publishers will display books which will best represent them.Experts in the fields of genre books, science books and books on writing essays will meet pre-selected visitors to provide tips to choose books according to their tastes, while visitors who apply with their own stories can copy poems that are recommended accordingly by poets. Special lectures and me

Jun 14, 2017

Two faces of South Korea's growth

The cover of "The New Koreans" / Courtesy of Michael Breen 'The New Koreans' is an updated overview of the 'land of miracle' By Yun Suh-youngMichael Breen, author of "The News Koreans" "Defiance," said Michael Breen."That was actually how I wanted to title the book. 'Defiance ― The Story of South Koreans,' or somewhere along those lines.""Defiance is the key word that best explains South Korea's growth. It was the defiance of the Koreans that brought them here, to this stage. Defiance was the engine that propelled the country to growth," said Breen, author of the recent book, "The New Koreans," during an interview with The Korea Times last week."The main point I'm trying to make in the book is that Korea developed because of a certain emotion driving the country and it was identified as an angry defiance. They only had one way to go and that was to improve. The South Koreans were very angry toward the North Koreans and even toward the Americans. They defied circumstances and history and the way people looked at them."He makes this claim upfront in the preface of t

Jun 9, 2017

Maverick novelist stresses human nature in 'The Retribution Agency'

Novelist Lee Oi-soo introduces his latest novel, “The Retribution Agency,” during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap By Park Jin-hai “Korea’s art and culture today lag far behind others, as seen in the blacklist of anti-government artists. I strongly wished principles and morality would recover and common sense could have a place in society. I wrote this book hoping it can contribute to that cause,” said novelist Lee Oi-soo, who introduced his latest novel, “The Retribution Agency,” during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday.The 70-year-old is a maverick figure on the Korean literary scene and his best-selling books are known for their unconventional views of life.It has been 12 years since his last novel was released and the author has returned to the literary scene after recovering from stomach cancer.  The novel is about a 30-year-old man who can communicate with flowers. He teams up with flowers, a friend with the supernatural power of psychic photography, a flower shop owner, an eccentric prosecutor and a

Jun 2, 2017

Maverick novelist stresses human nature in 'The Retribution Agency'

Lightness of literature criticized

Panelists speak at a keynote speech of the Seoul International Forum for Literature at the Kyobo Convention Hall in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Seoul National University professor Yoon Sang-in, Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, poet Ko Un, critic Kim U-chang and critic Choi Won-shik. / YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooThe fourth edition of the Seoul International Forum for Literature (SIFL) wrapped up a three-day discussion on the theme "Literature and Its Readership in the Changing World" from Tuesday to Thursday.Held at the Kyobo Convention Hall in downtown Seoul, the forum featured 13 writers from abroad and 50 from Korea taking part in keynote speeches and discussions.Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and non-fiction writer who pioneered "novels of voices," gave a keynote speech on Tuesday.The 2015 Nobel Literature laureate well-known for "Voices from Chernobyl," which traces oral history regarding the Chernobyl disaster, said the history of individuals is neglected and her duty is to help get them remembered. She interviewed some 4,000 people for four decades and pu

May 26, 2017

'Moon Jae-in: The Destiny' tops bestselling chart

A cover of "Moon Jae-in: The Destiny" special edition / Courtesy of BOOKPALThe book is most popular among women in 30sBy Kim Jae-heunKorean President Moon Jae-in’s book “Moon Jae-in: The Destiny” released six years ago has topped the bestseller list at local bookstores, a week after his victory in the 19th presidential election on May 9.The book’s first edition was published in June 2011 to reminisce about the late President Roh Moo-hyun’s five-year term. It instantly became a bestseller, selling out all 15,000 copies.Publisher BOOKPAL reprinted the special edition to celebrate Moon’s victory with additional photographs of recent candlelight rallies and Moon campaigning during the election period. The special edition is set at a lower price.The sale of “Moon Jae-in: The Destiny” is particularly notable in online stores as it topped overall best seller list with only sale by subscription at Yes24 and Interpark and it is ranked second in the e-book sale section.According to the country’s largest bookstore Kyobo Book Centre, the sale

May 22, 2017

'Moon Jae-in: The Destiny' tops bestselling chart

Globally renowned writers to visit Seoul

Int’l literature forum opens May 23By Yun Suh-young J.M.G Le Clezio Yu Hua Robert Hass Amitav GhoshSeoul International Forum for Literature (SIFL) 2017 will be held May 23 to 25 under the theme "Literature and Its Readership in the Changing World" at the Kyobo Convention Hall in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.The SIFL was first held in 2000 to offer a platform for writers from all across the world to discuss various issues and exchange views on the state and role of literature. It is also intended to play a bridging role between writers and readers, offering readers a rare opportunity to meet renowned authors. The forum is held every five years and is organized by the Daesan Foundation and the Arts Council Korea.At this year's forum, participants will discuss the radical changes in society owing to globalization and technological advancements and how literature and its readership can respond to those changes.Participating writers from overseas include Svetlana Alexievich, Omar Perez Lopez, Yu Hua, Amitav Ghosh, Nora Okja Keller, Antoine Compagnon, Ben Okri, Stua

May 19, 2017

Globally renowned writers to visit Seoul

President Moon books flying off shelves

A customer at a bookstore near Seoul Station reads President Moon Jae-in’s book “A Completely New Nation -- Questions from the Republic of Korea and Answers from Moon Jae-in,” Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeulBy Baek Byung-yeulWith Moon Jae-in clinching victory in the May 9 presidential election, people who are curious about the new President of Korea are rushing to bookstores.Right after election day, online and offline bookstores created sections solely focused on President Moon-related books. An official at Kyobo Book Centre in Gwanghwamun said books about Moon sold more than 1,200 copies a day after the election day while they only sold 57 copies a day on average last week.Among those books covering President Moon, TIME magazine’s latest Asia edition featuring him on the cover set a record here as the issue became the most-sold publication in a day at local online bookstore Aladin.Aladin said Thursday it sold 7,024 copies of the magazine for 24 hours starting May 10 at 1:40 p.m. to break the bookstore’s bestselling record. The company

May 12, 2017

A new anthology of poems by Korean-American poets:“Ebb and Flow”

Cover for “Ebb and Flow”By Dr. Kang Chang-wuk A new anthology of poems, “Ebb and Flow” has been published jointly by CreateSpace and Amazon.com. This book is unique in that it features the work of eight Korean-American poets translated into English. The poets are Korean-American, except one for whom English is a second language. Writing the poems and publishing the book must have been daunting, but they have done it. The English-language poems are nuanced and unique, and more importantly, express the poets’ excellence and artistry. While these poets have already shown their gift of poetry in Korean, is the poems in this anthology are not just simple translations. They were written in English from scratch, which is an admirable and amazing feat.They   say that early human beings originated from Central Africa and spread all over the world. People move constantly. When this generation of poets from Korea left their home, they probably did not think they would leave their homeland permanently. Once they arrived in America, however, they

May 5, 2017

A new anthology of poems by Korean-American poets:“Ebb and Flow”

2 Korean novelists invited to PEN World festival

By Yun Suh-youngKorean novelists Bae Su-ah and Han Yu-joo will attend the global literary festival "PEN World Voices Festival" held in New York from May 1 through 7, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) said Tuesday.The 13th annual event is themed "Gender and Power" this year and is inviting 150 writers from 40 countries. The two participating authors from Korea are sponsored by the LTI Korea. Other Korean writers Ko Eun (2006), Hwang Seok-young (2006, 2009, 2012) and Kim Young-ha (2011) have previously participated.The PEN World Voices Festival was founded by PEN America and novelist Salman Rushdie to expand the literary horizon and to exchange diverse literature among cultures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. PEN America is the American branch of the global membership association of prominent literary writers and editors, PEN International.The two Korean authors, Bae and Han, are participating at the event as they have both published novels in the U.S. this year with the support of LTI Korea. Bae published "Recitation" in January and Han r

May 2, 2017

2 Korean novelists invited to PEN World festival

Book details how Korea can lead fintech industry

Author calls for deregulation on banking sector   By Park Jin-haiLee Suk-geun“Fintech Revolution; A Game Changer for the Financial Industry” by Lee Suk-geunLee Suk-geun, an endowment professor at Sogang University and former presidential economic adviser, has released a book that details Korea’s place in the fast-evolving financial technology (fintech) industry and how it can lead the sector.In the 193-page book, “Fintech Revolution; A Game Changer for the Financial Industry,” the financial expert, who has worked at various global consulting firms and most recently consulted for financial IT infrastructure firm Telco Systems, and the government in formulating a fintech strategy, warns that the Korean financial industry is facing real and serious challenges stemming from heavy and obsolete government regulations _ some dating to 55 years ago. “Compared with Korea’s strong IT infrastructure, the competitiveness of Korean banks ranked below 50 for years,” Lee said during an interview with The Korea Times, citing Bankers and

Apr 28, 2017

Books