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53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Commendation Award: The Forty-Four Lives of a Wedding Dress

Cover of Chung Se-rang's "See You on the Rooftop," which includes short story "The Forty-Four Lives of a Wedding Dress" / Courtesy of Changbi PublishersWritten by Chung Se-rangTranslated by Giulia Macri The dress was picked up at a small warehouse in Vancouver during the Canada Day Sales of July 2013 and imported to Korea. Although it was a designer dress, it came at a highly discounted price because it was the work of an emerging creator. The price tag read $15,000, but the final price had come to $3,500. The dress was a size 4 but because it was somewhat larger than the average and could be adjusted with the strings, it could pass for either a size 2 or 6.1The dress remained unchosen by anyone for a long time. It was a simple dress with a geometrical line. It looked like an origami dress, as it flaunted no handmade lace or beads or sequins. As the shop owner began to regret making it a part of the collection, the first woman picked it out at last.“When the protagonist in a movie or TV show puts on her wedding dress, special effects are used to make her look dramatically prett

Nov 24, 2022

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Fiction Commendation Award: The Forty-Four Lives of a Wedding Dress

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Grand Prize: The Beginning of Winter

Cover of Kim Ae-ran's "Summer Outside," which includes short story "The Beginning of Winter" / Courtesy of MunhakdongneWritten by Kim Ae-ranTranslated by Graham HandIt was after midnight when my wife suggested we redo the wallpaper.― Right now?― Yeah. I stayed hunched over on the sofa for a moment before I said, “Okay,” and got up. It had been a long time since my wife suggested we do anything. I went out onto the veranda and got it out of the storage cabinet. A roll of do-it-yourself wallpaper we'd bought at a nearby big box store a while back. It was about as wide as my shoulders, but the roll was more than ten meters long and it felt heavy in my hands. I started reading the instructions without putting it down, but I felt something weighing on me and I glanced at the light in the living room. Without taking my eyes off the instructions, I shouted.― Are we really going to do this now?Last month my mother stayed with us for a while. She said she knew neither one of us would have the wherewithal to deal with things, so she'd come take care of the housework. Starting the d

Nov 24, 2022

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Fiction Grand Prize: The Beginning of Winter

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Grand Prize winner Graham Hand

Fiction Grand Prize winner Graham HandGraham Hand is a modern Korean literature student from Boston, who is currently studying for a master's degree at Korea University. He came to Korea in 2008, and studied from 2016 to 2018 at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea).He developed an interest in translation as he studied Korean, and began translating Korean literature about 10 years ago, starting with short poems. He made his first submission to The Korea Times' Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards with a fictional story five years ago.This time, Hand translated writer Kim Ae-ran's short story, “The Beginning of Winter,” for the contest.“Everything Kim Ae-ran writes is phenomenal; I think 'The Beginning of Winter' is particularly significant,” he said. He said that translating this novel was challenging because the writer's use of words and descriptions needed meticulous work to deliver her intentions precisely. “The story includes some meta-linguistic challenges, with specific descriptions of Korean reading and writing that need

Nov 24, 2022

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Fiction Grand Prize winner Graham Hand

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Judges' Report

From left are Sogang University Professor Emeritus of English language and literature Brother Anthony, Ewha Womans University associate professor of interpreting and translation Jung Ha-yun and Seoul National University professor of English language and literature Min Eun-kyung, the judges of The Korea Times' Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards. Korea Times fileBy Brother Anthony, Jung Ha-yun and Min Eun-kyungAs judges of the Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards, we have the privilege and pleasure of discovering every year what bilingual readers and writers are reading. It is always interesting to find out what our translators are choosing to translate. We enjoy the element of surprise. Often the translations reflect trends in Korean fiction. For instance, some years we have found our files full of science fiction. However, there is usually a balance between writers who are perennial favorites and relative newcomers. The eclectic mix is itself interesting and instructive to us. Indeed, we sometimes come across unfamiliar writers and works through this trans

Nov 24, 2022By Kim Rahn

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Judges' Report

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize winner Gene Png

Poetry Grand Prize winner Gene PngGene Png is a Seoul-based illustrator and Korean-English literary translator from Singapore. She came to Korea to study at Yonsei University's Underwood International College, earning a bachelor's degree in Asian Studies.After completing the regular program at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), she became a mentee for the Emerging Translator Mentorships program at the U.K.-based state agency, the National Centre. She expects to take on freelance translation projects in the coming weeks.Png first got into literature translation when she met Korean American literary translator Sora Kim-Russell in school. “When she described to us the work that she does, I was immediately invested. Literary translation felt like something that combined my love for reading and writing, and something I could see myself doing for a long time,” she said. “I haven't been translating for long ― only two years, since I only started translating when I started the regular program at LTI.”She translated a selection of Jeong Han-ah's

Nov 24, 2022

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Poetry Grand Prize winner Gene Png

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize: Everlasting Snow

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize: Everlasting Snow

Cover of Jeong Han-ah's poetry collection "A Mature Kiss," which includes “Everlasting Snow” / Courtesy of MunhakdongneWritten by Jeong Han-ah Translated by Gene PngEverlasting Snow ― The things your eight-year-old hands could doThat winter, the list of ways you kept yourself amused:Mourned Patrasche and made a windmill out of an empty milk carton + two leftover skewer sticks + a single chopstick + a thumbtackDecorated the Christmas tree with chains made of countless interlocking paper rings of silver, gold, and every colorTossed a handful of rice on the landlord's snow-covered courtyard, propping up a straw basket with a stick, setting up a sparrow trapFelt oh-so-proud of yourselfPerched on every branch of the jujube tree, the sparrows do not go under your basket, instead they only chuckle-chuckle-chuckle.Behind the tree, the sun casts its shine-shine-shine,it's early in the morning, and Eungyeong, the daughter from the shop across the street, runs to tell you that the chick you said was cute a while ago, the one you said you'd keep for just one night, the one you've bee

Nov 24, 2022

[53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards] Poetry Grand Prize: Everlasting Snow

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize winner Gene Png

Koreans' creative desire is one big factor behind hallyu's success: Sejong Center CEO

Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, gives a lecture during the Corea Image Communication Institution's (CICI) Korea CQ Forum at the Singaporean ambassador's official residence in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of CICIBy Dong Sun-hwaPeople around the world are eager to uncover the secrets behind the global success of hallyu, or the Korean wave. Multiple factors have contributed to its rise, but Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, picks the creative desire of Koreans as one of the biggest driving forces.“It seems Koreans have a strong desire for self-expression,” Ahn said during the Corea Image Communication Institution's (CICI) Korea CQ Forum, which was held at the Singaporean ambassador's official residence in northern Seoul, Tuesday. The forum intends to bring together opinion leaders and promote cultural exchanges worldwide.“Korean creators love making something of their own,” he said. “In the case of musicals, many musical production companies here rack up profits from licensed musicals,

Nov 23, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa

Koreans' creative desire is one big factor behind hallyu's success: Sejong Center CEO

Korean adoptee on journey into lost memories in birth country

Linn G. Assersen poses in front of the building of Holt Children's Services in Seoul, Nov. 8. Courtesy of AssersenNorwegian filmmaker in search of family and herself after 45 yearsBy Jung Min-hoThese photos taken in 1976 show Assersen during her adoption process. She was seven months old when she was adopted by a Norwegian couple. Courtesy of AssersenIt took more than 45 years for Linn G. Assersen to return to the land of her birth.For her whole life, whenever she was asked whether she wanted to visit Korea, she said no. Assersen always knew she was Norwegian and never felt a need to find her birth parents ― or so she thought.“But when I landed at Incheon International Airport, I was crying. I don't know where all the emotions came from,” Assersen, now 46, said in an interview in Seoul, Tuesday. “When you don't want to face something uncomfortable, you try to ignore it. Before I came here, I was thinking, 'Maybe I should not. Maybe two weeks are too long.' Now I wish I had more time.”Just days before her arrival, Assersen learned that her biological father and

Nov 16, 2022By Jung Min-ho

Korean adoptee on journey into lost memories in birth country

Students honored for offering insights on MZ customers, ESG in economic essay contest

Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, left, and Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Son Tae-seung, third from right, pose with the winners of the 18th English Economic Essay Contest during an award ceremony at the Korea Press Foundation building in central Seoul, Tuesday. From left are Oh, runner-up Ju Young-jin, commendation award recipients Venkatesan Dhivya and Chong Hye-seung, Son, Grand Prize winner Kim Ju-hyuk and commendation award winner Bastakoti Alok. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Yi Whan-wooThe Korea Times awarded seven winners of its annual economic essay contest for university students, Tuesday, who wrote about one of two challenges faced by the finance industry ― attracting tech-savvy Generation MZ, a Korean term referring to Millennials and Generation Z, as customers, and better implementing the principles of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). The 18th English Economic Essay Contest was open to university undergraduate and graduate school students in Korea and abroad. The event has been sponsored since its inception by Woori Bank,

Nov 15, 2022By Yi Whan-woo

Students honored for offering insights on MZ customers, ESG in economic essay contest

Inside the minds of the MZ Generation

Shristi TiwariPeople from older generations indeed see millennials as a generation with no grasp of reality and someone struggling to make ends meet. The older generation does not even consider Gen Z as an active part of the economy. But in a study done by Coldwell Banker Global Luxury in 2020, it was found that in the USA alone, the millennials and Gen Z had a combined spending power of 2.5 trillion dollars. While the whole world sees millennials and Gen Z as two distinct generations, Korea has come up with a concept where they pair both these groups into the same collective because of their similar mindset, values and spending habits. Generation MZ refers to all the young people born between 1981 and 2005. With every passing year, this group is holding a bigger and bigger share of the total active jobs in the world and thus their income and purchasing power are increasing at a rapid rate. Therefore, it is natural that financial companies have started to see them as their primary customers and create a brand image and products based on their preferences.To understand the changes nee

Nov 14, 2022

Economic Essay Contest How ESG practices can help banks attract young customers

People & Events

People & Events

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Commendation Award: The Forty-Four Lives of a Wedding Dress

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Grand Prize: The Beginning of Winter

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Fiction Grand Prize winner Graham Hand

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Judges' Report

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize winner Gene Png

53rd Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards Poetry Grand Prize: Everlasting Snow

Koreans' creative desire is one big factor behind hallyu's success: Sejong Center CEO

Korean adoptee on journey into lost memories in birth country

Students honored for offering insights on MZ customers, ESG in economic essay contest

Inside the minds of the MZ Generation

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