Short story collection enters Kang Kyeong-ae's 'Underground Village'
By Jon Dunbar
The cover of "The Underground Village," a collection of short stories by Kang Kyeong-ae (1906-44) translated into English / Courtesy of Honford Star
The short stories of author Kang Kyeong-ae (1906-44), focusing on colonialism, patriarchy and ethnic nationalism, have never lost relevance since they were written. But now a new book offering translations of her short stories offers something for new audiences.
Translator Anton Hur from Sweden offers his own English translations in a new book titled “The Underground Village.” An introduction by Lee Sang-kyung places Kang's works into a social and historical context and provides insights into her life. The official release party for the book is this Saturday at North Terrace Cafe, located near the front gate to Changdeok Palace in downtown Seoul.
Kang's stories are “remarkable for their rejection of colonialism, patriarchy and ethnic nationalism during a period when such views were truly radical and dangerous,” according to the publisher, Honford Star, a publishing house offering English translations of the works of prominent Asian authors.
Kang was born in 1906 shortly before Imperial Japan took control of the Korean Peninsula, and died in 1944, shortly before its end. She did all her writing while living in Manchuria, or Japan-occupied Manchukuo, where she witnessed the daily struggles experienced by ethnic Koreans living there and the violence perpetrated against them.
“Kang's riveting stories are full of sensitivity, defiance, and a deep understanding of the oppressed people she wrote about,” Honford Star said of her work.
Honford Star's first release was a collection of short stories by famed Korean author Kim Tong-in. It also published the complete fiction of Taiwanese writer Loa Ho, and Korean author Lee Hyo-seok's novel about an interracial marriage set in 1940s Korea.
Translator Anton Hur was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and raised in Hong Kong, Ethiopia, Thailand and finally Korea, where he has lived for over 30 years. He earned a master's degree from Seoul National University's College of Humanities and an LLB from Korea University's College of Law. He has won a PEN Translates award, a Daesan Foundation grant and multiple LTI Korea and Publication Promotion Agency of Korea grants. His previous translation work includes Shin Kyung-sook “The Court Dancer,” as well as stories in “Words Without Borders,” “Asymptote,” “Slice” and “Anomaly Literary Journal.”
The book release party is happening this Saturday at 7 p.m. at North Terrace Cafe. Copies of the book will be on sale. Hur will give a brief talk related to the publication, and members of the publication company will be in attendance.
Visit honfordstar.com for more information about the book and its launch party, or visit
for more about the translator.