The 2020 Seoul International Writers’ Festival, the largest international literary festival in South Korea, will take place online Nov. 2-8, with the aim of expanding opportunities to enjoy literature while providing a platform for literary exchange. Eleven writers from 11 foreign countries and 14 Korean writers are taking part in this year’s festival, themed “Writing Tomorrow.” Participating writers include Luis Eduardo Garcia of Mexico and Paolo Giordano of Italy, the

An English translation of Kim Yi-deum’s book of poetry “Hysteria” (Action Books) became the first-ever book to win both the National Translation Award and the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize given by the American Literary Translators Association on Friday (local time). “Hysteria” is Kim’s third book of poems to be translated into English with the support of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. The title poem is about a women being groped on a

The graphic novel “Grass” by Keum Suk Gendry Kim was awarded “Best International Book” at the Harvey Awards, while the German translation of “Memoir of a Murderer” by Kim Young-ha was selected by Germany‘s Hotlist this month. “Grass” is a story about women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. Most of the women were Korean. The book was published in English last year by Drawn & Quarterly, a publisher i

When the Korean War ended in 1953, Korea did not have many journalists skilled in reporting in the English language. Many reporters did not have a chance to study in an English speaking country and had to consult the dictionary to find just the right word while writing their stories. One of the earliest reporters for English newspaper The Korean Republic, founded in 1953 and later renamed The Korea Herald, was Lee Hi-chang. Born in 1928 in South Pyongan Province in today’s North Korea d

The prolonged battle against the COVID-19 outbreak is changing life patterns, including how we read and digest books. Public libraries have shut down with some offering delivery-only services, or activating “e-bookshelf” sections online as an alternative way out during and after the crisis. Efforts for new reading experiences seem to have gained overall success so far. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in 2019, the rate of e-book readers hit 16.5 percent for

When writer Emily Jungmin Yoon released her 2018 book of poems “A Cruelty Special to Our Species,” it was to inform North American readers about the “comfort women,” a euphemistic term for military sex slaves of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. With the publication of the Korean translation of the book Aug. 14 with the full English version included in the back, Yoon sees her purpose as not to inform, as many Koreans are familiar with the history, but to c

Columnist for The Korea Herald and the Elders Press of Korea, Kim Myong-sik has released “All in the Same Boat,” a compilation of 140 columns that he wrote for the Elders Press of Korea from March 2017 to July 2020. This is a second compilation of his columns. “Jongno Square,” containing three year‘s worth of columns, was published in 2013. In journalism for more than 40 years, Kim has served as a correspondent for Reuters, managing editor of the Korea Times and

“Signature” By Lee Hang-shim (Dasanbooks) Korean society is at a watershed moment to advance further by accepting the growing demand in diversity propelled by the digital revolution and the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought an unconventional style of life to overall society. “Signature” tells readers that they need to find their own signature -- or a psychological asset -- that is an unreplaceable strength and differentiates them from others a

"Chaekkori Painting: A Korean Jigsaw Puzzle” By Kay E. Black Sahoipyoungnon Academy  The paintings of books and stationery laid on bookshelves give off a feeling of coziness and comfort, as if you were in a library. “Chaekkori” or “chaekgeori” refers to a unique genre of Korean painting that proliferated in the Joseon era (1392-1910), depicting books and other assorted items on bookshelves. Literally meaning “books and things,” chaekgeori

Author Kim Bong-gon tweeted on Tuesday that he would return publisher Munhak Dongne’s Young Writer Award and apologized for the trouble he has caused. Kim, who gained popularity for his autofiction -- or fictionalized autobiography -- regarding LGBTQ culture faced criticism when one person, “disexual,” tweeted how her private messages with Kim had been used verbatim in his award-winning short story, “Such Life,” without her consent. Another person, “0,&rdquo

Publisher Munhak Dongne announced Friday that it was suspending sales of books featuring author Kim Bong-gon’s works that have come under fire for using without consent an acquaintance’s private messages. Kim gained attention for his vivid autofiction -- or fictionalized autobiography -- regarding LGBTQ culture when he came out of the closet as he embarked on a writing career in 2016. The personal yet fictional stories involving the intense emotional struggles of LGBTQ characters w

Hee-man Harry Ahn, who worked in various managerial positions at South Korean discount chain Homeplus shares his experience as a leader in his book “10 Leadership Lessons to Win and Grow.” The majority of his tips are based on leading different divisions as an executive at Samsung Tesco, the Korean subsidiary of the world’s third retailer Tesco since 2001. Ahn worked for almost twenty years at the company. In 2011, Samsung Tesco changed its name to Homeplus. On top of this,

The summer 2020 issue of quarterly magazine Koreana: Korean Culture & Arts presents a series of special features under the theme of “Before K-pop: Popular Music since the Korean War.” “This year is the 70th the anniversary of the Korean War and since Koreana is about culture and art we wanted to cover a related topic,” Koreana Editor-in-Chief Lee Kyong-hee told The Korea Herald. Lee added that Koreana did not want to do a feature series about topics that have been

Korea National University of Cultural Heritage’s traditional arts and crafts professor Sim Yeon-ok has published a book, titled “2,000 Years of Korean Embroidery,” which offers historical analyses on the technical development of Korean embroidery, in collaboration with her students. Established in 2000, the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage is run by the Cultural Heritage Administration. The book presents 48 historic embroidery works from the ancient kingdoms p

Concerns of the publishing industry and local offline bookstore owners are rising, as Interpark Songin, a retailer to small and medium-sized bookstores, announced Tuesday that it has filed for court receivership due to mounting losses. In 2017, e-commerce platform operator Interpark acquired a 56.2 percent stake in the book retailer, which at the time was under court receivership, for 4 billion won ($3.36 million). Interpark said that it has since been working hard to normalize the business