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Yoon banned from leaving country
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[Exclusive] ‘Troops paused on way to Election Commission, felt something was up’
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‘Drag lawmakers out’: Yoon’s chilling order to commander
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Korean millennials, Gen Z make presence felt at protests
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Power struggle intensifies among investigative bodies over Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law case
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Speak or not to speak? K-pop stars face dilemma amid national crisis
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Will ruling party lawmakers change course?
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'Orderly retreat' struggles to win support
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Prosecutors tighten grip on Kim
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Assembly passes reduced budget plan, special counsel
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Novelist Han Seung-won says daughter's historic Nobel win feels surreal
Korean novelist Han Seung-won, father of the country’s first Nobel laureate in literature, said Friday that he felt “as if the world had been turned on its head” upon hearing his daughter's win. Speaking from his home in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, Han shared his reaction during a local radio interview. “I was stunned, and it didn’t feel real,” he said. “There have been many instances where the Nobel committee selects someone very unexpected.
Oct. 11, 2024
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Han Kang's Nobel Prize victory sparks waves of celebrity congratulations
Celebrities have been offering their congratulations following the news of author Han Kang winning the Nobel Prize in literature. Kim Min-ha, known for her role in Apple TV+ series "Pachinko," along with well-known book-loving actors Moon Ga-young and Kim Hye-soo shared the news of Han's win on their social media accounts. Actor Ko Hyun-jung also posted on her personal account, sharing a screenshot of the news reporting Han Kang’s Nobel Prize win, with the caption, "Fin
Oct. 11, 2024
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Are any Han Kang works coming to the big screen?
Renewed interest has emerged in potential film adaptations of Han Kang's works, after she became the first Korean author to receive the prestigious Nobel Prize in literature. However, experts suggest that one of the most anticipated adaptations, "Human Acts," may face significant challenges in its transition to film. To date, there have been two film adaptations of Han's works. The film adaptation of Han's International Booker Award-winning novel "The Vegetarian,&qu
Oct. 11, 2024
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Han Kang drives readers to bookstores both online and offline
Major bookstores in Korea are experiencing a surge in sales of all of Han Kang's works following the announcement of her Nobel Prize in literature. On Friday day morning at Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun in central Seoul, people had lined up in front of the branch before it opened. Shortly after business began at 9:30 a.m., Han’s books were already sold out, and the special display set up to commemorate the award from the day before was empty. By around 10:30 a.m. that day, the shelves had
Oct. 11, 2024
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Han Kang's 'first reactions' after winning the Nobel Prize
South Korean novelist Han Kang, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, said she will "celebrate quietly tonight" having tea with her son. "I'm so surprised and I'm absolutely honored," Han said in a phone interview with the Swedish Academy in a video released shortly after the winning announcement. Speaking in English, Han said she had just finished dinner with her son at home in Seoul, and they were both very surprised by the news. "I didn
Oct. 11, 2024
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'Han Kang enters the canon of greatest literature'
Winning the Nobel Prize in literature means that Han Kang and her works are now acknowledged, legitimized and confirmed forever in the canon of the greatest writers and books ever published in the world, said Barbara J. Zitwer in an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday. Zitwer, the founder of her eponymous New York-based literary agency, is one of the pioneers in introducing Korean literature abroad. As the agent who championed "The Vegetarian," she previously mentioned in the previous in
Oct. 10, 2024
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Exploring works of Han Kang
The first South Korean and the first Asian woman Nobel laureate in literature, Han Kang was born in November 1970 in Gwangju, a city in southwestern South Korea. When she was nine, Han's family moved to Seoul where she would go on to study Korean literature at Yonsei University. Her family is a literary one -- her father is the well-known novelist Han Seung-won and her older brother is also a writer. Her literary career began in 1993 when several of her poems were published in the winter ed
Oct. 10, 2024
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Major online bookstores crash due to high traffic after Han Kang wins Nobel Prize in literature
South Korea's two major online bookstores said Thursday their sites briefly crashed due to high traffic soon after homegrown author Han Kang was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature. "We fielded complaints that people weren't able to get on our website, and when they did, pages were slow to load," an official at Kyobo Book Centre said. "Since we did not anticipate Han Kang winning the award, we don't have any stock of her books. We have contacted
Oct. 10, 2024
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Yoon celebrates Han Kang's winning of Nobel literature prize as 'monumental achievement'
President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated novelist Han Kang on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday, calling it "a monumental achievement" in the history of Korean literature "It is a monumental achievement in the history of Korean literature and a national celebration that brings joy to all the people," Yoon wrote on his Facebook page during his visit to Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. "You have transformed the painful wounds
Oct. 10, 2024
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South Korean author Han Kang wins 2024 Nobel Prize in literature
South Korean author Han Kang has won this year's Nobel Prize in literature, becoming the first South Korean to be honored with one of the world's most prestigious literary awards. The Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee announced the winner Thursday in Stockholm. Han was recognized “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life,” said Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy. The committee said that &q
Oct. 10, 2024
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On the shared experience of diaspora
In a world increasingly shaped by the displacement of people due to war, climate crises, and economic hardship, diaspora literature has the power to counter rising waves of hate and discrimination. This was the message shared by Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, a Korean American poet and adoptee, and Cho Hae-jin, author of "I Met Loh Ki-wan," the novel that inspired the Netflix film "My Name is Loh Ki-wan." The two writers met on Sunday during a diaspora literature event hosted by the Li
Oct. 3, 2024
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'City View' shines light on urban shadows
Gazing at the gleaming glass facades of the skyscrapers in Songdo, Incheon, author Woo Sin-young wondered how they could remain so sleek and beautiful. Then, she recalled reading news about workers who were injured or lost their lives while cleaning those windows. “As I delved deeper into these articles, I felt that someone should speak out on their behalf and give a voice to their stories and narratives,” said Woo, a debut novelist whose "City View" recently won the 14th H
Sept. 27, 2024
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2025 Trend Forecast: Small details, new happiness trend amid sluggish economy
After completing his annual bestselling series “Trend Korea” for the upcoming year, Seoul National University professor Kim Rando lamented that "grandeur has disappeared." Next year, Kim explained, will mark a shift from the grand to the details, with an emphasis on paying attention to small details and subtle differences. Now in its 17th year, the "Trend Korea" series forecasts consumer trends for the upcoming year through 10 key predictions, with allusion to the
Sept. 25, 2024
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French writer Sylvie Germain wins 13th Pak Kyongni Prize
French writer Sylvie Germain has been named the recipient of the 13th Pak Kyongni Prize, the award’s organizers announced Wednesday. The award, an annual international literary award established in 2011 to honor the legacy of novelist Pak Kyong-ni (1926-2008), recognizes novelists worldwide who have made a significant impact on the literary landscape while preserving its intrinsic value, according to the Toji Cultural Foundation. Pak is best known for her monumental "Toji (The Land),&
Sept. 25, 2024
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Park Sang-young's ‘Love in the Big City’ nominated for French literary award
South Korean author Park Sang-young's "Love in the Big City" has been longlisted for the Prix Medicis etranger, one of France's major literary awards for foreign-language novels translated into French, alongside the Goncourt, Prix Femina and Renaudot. The French edition of "Love in the Big City" ("S'aimer dans la grande ville" in French) is among 14 titles nominated for the first round of this year’s prize. The novel, which follows a Korean quee
Sept. 24, 2024
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[New in Korean] Can knowing your past life save your present one?
"The Novice Shaman Reading Past Lives" By Lee Sun-young Clayhouse A pair of novice shamans claim that past-life insights can unravel present-day problems. With their help, people find a second chance at life in this heartwarming drama infused with comedy and emotion. The fortune-telling shop Miss Korea has garnered a reputation for helping clients discover their past lives. The vibrant place is run by two shamans: There's the enigmatic Madame Go, whose age remains a mystery, and D
Sept. 22, 2024
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[New in Korean] Architectural wonder, love story in Paris from award-winning architect/novelist
"To Where the Light Leads" By Baek Hee-sung Book Romance Lumiere Clerget is a disheartened architect who, despite designing beautiful homes for others, struggles to find a place he can call his own. One day, he receives a call from his real estate agent who has miraculously found him an affordable listing in Paris. The house, with its peculiar features like an unusually low staircase handrail, intrigues Lumiere. He discovers that the house belongs to Peter Waltzer, a wealthy man living
Sept. 21, 2024
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[New in Korean] 'Loh Ki-wan' author explores life, death, meaninglessness of war
"Light and Melody" By Cho Hae-jin Munhakdongne Publishing “Light and Melody” intertwines the stories of Kwon-eun, a documentary photographer, and Seung-joon, a journalist, whose paths cross again seven years after they rekindle their bond from cherished childhood memories. Kwon-eun is left physically and emotionally scarred after an injury that cost her half of her left leg while reporting in war-torn Syria. Now unable to return, she rejects all commissions and barely scrap
Sept. 21, 2024
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[Off the Pages] German bestseller gets new twist in ‘Snow White Must Die -- Black Out’
German mystery crime writer Nele Neuhaus’ 2010 international bestseller “Snow White Must Die” is getting a fresh take as the Korean drama series “Snow White Must Die -- Black Out,” kicked off Aug. 16. The fourth installment of Neuhaus’ series set in the Taunus region near Frankfurt sold more than 3.5 million copies globally and had its German TV adaptation in 2013. Now just five episodes away from its finale, the MBC series is gaining momentum with its latest
Sept. 18, 2024
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[Latest Read] 'Yeonnam-dong’s Smiley Laundromat' breezes connection, solidarity
Mira, a resident of Yeonnam-dong living with her daughter, Nahee, and her husband, Woochul, finds herself at a crossroads. Despite her past success, her reality feels bleak as she struggles to find work amid all her concerns about her daughter and financial worries. When her old washing machine breaks down, she turns to a nearby laundromat, only to discover an unexpected source of solace. Amid the hum of machines, Mira spots an olive-green diary left on a table. At first, she wasn’t partic
Sept. 13, 2024