Austrian writer Christoph Ransmayr has been selected as the recipient of the 12th Pak Kyongni Prize, the award’s organizers said Wednesday. This year, a total of 37 nominees were chosen through four rounds of preliminary screening from among 234 novelists from around the world. In June, four writers -- Ransmayr, Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood and Antonio Lobo Antunes -- were nominated as the finalists. The 69-year-old Austrian writer won global recognition with his novel “The Last

Books Sept. 22, 2023

Namhae Oktoberfest comes to Seoul A limited-time pop-up event introducing Namhae German Village is being held in Seongsu-dong through Tuesday. The event sheds light on how Namhae German Village -- a village built by Koreans who went to work in Germany primarily as nurses and miners in the '60s and the '70s and returned to Korea after retirement, many of them with their German spouses. The village was first settled by about 75 families. The event showcases photos and maps of Namhae Germ

Culture Sept. 22, 2023

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a part of Macmillan USA, boasts an impressive portfolio of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning titles. Rohan Kamicheril, a senior editor at FSG, said the company has yet to feature a Korean writer and hopes to broaden its literary horizon by discovering new Korean voices. “We want to find writers in other parts of the world who are doing challenging, provocative things,” said Kamicheril. “I don't want to just bring over writers who do something simi

Books Sept. 21, 2023

Forge Books, under its parent company, Macmillan USA, typically publishes three to four translated books a year. In recent years, they have consistently released one Korean book in translation each year. The past three years have seen the publication of works like "My Brilliant Life" by Kim Ae-ran (translation by Chi-Young Kim) and two novels by Lee Geum-yi, “The Picture Bride” and “Can’t I Go Instead” (translations by An Seonjae). Robert Davis, an editor

Books Sept. 21, 2023

The K-Literature Fellowship, an initiative organized by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea to promote Korean literature overseas, has been bringing international publishers and literary agents to Seoul since 2018. Over 70 global publishing companies have participated in the program so far, resulting in the publication of some 100 Korean literary works worldwide. This year, the fellowship invited 15 publishing houses from 11 countries to Seoul, where they joined 14 Korean publishers an

Books Sept. 21, 2023

Just as a conductor raises the baton in a Western classical orchestra, the “jipbak,” or the person playing the “bak” -- a wooden clapper used in Korean court and ritual music -- signals the beginning of the performance. Then the “chuk,’ a green box-drum that also signals the start of a royal ceremony, is struck nine times. Dressed in navy blue uniforms, the dancers in formation move gracefully and deliberately, with precise movements. As the musicians start to

Performance Sept. 20, 2023

A festival of modern dance returns. The 2023 International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE), the country’s longest-running festival for modern and contemporary dance, is gearing up to celebrate its 42nd anniversary this year. The festival runs from Wednesday to Oct. 15, at the National Theater of Korea’s Haeoreum Theater and ARKO Arts Theater in Seoul. Under the banner of MODAFE Universe, which alludes to the distinctive artistic views crafted by choreographers and dancers, this year&#

Performance Sept. 18, 2023

Naver Webtoon series “Get Schooled” has been canceled and removed from the platform's US service after the series' allegedly racially discriminatory content sparked controversy. Naver Webtoon said on Saturday that it had discontinued the series in the US, and the English edition is currently unavailable. On the Korean platform, the latest episode in question has been deleted and the webtoon series has been suspended indefinitely. “The racist content has been removed f

Culture Sept. 17, 2023

Eight Korean traditional music orchestras from across the country will come together for a gugak festival next month. The inaugural “Korean Traditional Music Orchestra Festival” is to kick off ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the first Korean traditional music orchestra, the Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Orchestra, which was officially established in March 1965. The festival aims to become an annual event. While there are many forms of K-culture that are thriving, tr

Performance Sept. 17, 2023

American writer Andrew Porter said he is truly surprised and delighted that his debut work, "The Theory of Light and Matter," has resonated with Korean readers after all these years. Porter’s debut work, a collection of stories published in 2008, won several awards, including the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction. While it was published in Korea in 2011, it wasn't until 2019 that the book received renewed attention after acclaimed Korean author Kim Young-ha intr

Books Sept. 16, 2023

On the afternoon of Sept. 10, the third day of the festival, Eun Hee-kyung from South Korea and Andrew Porter from the US met. Although they had never crossed paths before, these literary talents shared a profound appreciation for the written word. Both authors, despite being from different corners of the globe, shared a common thread in their literary portfolios: a dedication to crafting both full-length novels and collections of short stories. For these two writers, the length of a narrative d

Books Sept. 15, 2023

“Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman” pop-up store in Seongsu A pop-up store for the upcoming comedy flick,“Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman,” in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, is set to entertain visitors ahead of the film’s opening on Sept. 27. Directed by Kim Seong-sik, “Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman” tells the story of Dr. Cheon (Gang Dong-won), a fake exorcist, and his encounter with a strong demonic possession. Heo Jun-ho, Lee Dong-hwi, Lee Som and Kim Jong-su star in the

Culture Sept. 15, 2023

The English edition of Bora Chung’s short story collection “Cursed Bunny” has been longlisted in the translated literature category for the 2023 National Book Award in the US. Among the 10 nominations announced on this year's long list, "Cursed Bunny" stands as the sole work originating from Asia. Finalists are to be announced on Oct. 3, with the final winner selection coming on Nov. 15. The English edition of “Cursed Bunny” was translated by Anton Hu

Books Sept. 14, 2023

Literary works served as an inspiration for various forms of three-dimensional readings, folk songs and "pansori" during the festival. The beauty of literature is that literary worlds can be expanded and reinterpreted into different forms, inspiring artists working in various genres. Two days of evening performances on Sept. 9 and 10 included a pansori performance, a music concert and a reading performance inspired by the works of writers who participated in this year’s SIWF. On

Performance Sept. 14, 2023

The annual Seoul International Writers’ Festival, organized by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea) kicked off Sept. 8, bringing together 24 Korean and international writers on Nodeulseom, an artificial islet on the Han River in Seoul, for a six-day festival. Under the theme of “Crossing the Bridge of Language,” the 2023 SIWF responded to the heightened sense of isolation and discord brought about by the pandemic. Two captivating storytellers -- Jeong Ji-a

Books Sept. 14, 2023