I was lucky enough to have an invite to the launch of the next group of books in the library of Korean literature series , as ever I was unable to go which was a shame as Tony has been reviewing loads of these books and has really made me want to find out more , so i was pleased when they said they could send me the books for review .This project is part of Korea trying to bring its culture to the fore around the world from films like Oldboy to K-pop music we all remember the huge K-pop hit last year Gangham style , even myself I’m just about to change my phone to the Korean as i leave behind iPhone and get a new note 4 this month .for more on Korean literature visit the LTI Korea site
I received them all the other day and have already read the first book in the series Pavane for a dead princess by Park Min-Gyu a review of which will follow shortly .About the series from the launch party –
Helen Cho, Literature Translation of Korean, department of translation and publication, said: “The
publication of the Library of Korean Literature series is a noteworthy accomplishment since translated
books make up only 2% of the entire U.S. market. The titles in the series draw from major works of
Korean modern and contemporary literature. It is hoped that this series will serve as a channel for
introducing diverse aspects of Korean literature to the English-speaking book market.”
John O’Brien, CEO, Dalkey Archive Press said: ” The Library of Korean Literature is a rare effort at
ensuring works of high literary merit from Asia reach the public at a time only a few hundred literary
works in translation are being published in the English-speaking world. Even Arts Council England,
which for years was leading the way in support of literary translation, has dropped almost all mention
of translations in its current programmes. The series launched when Korea was Market Focus at The
London Book Fair in 2014, which helped dispel the myth that there was one singular ‘MASH’ kind of
writing that characterized contemporary Korean literature. The Market Focus and the British Council’s
endeavours were a beginning rather than an end to bringing this literature to the West.”
Have you a favourite book from Korea
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