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Search word : "RM", Search result : 1,083

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

Globalizing Korean Literature: The Journey of Kim Hye-jin and Her Works

Export Case Globalizing Korean Literature:The Journey of Kim Hye-jin and Her Works 2024.11.04 I am writing this a day after Han Kang received the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” The first in history for a writer from South Korea. It is, without a doubt, a huge milestone for South Korean literature and a debt that was long overdue. Some may even feel that this is the ultimate goal for the internationalization of Korean literature.Korea has an incredibly rich and diverse literary culture that has conquered the world in recent years, and I feel that this is an interesting moment to stop and think about how authors and authorships are managed. The most important ‘ingredients’, which are talent and key resources such as translators, grants, and promotion programs, are already there. The support is truly impressive. But how can we best promote a...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

Where Poetry and History Meet

Book Trip [A Trip to Literary Museums ⑦] Where Poetry and History Meet Exploring the Kim Su-Young Museum and Cultural Legacy in Dobong-gu, Seoul 2024.11.04 A place that’s just ordinary for some can be a magnificent destination for others, inspiring memories and recharging the soul. Seoul, the capital of Korea, is a prime example of this duality. With the growing popularity of K-culture in various aspects, more travelers are visiting Seoul; however, if you make a trip slightly outside the center of Seoul to Dobong-gu, you will find a different Seoul with a more tranquil atmosphere. Surrounded by Bukhansan Mountain, Dobong-gu is a district where you can take a walk around the trail or hike up the mountain. There are also many areas where you can look down the mountain, get a glimpse of the cultural powerhouse that is Korea, and be touched and impressed. If you walk down the narrow alleyways of Dobong-gu, which add to the curiosity and fun of discovering hid...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

Write the Story You Want to Read

Knowledge Write the Story You Want to Read Self-publishing platforms in Korea: The reasons for growth and the current state 2024.11.04 “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” - Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993 While there is no established academic definition, “self-publishing” refers to authors planning, editing, publishing, and distributing their own manuscripts without working through a publishing company. As opposed to “vanity publishing,” which involves paying an upfront fee to a publisher to produce and distribute a book, it is used almost interchangeably with “independent publishing” in Korea (some researchers and book critics use the two terms separately). The desire to document ...

VOL.76 / 2024.11

[TREND / TOPIC]

What Comes After Today’s Korean-Style Healing Novels?

Topic What Comes After Today’s Korean-Style Healing Novels? 2024.10.07 “While the so-called ‘Korean style healing novels’ are selling well these days, trends always change. This craze will be replaced with a new trend sooner or later.” Barbara J. Zitwer, a literary agent working across English-speaking countries, said so in a recent interview. Zitwer is an American who has been exporting Korean literature overseas for about 20 years and is often referred to as a “Korean literature ambassador.” She explains that the phenomenon of Korean-style healing novels being so popular not only in Korea, but also abroad, is something that may change at any time soon. “At first, everyone read pure literature,” she said, “and then the trend shifted to healing novels.” While it may seem that the popularity of Korean literature across all genres has grown on the surface, Zitwer says that international readers switched genres when they got tired of...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / SPECIAL PROJECT]

Promoting Korean Art Through Books

Special Project [English Books in Korea ⑤] Promoting Korean Art Through Books English editions of Korean art books for foreigners 2024.10.07 Youlhwadang Publishers, the publisher I’m working for as an editor, has three ways of utilizing English when publishing books on Korean traditional culture and arts. At the most basic level, we include an English summary at the front of the book that summarizes the content of the Korean edition, with the intent of providing the most basic information for librarians in foreign libraries with no Korean skills to categorize the books. For art collections that are mainly image-based with relatively few texts, the full text is included in both Korean and English so that it can be distributed at home and abroad as a single edition. This is also useful for artists to use as a portfolio when performing abroad. Finally, the Korean and English editions can be planned as independent books, published simultaneous...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / EXPORT CASE]

New Trends in Korean Literature

Export Case New Trends in Korean Literature 2024.10.07 It’s important to be ahead of the pack in global publishing; to find the new trends and to be future looking in order to be successful. I have always been an explorer, a seeker of the new, while travelling professionally and personally, and that has led me to discover Korean literature more than a decade ago. The first books to break through were literary masterpieces Please Look After Mom (Changbi Publishers) by Shin Kyung-Sook and The Vegetarian (Changbi Publishers) by Han Kang. After the initial introduction of Korean books to global readers who had never heard of them, let alone read them, I introduced mysteries and thrillers which are already super popular in the World English and global markets. So, readers of Steig Larrsen’s mega-bestseller, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, devoured Jeong You-Jeong’s The Good Son (EunHaeng NaMu Publishing). J.M. Lee’s The Investigation (EunHae...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / BOOK TRIP]

The Hometown Scenery That Became the Literary Roots of a Modern Boy

Book Trip [A Trip to Literary Museums ⑥] The Hometown Scenery That Becamethe Literary Roots of a Modern Boy Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwondo: Gasan (可山) Lee Hyo-Seok Memorial Hall 2024.10.07 Fall in Pyeongchang begins with the white buckwheat blossoms. The buckwheat fields that cover the vast expanse of Bongpyeong-eup in white create a dreamlike beauty in combination with the blue sky. In his novel When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom, writer Lee Hyo-Seok described this view as “I could hardly breathe in the soft moonlight as if it were sprinkled with salt.” Pyeongchang hosts the “Hyoseok Culture Festival” to spotlight the literary world of Gasan (Lee’s pen name) Lee Hyo-Seok, including When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom in September, when you can stroll through a field of buckwheat flowers as if you were walking into a scene from the novel. It’s a great example of how a writer’s masterpiece can have a profound impact on local culture. Ou...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / ONE-LINER QUOTES]

Records That Reflect Us

One-Liner Quotes Records That Reflect Us Urban Branding Expert’s Pick: Korean Books 2024.10.07 Mok Ji-Su is an urban branding director who works on local stories and content. He is currently publishing the monthly magazine Magazine Bathhouse (Site Branding) that features the stories of public bathhouses in neighborhoods. As an urban branding director, I look at every corner of our cities, and I always realize that there are people’s stories at the end of it all. Thinking that the memory of a city is the memory of a human being, I have gotten into the habit of looking into the time, people, and spaces of a city before I go about urban branding. The records of people’s lives and spaces are a good reference, and reading them gives me an apportunity to reflect on myself. Jeon Mong-Gag’s photobook Yunmi’s Album: From the Cradle to the Wedding (Photo Net) is a record of his daughter Yunmi ...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / KNOWLEDGE]

A Chance to Introduce Korean Publishing Content to Global Readers!

Knowledge A Chance to Introduce Korean PublishingContent to Global Readers! Translation and Publication Grant Programs in Korea 2024.10.07 With an aim to boost the global advancement of Korean publishing content, various organizations in Korea have been running translation and publication grant programs for international publishers to help them publish excellent Korean books! (The following information is based on announcements made in 2024.) Establishing a foundation for the publishing of Korean Wave books by supporting the overseas publication of Korean publishing content!Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) 〈2024 Overseas Publication Grants〉 Qualification Overseas publishers who have imported Korean publication copyrights Supported Areas A part of the publish...

VOL.75 / 2024.10

[TREND / TOPIC]

Korean Readers’ Picks in the First Half of 2024

Topic Korean Readers’ Picks in the First Half of 2024 2024.09.02 According to the “2023 National Reading Survey” announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism in Korea, the overall reading rate was observed to be 43.0%, the lowest since the survey was initiated in 1994. This means that 6 out of 10 adults don’t even read a single e-book or audiobook, let alone a paper book. The shrinking of the reading population, which forms the foundation for the publishing market, and the aging population have been issues in Korea for quite a long time. However, it was indeed a shocking figure for the publishing industry as it expected to see a steady increase in the reading population since it enjoyed a boom during the pandemic compared to other industries.In the first half of the year, the reduction in newly published titles, driven by a contracting publishing market, alongside the enduring popularity of long-time bestsellers, played a si...

VOL.74 / 2024.09

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