VOL.77/2024.12

 

Booksea Publishing Co.

Reading the Future from the Sea of Classics and History Woven into Books

 

2024.10.07

 

There is a publishing company that says that the wise culture of Korean ancestors, who shared good writings through literary collections, is the foundation for our current era of artificial intelligence and big data - Booksea Publishing. The publishing house has been in business for more than 35 years, with a distinguished reputation in the field of classics, history, and humanities. Booksea Publishing is committed to publishing books that use the past as an intellectual foundation for today and as a pathway to the future. As a result, the company has been making various attempts to make reading easier and more enjoyable for more people. Booksea Publishing’s commitment to contributing to the search for life’s wisdom by exploring the “sea of books” is creating waves of intellectuality, encouraging more readers to set sail for the open sea.

 

 

It’s a pleasure to have you with us on K-Book Trends. Please introduce Booksea Publishing to our international readers.

 

Hello, everyone. It’s good to see you all through this interview. You might think that the company’s name, Booksea Publishing, is a bit unique. Korean ancestors had a tradition of compiling texts from their ancestors into a “book.” It’s like they did a kind of “publishing” in the past. The name “Booksea Publishing” reflects our hope to make a “sea of books” through publishing, following such tradition. We have recently started a social media account with a character named “Booksea” who swims through the sea of books. We look forward to your continued interest!

 

Since the company’s founding in 1989, you have been particularly prolific in the fields of classics, history, and the humanities. Why have you focused on these genres in particular, and what do you ultimately hope to achieve through them?

 

I believe that because Korean ancestors have left us a civilization and wisdom, we have the same capabilities as well. Although things like artificial intelligence and big data are the so-called “big thing” these days, would they have come into existence without the civilizations from the past? That is why classics and history, which may seem outdated to modern people, are never obsolete, but rather are the present and the future. And, as such, I think that someone should be responsible for bringing the relevant classics to the present to find wisdom in them - making them easier and more interesting so that more people can have a look at them. That’s why we are still trying to reinterpret classics, history, and humanities in a new way and make them more familiar to readers.

 

 

We will continue to meet our readers with a wide range of content, from shallow to deep waters,
without losing the direction Booksea Publishing pursues.

 

 

You have been publishing a wide range of books for over 30 years, with the distinctive identity of Booksea Publishing. If you could recommend any books that you think capture the essence of Booksea Publishing, what would they be?

 

We recommend To You Who Asks About Jeju 4.3. There was a time in modern Korean history when Jeju Island, the largest island in Korea and the place where many people still visit, was the site of a bloody uprising. This book is a chronicle of the Jeju Uprising* (also known as the “Jeju April 3 incident”) that captures the sorrow of Jeju, its unresolved history, and the voices, gestures, and silences of its people. When you read it, you will realize that it is not something that happened far away or long ago, but something that is still ongoing. That is why, even though it has been more than a decade since its publication, I still get calls every April from people who want to share it with others and read it together.

 

* Jeju Uprising: A tragic incident that took place on Jeju Island, where the government’s oppression and armed uprising resulted in the deaths of many civilians.

 

The next book I would recommend is The Total History of the Japanese Colonial Period Seen Through Posters. Posters typically have a theme or text, which makes them more “objective” and communicative than other image materials. Thus, interpreting posters can be a source of enriched understanding of history. The author spent many years collecting and organizing almost all the posters that appeared in the media and literature during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and divided and grouped them into several categories to examine the period in detail. Although it is a huge volume of 720 pages, it helps today’s readers to approach the entire history of the Japanese occupation of Korea in an easy and fun way by sharing visual experiences with the people of the past.
Observation Report of the Trial of Ahn Jung-Geun is a project curated by Kim Heung-Sik, CEO of Booksea Publishing. At first, you might think, “How can you use difficult trial records to look at history?” However, the intent of the book was to make readers participate in the scenes of fierce historical “trials” without any dramatization, feel their liveliness, and look at and think about them as they are. Readers thankfully recognized this, and we received many emails and class reviews that even children who thought history was difficult and indifferent felt it was interesting. That’s why the “trial observation report series” that started with Observation Report of the Trial of Ahn Jung-Geun is already preparing to publish the fifth volume, Observation Report of the Trial of Ahn Yong-Bok, later this year.

 

 

When we think of Booksea Publishing, we can’t help but mention the Old Bookstore, Booksea Classics, and Liberal Arts on the Desk series. What are the specific topics and characteristics of each of these, and what value do you think you have created by publishing them as a series?

 

The Old Bookstore series was designed to present the classics in a new and exciting way to readers, and I think it was the “first series” that Booksea Publishing focused on classics. You may think that this is not new at all because most classics are now available in a lighter format, but back in the early 2000s, the classics were presented in the typical way of “original text-translation-commentary.” At this time, under the conviction that the Chinese characters (original text) were not an effective way to communicate to the public, the Old Bookstore decided to eliminate the original text, and instead translate and interpret the original text with various illustrations, photos, maps, diagrams and more to make it easier to understand. As a result, most of the classics are now published in a format that is easily accessible to any reader.
The Booksea Classics series also has the same intention as Old Bookstore - to present the classics in an effective, up-to-date, and timely manner - but the difference is that the targets are the major “Western” classics. The illustrations are much more colorful and richer than the ones in Old Bookstore, which covers Eastern classics. And, Liberal Arts on the Desk is a series designed to share deeper knowledge and wisdom in the fields of humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences with adolescents beyond textbooks.
These series are in line with Booksea Publishing’s goals and have been a long-standing pillar of the company. Recently, the company has continued to make books for a better world with the Teens Ask the World series, which covers a wide range of topics (humanities, social studies, history, science, etc.) with friendly illustrations and colorful stories for adolescents who are constantly interacting with the world, and the Illustoria series, a liberal arts series about history (published under the company’s imprint “Grimmsi”), which blends history with illustrations to make it easier to understand.

 

 

The classics and history serve as an intellectual foundation for the present,
and as eyes to look into the future.

 

 

Booksea Publishing is known for putting history and classics at the center of publishing. What do you think is the role of these genres in the publishing market, and in what ways do you see them as important?

 

As mentioned earlier, I believe that we can open the way to the present and the future thanks to the civilization and wisdom left behind by our ancestors. Classics are like a reservoir of human civilization, and history is the path that humanity has walked. In other words, classics and history may be perceived as something from the past, but they are actually an intellectual foundation for us living in the present and an eye to look into the future. Also, they can be a “medium” that can connect the past, present, and future. Good examples are books like Jingbirok and Utopia, which grandmothers, mothers, and granddaughters can read together and sit around and talk about. When such gatherings and moments come together, we are naturally encouraged to think about the problems facing our society - I believe that it will lead to a better world. So, I have hope that Booksea Publishing’s work of weaving new books out of the sea of classics and history will continue as long as there are good books.

 

What does the publication of Jingbirok in multiple languages overseas mean to Booksea Publishing? And, why do you think it has been so well-received overseas despite being a book about Korean history?

 

When we first published Jingbirok in 2000, not many people knew about the existence of the classic Jingbirok (懲毖錄)*. Of course, when we brought it to the world, we didn’t expect that it would become a core classic in just a few decades. But, since it was such a significant classic, our CEO felt that it was his mission to publish it and make it known. It is very fulfilling to see that our efforts have paid off - the book has become a national classic, become widely known to the Korean public through the production of a large-scale historical drama, and is now included as a must-read in universities abroad.

 

* Jingbirok: A book written by Ryu Sung-ryong, a civil vassal (文臣) during the Joseon Dynasty, chronicling the events during the Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-1598).

 

Classics and history may cover different civilizations, but I think they have no boundaries, even though there might be linguistic differences. This is why they can give wisdom anywhere and anytime. Just like how Jingbirok, as well as Korean Modern and Contemporary History, are read in Azerbaijan, and Half and Half, and a Lot of Radish, a novel about Korean modern history, is read in Thailand!

 

 

You unveiled Korea in Rare Photographs, a collection of over 390 rare photographs from the Joseon Dynasty and Japanese occupation of Korea, at the recent Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF). Could you tell us a little bit about how the book came about?

 

The book is a full-color restoration of photographs relevant to Korea’s modern history that Taiwan-based artist Hsu Chung Mao (徐宗懋) personally collected and owned. He said that it was difficult to find a publisher willing to publish the book in Korea because the cost of planning and producing the book was so high. We were also concerned about the cost, but we thought that the vividness that comes from restoring photographs from the past in color would resonate deeply with future generations. Fortunately, in addition to the book fair, many readers recognized the significance and meaning of the book, and we were very encouraged. I guess this is the joy of publishing.

 

 

Kim Heung-Sik, CEO of Booksea Publishing, has been involved in a variety of roles in the publishing industry, including the head of the Publishing Startup Incubation Center. How do these experiences make a positive contribution to running a publishing company?

 

The CEO is actually a business administration major, which is not related to publishing. However, it is said that he resolved to “devote himself to publishing for the rest of his life” when he went to the library in university, feeling the importance of books and wanting to share wisdom with many people. That’s probably why he goes wherever he has the opportunity to talk about the power and role of books. After meeting various people from different fields without any bias in regions like Suncheon, Gimhae, Jeju, Jeongeup, Iksan, Gumi, and Gongju, he shares many experiences and helpful stories, and plans new books based on these experiences. He also always encourages the employees to experience various things and learn new things.

 

What are some of the books that have not yet been translated and published abroad that you would like to introduce to international readers?

 

We often receive requests to produce e-books because it is difficult to read paper books overseas, and History of the World Progressive Party Movement was one of those books. I remember being shocked and saying, “How do you know this book?” This book is a detailed restoration of the landscapes and traces of 150 years of the world’s progressive party history, starting with the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the 19th century. It is “The Left Saga” of the world, a story of progressive parties and the politicians, revolutionaries, and theorists who played a crucial role in the adoption of democracy and in making the capitalist economy have a “warm heart.” Author Jang Seok-Joon, who is called the “Antonio Gramsci of Korea,” dramatically reproduces the decisive moments that shaped the fate of the progressive party and the world.
Next, the book, Globe Class, is a new release from our imprint Grimmsi. With the globe that we all encountered as students as a clue, Globe Class explores the world history of not only our planet in the universe, but also the people who live on it, beyond geography and geopolitics around the world. Plenty of illustrations and maps are a bonus, considering that few homes have globes these days.
The book, A Boy Who Can See the Sound, blends history, society, and culture with literature that is familiar to adolescents. It is the 18th volume in the “Booksea Publishing Young Adult Literature” series, which makes it easy to learn and think about related topics while having fun reading fiction. In the past, chanting (dokkyung; 讀經), which is the practice used to ward off evil spirits or to chant Buddhist scriptures for good luck, was mainly done by blind people. This book looks at the lives of those blind people in history through the topic of “chanting.” The episode when the audiobook of this book was released is memorable. The reviewer had to compare and contrast the content to make sure it was the same as the paper book without any errors when listening, but at the moment of chanting, she would close his eyes and chant along, eventually forgetting her role and shedding tears. This immersive work was selected as the “Book of the Year” in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province last year. It is recommended for overseas readers who have difficulty learning about Korean history.

 

 

You have been driving the business forward with a strong foundation of expertise and identity. Please tell us about the future direction and plans for Booksea Publishing.

 

With the advent of various media, books are said to be less interesting, and fewer people are reading them. For Booksea Publishing, which dreams of creating a sea of books, this is a big crisis because even if you create an ocean, you need people who enjoy it.
So, first, we are committed to communicating with future generations. While books that specialize in history are, of course, important, we also want to communicate with adolescent readers, such as the Booksea Publishing Young Adult Literature series, which makes them feel history as if they are the protagonists or observers, and the Teens Ask the World series, which is designed to examine issues that adolescents should think about and to share wisdom on how to solve them. Children and young adult readers interested in social issues can, of course, also enjoy these books. We will also continue to publish the Booksea Publishing Social Science Series, which opens up the horizons of millennials.
Also, Booksea Publishing is preparing content that will reach readers not only in Korea, but also in Asian countries that are close neighbors. The Beauty of Asia series, which has drawn the attention of many Asian countries by covering various aspects of beauty in Asia from different angles, is now gearing up to meet readers by next year.
Plus, as the interest of overseas readers in Korean history and Korea’s current situation that connects with the world contemporarily has increased in recent years, we are also trying to plan books not only for Korean readers but also for international readers. We promise to continue to provide a wide range of content, from the shallow waters to the deep sea, from classics and history to social and cultural fields, without losing our direction. We hope that you, our readers, will continue to experience the joy and thrill of pulling up a bag of wisdom from the sea of books.

 

 

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