VOL.69/2024.04

Bringing Hwang Sun-Mi books to Türkçe Readers

2023.07.03

In recent years the Korean wave has reached Türkiye through K-Pop, Korean meals, Korean movies and TV series, manga, and comics. As the Korean culture is very interesting to young people in Türkiye, we wanted to be a part of it by building a bridge by translating stories of talented Korean authors. As Genç Timaş, the teen imprint of Timaş Publishing House, we translate from many different languages, and it was the right time for Korean.
To tell about the success of Hwang Sun-Mi titles in Türkiye, I should start with the day I read The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly (SAKYEJUL). This book has something magical. Its effect is so impressive that the whole week the hen makes you think about her. When I told the story in our editorial board meeting, everyone was impressed and excited about telling the story of the Hen to Türkçe readers. Hwang Sun-Mi finds a perfect way to tell the story through animals. Animals have no border, and this makes the story universal, and then emotions show up. After reading it, you want everyone to be aware of the story of the Hen. It makes you think about justice, equality, and freedom. It is very understandable why her titles have been translated into many languages.

* K-Book Trends Vol. 47 – Go to the interview with writer Hwang Sun-mi

We sent some copies to our PR list and the press first, and the reaction of our readers was fascinating. Among Türkçe bookstagrams and booktubers, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly became very popular in a very short time. Then the reaction from our readers was huge. Also, in schools, many teachers wanted their students to read the book. There have been some school events online, and as an editor, I was so happy to answer questions from the students about the ‘representation.’ Many of the young students were already familiar with Korean culture but not with the literature before reading it.

As a result, more interest is drawn toward Korean literature and our publishing house.
Then we published The Dog Who Dared to Dream (Woongjin ThinkBig) in 2021 and Miracle on Cherry Hill (SAKYEJUL) in 2022 in Türkçe. Today, Hwang Sun-Mi titles have reached at least 100,000 people in Türkiye. The social media comments, teachers’ and students’ feedback, and the sale number of her books in Türkiye also tell us that we were right about the emotions.
Also, during the pandemic, we made an online conference with Hwang Sun-Mi and talked about her titles, and last year, she attended the İstanbul International Literature Festival and gave a great speech. We and her readers were more than happy to meet and listen to her.

Korean literature makes an impact among Türkçe readers, and we, as Genç Timaş, are glad to form a bridge between Korean writers and the Türkçe public. In June, we also published another Korean author Julie Lee and her title Brother’s Keeper. We will see the reaction after we announce it!

Written by Merve Okçu (Editor, Genç Timaş)