VOL.69/2024.04

Bringing Korean Literature to Hebrew Readers

Successful import case of Prapanca Press in Israel

2023.11.06

The Hebrew-language book market is paradoxically both large and small. While there are only about two million active Hebrew readers, who read at least once a week, close to 7,000 new titles are published each and every year in Israel. In other words, whereas the book market is rather small in terms of readers, it is considerably large, vigorous, and diverse in terms of contents. Approximately 20% of Hebrew book publications are translations, almost all of which are translations from English, in addition to a few translations from other European languages such as Russian and Spanish.
Regrettably, to date, very few Korean titles were able to reach the Hebrew book market. Although the novels of Shin Kyung-sook and Jeong You-jeong, as well as a few others, have been published in Hebrew and received in Israel with some enthusiasm, the translations were not made directly from the Korean original but from the English translation. In fact, due to a lack of Korean-Hebrew translators, almost all Korean books published in Hebrew until recent years have been translated from the English translation. They were indeed twice-chewed ruminations, translations of translations. Prapanca Press is currently attempting to change that. One of its main objectives is to produce high-quality direct-translations of Korean literary works into Hebrew, and create a sustainable place for them in the local book market.
Prapanca Press is an Israeli publishing house specializing in Asian literature. It focuses on translations of both classical and modern works from East Asia, written in all genres. Its managing editor, Dr. Uri Kaplan, is a specialist in Korean Studies and in Asian religions. Dr. Kaplan attended Yonsei University, Kyunghee University, Korea University, and Seoul National University, received a PhD from Duke University, and is currently lecturing at Haifa University. His affectionate appreciation of Korean culture, in its various aspects, stands at the foundation of the publishing agenda.
To be sure, interest in Korean culture, which has spiked in recent years throughout the world, has not skipped the tiny state of Israel. The current success of Korean movies, television dramas, and K-pop has created a growing interest in the ‘exotic’ and distant country located on the other side of the great continent. It seems that everyone in Israel today, as elsewhere, has watched the movie “Parasite” and the TV series “Squid Games,” and knows how to boogie to the beat of “Gangnam Style.” Tourism between the two small nations is flourishing, as well as business relations and student exchanges. It is certainly time for the literary world to catch up.
In 2020, Prapanca Press published a Hebrew translation of the Korean Buddhist classic, The Mirror of Seon, written in the 16th century by Hyu-Jeong, also known as “Master West Mountain”. The book was translated with numerous notes and explanations directly from the Hanmun original text. While several Asian classical texts were previously published in Hebrew, this was the first Korean classical work that became available in the local market. It was received with great curiosity by Israeli Buddhist groups, academics, and philosophy buffs. In fact, quite a few Orthodox Jews purchased the book in order to learn about the religious thought of East Asia.
In 2022, with the kind support of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI), Prapanca Press was able to translate from Korean and publish the celebrated early-20th-century Korean poetry collection of Han Yong-un, Your Silence. The book was well-received in local literary circles. Han’s poems, both universalistic and very much “Korean” in theme and style, aroused considerable interest. The collection has been quoted in literary magazines and has since become a constant seller in boutique bookshops specializing in poetry.
In 2023, Prapanca Press acquired from Yollimwon Publishing Group the translation rights for Jeong Chan-ju’s book, A Novel: Musoyu. It is a fascinating biographical novel that provides an intimate, authentic, and at times heartwarming, insider-glance into modern Korean monastic life. The unique story would undoubtedly be able to attract various Hebrew readers interested in East Asia in general, and in Korea in particular. It is currently being translated from Korean, and is expected to be published in early 2024.

Prapanca Press would like to strengthen its collaboration with Korean publishers in order to expand its Korean translation projects in the coming future. It would be especially enthusiastic to introduce new Korean authors to the Hebrew-reading public, authors who have not yet been translated into Hebrew, such as Yi Mun-yol, Kim Un-su, Pyun Hye-young, Kim Young-ha, and others. French writer Andre Maurois once wrote that “in literature, as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others.” It is this astonishment, this incredible fascination with the unimaginable ideas of others, that motivates Prapanca Press to continue its translation efforts, and to enchant Hebrew readers with the captivating imagination, thought, and culture of Korea.

Written by Dr. Uri Kaplan (Managing Editor of Prapanca Press, Israel)