VOL.77/2024.12

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 writer internationally, their whole body of work, and their literary universe, instead of just one book? Should we talk less about titles and more about writers?
Author representation is very different from one country to another, from one culture to another. As a literary agent, my experience working with authors directly has always involved trying to understand where the authors are coming from and where they might be going. This helps me suggest a strategy and offer some guidance and advice. To me, it is important to talk with authors and choose which books to begin with and why. Or which titles are most interesting to follow-up with after a so-called publishing success or a so-called failure. Or when, how, and who to entrust the translation to. Sometimes, the titles that work domestically do not work internationally, and it makes more sense to promote a backlist work. It is a job that requires patience, perseverance, and the opportunity of good timing.
My experience working with Kim Hye-jin is an interesting example. I came across Concerning My Daughter (Minumsa) thanks to Michelle Nam, rights manager at Minumsa, who kindly sent me a partial translation. I was very slow to read it, but when I finally found the time to read a full translation, it blew my mind. How could a mother be so cold-hearted? How could I hate this character so much in the first half of the novel and then feel so much compassion for her at the end? How did the author accomplish this and create this feeling?
My initial efforts to spread the word about Concerning My Daughter were unsuccessful but, after a few months, I finally found an editor who felt the same as I did, and the French rights were sold to Gallimard. Gradually, a group of publishing houses came together to champion this special novel, and more translation deals were closed in Italy (Mondadori), the UK (Picador), the US (Restless), Germany (Hanser), Spain (Las Afueras), Argentina, Poland, Greece, etc. - up to 15 publishers in total.

Concerning My Daughter was not a “hot” novel, nor a brand new release - it had been published many years before - and not a massive bestseller in South Korea either. But it was a small gem that, without Michelle’s insistence, could have remained unnoticed. Thanks to a series of personal and professional links and a few years of waiting, the novel began to be read around the world, and Kim Hye-jin traveled to Austria and Berlin to promote it. We finally met in person in Seoul, and we established a close connection and a bond of friendship and trust. This extended to her brilliant English translator, Jamie Chang, who, together with Michelle Nam, completed the quartet. We shared and discussed decisions about publishing houses, promotions, interviews, and travel invitations. Hye-jin’s English kept getting better and better while my Korean remained nonexistent. We talked at length about her many brilliant books and agreed that The Good Ear (Counsel Culture)(Minumsa) was the best possible follow-up to Concerning My Daughter. Together we carefully prepared all the materials for publishers. All the foreign publishers except for a couple bought the rights to Counsel Culture and are fully committed to Kim Hye-jin as an author beyond just one book. To me, this means a lot, as the big challenge for a writer in translation is continuity, and to have more than just one book translated. For Counsel Culture, Kim Hye-jin traveled to Spain and, in the meantime, the film adaptation of Concerning My Daughter premiered to great critical acclaim in Seoul.

Now, while I continue to promote these two novels in countries and languages where they are not yet available, the quartet is discussing what would be the ideal third title for foreign readers. Short stories? Another novel? While in Korea, the short story is extremely popular, it remains a slightly more risky format in translation and it is important to think about when and how short stories might work. My feeling is that it is not the right moment yet and that it would be good to have at least one more novel translated before presenting short stories. How about Kim Hye-jin’s backlist novel, THE WORK OF NUMBER 9? Or maybe we should wait until she finishes the book that she is currently working on?

Kim Hye-jin’s lead publishing house in English used to be Picador in the UK, but since the editor left, Restless Books in the US has taken the lead. Does this mean that perhaps we should be thinking more about North American readers than before? And how will the books be received in the US? And, while we wait for a new book, what about placing one of her stories in a literary magazine? This ongoing conversation is one of the many different aspects and joys of promoting international literature. In a completely globalized and crowded market, which can also sometimes feel a bit overwhelming, asking is this the best book? and is this the best moment? and is this the best way? is always a good idea.

Written by Marina Penalva (Literary agent, Casanovas & Lynch Literary Agency)