Korean Literature

Han Kang’s THE VEGETARIAN Wins Man Booker International Prize
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Han Kang’s THE VEGETARIAN Wins Man Booker International Prize

Last week, the winner of the newly refocused Man Booker International Prize was announced to be The Vegetarian, a novel by the Korean writer Han Kang, translated into English by Deborah Smith. Originally published as three novellas, the book is the surreal story of Yeong-hye, a young Korean woman who stops eating meat as a…

Photo by hojusaram

Stray Reflections: Korean Literature in France

Livre Paris, France’s annual largest book fair, took place last weekend, and the invited country this year was South Korea, in honor of the France-Korea Year, celebrating 130 years of cooperation between the two countries. Interest in Korean culture has grown exponentially over the last few years. Lack of strategic marketing and distribution networks, cultural…

“Sufficient Ambiguity”: An Interview with Deborah Smith

“Sufficient Ambiguity”: An Interview with Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith is a translator of Korean and the founder of a new non-profit London-based publisher, Tilted Axis Press. Recently, she has worked with Korean author Han Kang to bring her novel The Vegetarian to an English-reading audience. The book is a collection of three linked novellas about a woman who gives up eating meat…