In The Korea Herald Robert J. Fouser writes On Korean literature in translation, noting that things seem to be going well, certainly in comparison to previously.
Of course:
There are potential bright spots ahead: Han Kang and Bae Suah look like they have breakout-potential. But, of course, didn't Kim Young-ha ? (He's doing fine, but has hardly established himself on the international market.) Or, even earlier, Yi Mun-yol ? (Both, in my mind, deserving of bigger international reputations than they've managed so far.) Meanwhile, Shin Kyung-sook is on her third American publisher -- one per book, so far; that can't be good .....
Among the other good points in the piece: that the focus has been on fiction (though there's always Ko Un, leading the poetic way ...): as he notes, few plays have been translated. Surprisingly little non-fiction (at least beyond the escape-from-North-Korea sort) too.
See also the Index of Korean Literature under review at the complete review.
Of course:
The stream of good news raises some interesting questions: Why now, and what, if anything, can be done to sustain it ?While he ignores the galvanizing effect of South Korea's 2005 turn as guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair I think he pegs it right by noting the huge role played by (and enormous investment of) LTI Korea. He notes:
The problem with market approaches to Korean literature in translation is that the market for literature in translation in the Anglophone world is so small. There really is no market for translations, except for a few stars and Nobel Prize winners.That's a bit of an exaggeration -- though it is noteworthy that in the one area that does best by market rules, crime/mystery writing, Korean is one of the few major world languages that doesn't have any international players. Still, the LTI-dependence -- and let's face it, the wonderful Dalkey series wouldn't exist in anywhere near this size and range without those generous subsidies -- can hardly be a long-term solution.
There are potential bright spots ahead: Han Kang and Bae Suah look like they have breakout-potential. But, of course, didn't Kim Young-ha ? (He's doing fine, but has hardly established himself on the international market.) Or, even earlier, Yi Mun-yol ? (Both, in my mind, deserving of bigger international reputations than they've managed so far.) Meanwhile, Shin Kyung-sook is on her third American publisher -- one per book, so far; that can't be good .....
Among the other good points in the piece: that the focus has been on fiction (though there's always Ko Un, leading the poetic way ...): as he notes, few plays have been translated. Surprisingly little non-fiction (at least beyond the escape-from-North-Korea sort) too.
See also the Index of Korean Literature under review at the complete review.