One of South Korea’s most widely read and acclaimed novelists joins translator, author and Dublin Literary Award judge for an exploration of Korean literature, translation, and the growing popularity of translated fiction.
One of South Korea’s most widely read and acclaimed novelists joins translator, author and 2024 Dublin Literary Award judge for an exploration of Korean literature, translation, and the growing popularity of translated fiction.
Kyung-Sook Shin and Anton Hur have a close relationship as author and translator; Hur has translated The Court Dancer, I Went to See My Father, and Violets, which was Kyung-Sook’s first novel to appear in English.
Bucheon, South Korea was designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2017 and is home to the Bucheon City Book Festival, the Bucheon Reading Marathon, and a library network of over 120 public libraries. Its literary culture is thriving, and South Korean authors are some of the most popular authors when it comes to literature in English translation.
Together, Kyung-Sook Shin and Anton Hur will discuss the unique landscape of literature in South Korea, their relationship to one another as writer and translator, and what sets Korean literature apart.
Kyung-Sook Shin is the author of numerous works of fiction and is one of South Korea’s most widely read and acclaimed novelists. Her novel Please Look After Mom earned her the Man Asian Literary Prize, making her the first woman to be awarded the accolade. She has also been honored with the Manhae Literature Prize, the Dong-in Literature Prize, and the Yi Sang Literary Prize, as well as France’s Pirx de l’Inaperçu.
Anton Hur is the author of Toward Eternity and No One Told Me Not To. He won a PEN Translates grant for his translation of The Underground Village by Kang Kyeong-ae and a PEN/Heim grant for Bora Chung’s Cursed Bunny (shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize). His translation of Sang Young Park’s Love in the Big City was longlisted for the same prize in the same year. His translation of Violets was longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Awards.
Presented in partnership with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.