The RAS Korean Literature Club discussion

.
A comprehensive list of books read and discussed by the RAS Korean Literature Club during the year:

2015.

(For earlier and later years, see this folder.)

Included is such information as: Author, translator, publisher, year; original titles in Hangul and author names and info in Hangul; notes on where online to find some of the hard-to-find or otherwise-unpublished material (when applicable); discussion leaders; and, where applicable, other notes (such as author presences or other special events).

Add a comment for corrections or additions, as with technical information, anything missing or incorrect.

For general discussion on the literary value, etc., of the books, go to the (General forum).



______________

. . . . . . . [2015] . . . . . . .
______________




______________

[January 5, 2015]
- Book: INTO THE LIGHT
- Author: Kim Sa-ryang
- Translator(s): Jane Kim
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)
- Year of publication: 2013?
- Original story info: Title in Hangul: "빛 속으로"; author, Kim Sa-ryang (김사량/金史良, 1914-1950); published orig. in 1939 in Japanese (as "光の中に").
- GR entry: Jane Kim version: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... and Christopher Scott translation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
- Translated version available online? no
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note: Jane Kim's 2013 translation of "Into the Light" was commissioned and published by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI). A new translation in 2015 by Christopher D. Scott (2015) wider distribution with the "Korean Modern Literature" series (Asia Publishers, Seoul).

______________

[February 2, 2015]
- Book: POVERTY
- Author: Baek Sin-ae
- Translator(s): Janet Hong
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)
- Year of publication: 2013
- Original story info: Title, "Chŏkpin" [적빈/赤貧]; author, Paek Sinae [Baek Sin-ae] (백신애, 1908-1939); published orig. 1934.
- GR entry: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/3vut4y53 (3500 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

______________

[March 2, 2015]
- Book: MOUNTAINS, STREAMS, PLANTS, AND TREES (San-ch'on-ch'o-mok)
- Author: Yi Hae-Jo
- Translator(s): Brother Anthony of Taize and Jeongsoo Shin
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)?
- Year of publication: ca. early 2010s?
- Original book info: Title, "San-ch'on-ch'o-mok" (산천초목); author, Yi Hae-cho (Lee Hae-jo) (이해조, 1869-1927); published orig. 1910, in 62 installments in the Taehan-Minbo newspaper (대한민보, Hanyang/Seoul), March 10 to May 31, 1910. Published as a stand-alone book in 1912.
- GR entry: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/yp62s5um (18,600 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note: The Club read and discussed Mountains, Streams, Plants and Trees again at its April 2020 session.

______________

[April 6, 2015]
- Book: KNIFE MARKS
- Author: Kim Aeran
- Translator(s): Sora Kim-Russell
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)
- Year of publication: 2009?
- Original story info: Title, "K'alchaguk" [칼자국]; author, Kim Ae-ran (김애란, b.1980); published orig. Sept. 2007 in author's short-story collection ("침이 고인다"), Moonji Publishing (문학과지성사).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/5w9uynsb (ca. 8500 words?)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note 1: In 2008, "Knife Marks" was awarded a major literary prize (Yi-Sang Prize, 이효석문학상) for best short story of the year.

- Note 2: In 2011, "Knife Marks" was turned into a stage-play by the Korea National University of the Arts ( 한국예술종합학교), which produced and staged the play that year.

- Note 3: The Club read and discussed other works by Kim Ae-ran for its June 2018 and July 2019 sessions.

______________

[May 4, 2015]
- Book: MY CLINT EASTWOOD
- Author: Oh Han-ki
- Translator(s): Jeon Seung-hee
- Publisher: Asia Publishers (Seoul)
- Year of publication: Sept. 2014
- Original story info: Title, "Na-ŭi K'ŭllint'ŭ Isŭt'ŭudŭ" [나의 클린트 이스트우드]; author, O Han-ki (오한기, b.1985); published orig. Winter 2012-13 in literary magazine Munye-Chungang (문예중앙).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

______________

[June 1, 2015]
- Book: DINNER WITH BUFFETT
- Author: Park Min-gyu
- Translator(s): Jeon Seung-hee
- Publisher: Asia Publishers (Seoul)
- Year of publication: Sept. 2014
- Original story info: Title, "Pŏp'itkwa-ŭi Chŏnyŏk Shiksa" [버핏과의 저녁 식사]; author, Pak Min-kyu (박민규, b.1968); published orig. Jan 2012, Hyundae-Munhak literary magazine (현대문학).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note 1: Dinner With Buffett was published in Asia Publishers' "K-Fiction" series, as a dual-language, side-by-side Korean-and-English printing. The "K-Fiction" series was introduced in late 2014 as a supplement to the "Bilingual Edition" series which had begun about mid-2012 and focused largely on 20th-century classics. The new "K-Fiction" series focused solely on 2000s- and 2010s-era writing. Dinner With Buffett was the "K-Fiction" series' first entry. (By ca.2021, bout 32 [?] stories were published the K-Fiction series.)

- Note 2: The Club read another work by Min-gyu Park for its Oct 2021 session.

______________

[July 6, 2015]
- Book: ARPAN
- Author: Park Hyoung-su
- Translator(s): Sora Kim-Russell
- Publisher: Asia Publishers (Seoul), "K-Fiction Series"
- Year of publication: Sept. 2014
- Original story info: Title, "Arŭp'an" [아르판]; author, Pak Hyŏng-sŏ [Park Hyoung-su] (박형서, b.1972; published orig. Summer 2011 issue of literary magazine Munhak-kwa Sahoe (문학과 사회).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo
______________

[August 3, 2015]
- Book: THE ELEPHANT
- Author: Kim Jae-young
- Translator(s): Michelle Jooeun Kim
- Publisher: Asia Publishers (Seoul)
- Year of publication: ca. May 2014 (see also note-1 on an earlier translation)
- Original story info: Title, "K'okkiri" [코끼리]; author, Kim Chae-yŏng [Kim Jae-young] (김재영, b.1966?/67?); published orig. Autumn 2004 issue of Changbi literary journal; and in Dec 2005 as titular story in a short-story collection, Silchon-Munhak Publishing (실천문학사).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note 1: An earlier translation of "The Elephant" had appeared in New Writing from Korea, Vol. 1 (Oct 2008; KLTI), translated by Nicholas Yohan Duvernay & Lee Moon-ok, a mother-and-son translation team. Nicholas Duvernay (b.1987?, Korean name: 이요한), son of Koran Studies scholar Thomas Duvernay, grew up as a mixed-race child in South Korea, much like the adolescent narrator of "The Elephant," whose voice he co-translated. This meta-layer to the 2008 translation offers a clue on why this foreigner-focused story has gotten such attention among foreigners active in the Korean world. (Find the 2008 translation here: https://tinyurl.com/y4uk839m ).

- Note 2: "The Elephant" 2014 translation, by Michelle Jooeun Kim, is No.49 in Asia Publishers' Modern Korean Literature series. The choice to group "The Elephant" within the "Diaspora" subset of the series has elicited criticism. (See: Charles Montgomery, "The Price of Capitalist Development," April 30, 2015).

______________

[September 7, 2015]
- Book: RAISING SWALLOWS
- Author: Yun Dae-nyeong
- Translator(s): Gabriel Sylvian
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)
- Year of publication: 2008?
- Original story info: Title, "Chebi-rŭl kirŭda" [제비를 기르다]; author, Yun Tae-nyŏng [Yun Dae-nyeong] (윤대녕, b.1962); published orig. Jan 2007 as titular story in author's short-story collection, Changbi Publishing (창비).
- Goodreads entry link: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/5y8fc9ye (15,000 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

______________

[October 5, 2015]
- Book: BROKEN STRINGS
- Author: Kang Kyŏng-ae
- Translator(s): Sora Kim-Russell
- Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea (KLTI)
- Year of publication: 2013
- Original story info: Title, "P'agŭm" [파금/破琴]; author, Kang Kyŏng-ae (강경애, b.1906-1944); published orig. Aug 1931, serialized across several issues of Chosun Ilbo newspaper (Seoul).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/mvyjrpu2 (ca. 4000 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note< 1: "Broken Strings" was Kang Kyŏng-ae's first published story. She was then age 25, recently married, recently emigrated to the frontier in Japanese-administered Manchuria, and a recent convert to 1930s-era Korean-Leftist politics. Kang Kyŏng-ae would write all her stories in Manchuria. She published continuously between mid-1931 and mid-1938. In early 1939, she was appointed a Chosun Ilbo bureau-chief for part of Manchuria. Her health declined after 1942; her early death in 1944 (of a long-term illness) came a week after her 38th birthday.

- Note< 2: The Club also dealt with works by Kang Kyŏng-ae at its December 2018 and January 2019 sessions. The Club co-hosted the launch-event of The Underground Village: The Complete Short Stories of Kang Kyeong-ae (Honford Star Press, Dec. 2018).

______________

[November 2, 2015]
- Book: CONVALESCENCE
- Author: Han Kang
- Translator(s): Jeon Seung-hee (?)
- Publisher: Asia Publishers (Seoul)
- Year of publication: June 2013
- Original story info: Title, " Hoebok'anŭn In'gan" [회복하는 인간]; author, Han Kang (한강, b.1970); published orig. Spring 2001 in literary magazine Chakka-Segye (작가세계).
- Goodreads entry link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note: The Club also read works by Han Kang for its January 2025, February 2025, and April 2025 sessions.

______________

[December 2015] [November 30, 2015]
- Story: BLUE CRAB GRAVE
- Author: Kwon Ji-ye
- Translator(s): Brother Anthony of Taize
- Publisher: Koreana magazine
- Year of publication: Spring 2012
- Original book info: Title, "Kkotke Mudŏm" (꽃게 무덤); author, Kwŏn Chiye [Kwon Ji-ye] (권지예, b.1960); published orig. March 2005, Munhak-Dongnae Publishing (문학동네).
- Goodreads entry link: n/a
- Translated version available online? YES, at https://tinyurl.com/3xct99sp (8400 words)
- Discussion leader(s): Patrick Bourgo

- Note 1: In 2005, Kwon Ji-ye was awarded the Dongin Literary Award (동인문학상) for "Blue Crab Grave."

- Note 2: The Club read and discussed "Blue Crab Grave" again for its June 2022 session.

__________

.
The above is for books read and discussed in 2015 only. For earlier years, see:

LIST OF ALL BOOKS READ BY THE CLUB

.