The Korean Literature Series #12 – Kim Sunghee – ‘The Narrative of Martyrdom - North Korean Literature in the Early Military-First Age’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Kim Sunghee. They speak about North Korea’s ‘military-first’ ideology, the historical period from which it emerged, what the ideology entails, the transformation that took place in the minds of everyday North Koreans, the way that workers and soldiers became indistinguishable, how this ideology was developed through literature, what this literature looked like and the affect that it had, and importantly a close look at Song Sangwŏn’s ‘Taking up bayonets’.

Kim Sunghee is a Social Science Korea (SSK) Research Professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, South Korea. Sunghee also teaches literary theory and criticism, Asian literature, and writing at the Underwood International College at Yonsei University, and the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Korea University. In 2017, he earned his Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. Sunghee’s ongoing research interests include literary theory, authoritarianism, modern Korean literature; North Korean history; and the history of emotions.

*** ‘The Prosody of Working and the Narrative of Martyrdom: Daily Life and Death in North Korean Literature during the Great Famine and the Early Military-First Age (1994-2002)’ (https://www.academia.edu/41368236/The_Prosody_of_Working_and_the_Narrative_of_Martyrdom_Daily_Life_and_Death_in_North_Korean_Literature_during_the_Great_Famine_and_the_Early_Military_First_Age_1994_2002_).

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The Korean Literature Series #11 – Bruce Fulton – ‘What Is Korean Literature? Part 2’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Bruce Fulton. They speak about the history of Korean literature, its origins as performative and oral works, the lyrical songs of the Koryo period, an overview of classical Korean literature, how the shift into verse happened and what it looked like, the rise of narrative fiction, the centrality of classical Chinese writing in this early literature, the development of modern literature and how this rapidly changing world was represented, important developments in poetry and drama, how Korean literature has continued to evolve along-side Korean national identity, and a deep look at significant books that Bruce and his wife, Ju-Chan, have translated (‘The Catcher in the Loft’, ‘One Left: A Novel’, ‘The Dwarf’).

Bruce Fulton is the inaugural holder of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia. He is the co-translator, with Ju-Chan Fulton, of numerous works of modern Korean fiction; co-editor, with Kwon Young-min, of Modern Korean Fiction (Columbia University Press, 2005), editor of the Korea section of the Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature (2003); and general editor of the Modern Korean Fiction series published by the University of Hawai’i Press. He is the co-recipient of several translation awards and grants, including the first National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship for a Korean literary work, the first residency awarded by the Banff International Literary Translation Centre for the translation of a work from any Asian Language, and the recipient of a 2018 Manhae Grand Prize in Literature.

*** ‘What Is Korean Literature?’ by Youngmin Kwon and Bruce Fulton (https://ieas.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/what-korean-literature).

*** ‘One Left: A Novel’ by Kim Soom. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295747668/one-left/).

*** ‘The Dwarf’ by Cho Se-hŭi. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-dwarf/).

*** ‘The Catcher in the Loft’ by Un-yŏng Ch’ŏn. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6905-the-catcher-in-the-loft.aspx).

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The Korean Literature Series #10 – Bruce Fulton – ‘What Is Korean Literature? Part 1’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Bruce Fulton. They speak about the history of Korean literature, its origins as performative and oral works, the lyrical songs of the Koryo period, an overview of classical Korean literature, how the shift into verse happened and what it looked like, the rise of narrative fiction, the centrality of classical Chinese writing in this early literature, the development of modern literature and how this rapidly changing world was represented, important developments in poetry and drama, how Korean literature has continued to evolve along-side Korean national identity, and a deep look at significant books that Bruce and his wife, Ju-Chan, have translated (‘The Catcher in the Loft’, ‘One Left: A Novel’, ‘The Dwarf’).

Bruce Fulton is the inaugural holder of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia. He is the co-translator, with Ju-Chan Fulton, of numerous works of modern Korean fiction; co-editor, with Kwon Young-min, of Modern Korean Fiction (Columbia University Press, 2005), editor of the Korea section of the Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature (2003); and general editor of the Modern Korean Fiction series published by the University of Hawai’i Press. He is the co-recipient of several translation awards and grants, including the first National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship for a Korean literary work, the first residency awarded by the Banff International Literary Translation Centre for the translation of a work from any Asian Language, and the recipient of a 2018 Manhae Grand Prize in Literature.

*** ‘What Is Korean Literature?’ by Youngmin Kwon and Bruce Fulton (https://ieas.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/what-korean-literature).

*** ‘One Left: A Novel’ by Kim Soom. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295747668/one-left/).

*** ‘The Dwarf’ by Cho Se-hŭi. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-dwarf/).

*** ‘The Catcher in the Loft’ by Un-yŏng Ch’ŏn. Translated by Bruce Fulton and Ju-Chan Fulton (https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6905-the-catcher-in-the-loft.aspx).

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The Korean Literature Series #9 – Janet Lee – ‘The Tale of Chunhyang - Translated by Western Missionaries’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Janet Lee. They speak about the Chosŏn-era ‘Tale of Chunhyang’, why this story was so popular at the time and why it remains so today, the portrayal of social stratification within this novel, the rebellious message embedded in the text, the various different source texts that exist for this story, the two key English translations that were done by the now-famous Western Missionaries Horace Allen and James Gale, how these translations changed and reinvented important aspects of the tale in the hopes of engaging Western readers with Korean culture, and indeed how they reinvented Korean cultural identity through their translations into English.

Janet Lee is an assistant professor of Korean Literature at Keimyung University in South Korea, specializing in gender, emotion, and medicine in the Chosŏn literary tradition. She received her M.A. degree at Columbia University and Ph.D. degree from University of California, Los Angeles. Her dissertation concerns the development of the literary motif of “love-sickness” (sangsa pyŏng) in late Chosŏn narratives, and it contends that love tales reveal the complex negotiations between the body and the mind, gender ideals and sexual desire, and romantic love and Confucian ideology. Her scholarly interests are focused on women’s writing, experience, and labor presented in vernacular works from the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. She is the Managing Editor of Acta Koreana, a peer-reviewed international journal of Korean studies published in English.

*** Janet Lee’s article ‘"The Tale of Chunhyang" as Translated by Western Missionaries’ (https://www.academia.edu/42710915/_The_Tale_of_Chunhyang_as_Translated_by_Western_Missionaries).

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The Korean Literature Series #8 – Brother Anthony of Taizé – ‘Korean Poetry’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Brother Anthony of Taizé. They speak about the history and origins of Korean poetry, the imagery that is often used by Korean poets, the structure and form that Korean poetry follows, the difficulties and challenges of translating from Korean to English, how Korean poetry has changed over time, the lives and works of selected Korean poets, and importantly Brother Anthony’s experience within this field and the insights it offers into Korean life and culture.

Brother Anthony of Taizé (Professor An Sonjae) was born in 1942 in England and completed his studies in the University of Oxford before becoming a member of the Community of Taizé (France) in 1969. Since 1980, he has been living in Korea and teaching English literature at Sogang University, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. He is also Chair-Professor in the International Creative Writing Center of Dankook University. Since January 2011 he has been President of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch.

During his time at Sogang University he served as English Department Chairman 1992 – 1994, was in charge of the British & American Cultures Major from July 2000 - 2003, and was again Chair of the English Department from May 2001 until July 2003. He served as President of the Medieval and Early Modern English Studies Association of Korea 1998-2000, and has published well over 40 volumes of English translations of modern Korean literature, mainly poetry. 

He has received the Korea Times Translation Award, the Daesan Translation Award, the Korean Republic’s Literary Award (Translation) and the Korean PEN Translation Award for his work. He took Korean citizenship in 1994 and An Sonjae is his official Korean name. He received the Korean government’s 문화훈장 Award of Merit, Jade Crown class, in October 2008 for his work in promoting knowledge of Korean literature in the world. He was awarded an honorary MBE by Queen Elizabeth in December 2015 for contributions to Korean-British relations,

*** Brother Anthony of Taizé’s personal and professional website: http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/

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The Korean Literature Series #7 – Franklin Rausch – ‘Korean Cinderella - The Story of Changhwa and Hongnyon’

This episode of the Korea Now podcast features an interview that Jed Lea-Henry conducted with Franklin Rausch. They speak about the Choson dynasty classic tale ‘The Story of Changhwa and Hongnyon’, the origins of this story in the 17th century, its popularity and the subject matter, how the story has changed over time, the earliest English translations, how during the Japanese colonial period the tale revives and becomes central to Korean national identity and a symbol of the daily suffering being felt, the escapist elements of the narrative, the universal aspects of the story that made it so appealing within the deeply hierarchical society of Choson Korea, the moral lessons within the text, and how the story has survived and even found a new home within the movies, literature, and popular culture of modern Korea.

Franklin Rausch is an Associate Professor of History in the department of History & Philosophy at Lander University. Frank received his Ph.D. in Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia with his dissertation on ‘The Ambiguity of Violence: Ideology, State, and Religion in the Late Chosŏn Dynasty’. He has been a Visiting Professor for Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea, and is the author of ‘Catholics and Anti-Catholicism in Choson Korea’ (University of Hawaii Press). Pertinent to this podcast, Frank is also the translator and editor of: ‘The Story of Changhwa and Hongnyon’ (https://www.academia.edu/37181277/The_Story_of_Changhwa_and_Hongnyŏn).

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