Apr 19, 2020

[Herald Interview] US literary agency founder says US, UK opening up to Korean books

The first work of Korean literature to be translated into English was “The Cloud Dream of the Nine” in 1922, translated by Canadian missionary James S. Gale. That was almost a century ago, but until recently Korean literature still did not get much exposure in the global market. “The markets in the US and UK are growing a lot for Korean books,” founder of the BJZ Agency Barbara J. Zitwer told The Korea Herald by email.  Based in New York City, the agency speciali

Apr 15, 2020

Notable Korean children’s book authors to be published in foreign languages this year

Last month, Baek Hee-na, a children‘s book author and renowned picture book artist, won the 2020 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest children’s literature prize, becoming the first Korean to do so. Many Korean children’s books, however, still have not received the global attention they deserve. “We do not concentrate much on assisting the children’s book genre yet,” a Literature Translation Institute of Korea official told The Korea H

Mar 30, 2020

Four notable Korean authors to be published in foreign languages this year

From Korean TV dramas and K-pop to the nation’s cinematic output, Korean content has taken the world by storm. This year, it may be Korean novels’ turn to engage global readers. According to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, a state-run institute that promotes Korean literature abroad, at least 91 Korean books are being published in 19 countries this year. “There might be more books that will be published overseas, this is the number that we have for now,&rdquo

Mar 24, 2020

Reinstated head quits, signaling peace for Korea National Opera

The Korea National Opera announced its recently reinstated artistic director Yoon Ho-geun quit on Monday, preventing chaos for the troupe that was to be led by two heads. According to the national troupe’s press release Tuesday, Yoon quit his position to “prevent confusion for the opera troupe, and to encourage the advance of the Korean opera scene.”  Earlier this month, the national opera troupe fell into confusion when its former artistic director Yoon Ho-geun retur

Mar 20, 2020

Daniel Dae Kim addresses xenophobia after testing positive for coronavirus

Korean American actor Daniel Dae Kim, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, spoke on social media about his coronavirus testing experience and xenophobia. On Friday, Kim posted a 10-minute video on Instagram announcing that he had tested positive and spoke about violence toward Asians stemming from xenophobia. He had also tweeted on Monday against ongoing acts of racism in the US. Kim, known for his roles as Kwon Jin-soo in “Lost” and Dr. Jackson Han in “The Good Doc

Mar 13, 2020

Churches continue with online Sunday services

Large churches in Seoul are continuing with their Sunday services online, as Korea is still in national battle against COVID-19. Like the past weeks, Sarang Church in southern Seoul, one of the several megachurches here, is going online for its Sunday services this week. On Sunday, more than 40,000 people viewed the online stream by the church.   “The decision was voluntarily made by the church community -- not by someone’s order. A church -- a religious community -- shares

Feb 28, 2020

Celebrities donate to support fight against coronavirus

Celebrities in Korea are making donations to help people fight against the spread of COVID-19 across the nation. On Friday, actress Yum Jung-ah donated 100 million won ($82,200) to Green Umbrella Child Fund Korea to help purchase masks and hand sanitizers for children in need. Singer-turned-actress Yoona, members of K-pop band Red Velvet, and singers Kang Daniel and Zico also made donations to the cause. 　　 On Thursday, singer-songwriter IU donated 100 million won each to nonprofit organi

Feb 21, 2020

Cho Hee-sook Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2020

Cho Hee-sook has been named Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2020 by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, one of the most influential groups in the cuisine industry in Asia. Cho, who owns Hansikgonggan in Seoul, a Michelin-starred Korean restaurant specializing in royal court cuisine, started her culinary arts career more than 20 years ago. She has worked at five-star hotels in Seoul and in 2005, she was appointed executive chef at the South Korean Embassy in Washington. “I s

Feb 18, 2020

Lee Kwang-soo injured in car accident

South Korean star actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo has been injured in a traffic accident and will cancel all of his scheduled activities, his agency said Tuesday. According to King Kong by Starship, Lee was hit by a car violating traffic signals on Saturday last week. "He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture," the company said. "He is now being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment." As a result, L

Feb 18, 2020

Samsung SDI employee gets credit for giving blood more than 200 times

With the coronavirus scare dragging down the amount of blood donations in South Korea well below average, exemplary cases of devoted blood donors are receiving spotlight. Battery company Samsung SDI employee Cho Hyun-su was acknowledged by the Korean Red Cross for donating blood more than 200 times over the past 20 years, according to the firm this week. Cho, 38, started giving blood from highschool years and have now drawn an accumulated 85 liters of his blood for others, which is equivalent

Feb 14, 2020

[Herald Interview] Web-serial writer Lee Nak-joon juggles three jobs

Lee Nak-joon, 35, balances three jobs -- web-serial writer, YouTuber and ear, nose and throat specialist. “At first I did not have much problems. I write fast. It usually takes around an hour and a half for me to write one episode (for my daily update). For YouTube, I only spent around 15 minutes shooting a video that is around 10 minutes,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. It became tougher to manage last year after his web serial “Trauma Center: Golden Hour&

Feb 6, 2020

Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas dead at 103

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- US silver screen legend Kirk Douglas, the son of Jewish Russian immigrants who rose through the ranks to become one of Hollywood's biggest-ever stars, has died, his family said Wednesday. He was 103. One of the last survivors of the golden age of cinema and the father of Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker Michael Douglas, the "Spartacus" actor was renowned for the macho tough guy roles he took on in around 90 movies over a six-decade career. "It is with trem

Feb 5, 2020

Yi Sang Literary Award organizer cancels this year’s awards, modifies contract terms in response to protests

Munhaksasang, the publishing company that confers South Korea’s prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award, apologized Tuesday for the controversy that emerged when three of this year’s runners-up refused to accept their awards to protest contract terms they deemed unfair. “We apologize to everyone who was hurt and disappointed by this issue,” Munhaksasang CEO Lim Ji-hyun said in a statement. “We now realized that the biggest problem was our lack of awareness of copyright

Jan 19, 2020

Interviewers outshine star guests on YouTube

The norm of interviewers having limited roles in front of the camera no longer holds true, as more South Korean interviewers are starting to shine on YouTube. Interviewer and producer Lee Eun-jae of variety show “MMTG,” a program that kicked off on SBS’ YouTube platform in February 2018, is one such example. The program, which features interviews with stars in different fields, has a separate YouTube channel with more than 40,900 subscribers as of Sunday. Lee, also known as Jae