Visitors browse through books displayed in the book exhibition, “Springing to Life,” at the Starfield Library at Coex, southern Seoul. (LTI Korea)
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea is currently hosting a book exhibition titled “Springing to Life,” focusing on internationally acclaimed works of Korean literature, from Thursday to May 12 at the Starfield Library at Coex in southern Seoul.
Featuring the works of 11 authors who have won international literary awards since 2019, the exhibition showcases 13 original Korean books and their 82 translated works into various languages.
For example, Kim Young-ha’s crime thriller, “Diary of a Murderer,” which received the German Prize for Crime Fiction (Deutscher Krimipreis) in 2019 is available in 12 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
Yun Ko-eun’s dystopian eco-thriller, “The Disaster Tourist,” which clinched the UK’s Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation in 2021, is available in seven languages, including English and French.
The list also includes Sohn Won-pyung’s coming-of-age “Almond,” which earned recognition at the Japanese Booksellers’ Awards for translated fiction novels in 2020, available in 14 languages; leading SF author Kim Cho-yeop’s short story collection “If We Cannot Move at the Speed of Light,” which won the Chinese Nebula Award for Best Translated Work in 2022, in four languages.
In graphic novels, Keum Suk Gendry-Kim’s historical piece “Grass” which received the Harvey Award for Best International Comic Book in 2020, available in 12 languages; and Ma Yeong-shin’s darkly humorous “Moms,” which snagged the same prize in 2021, in four languages, are displayed.
Also featured in the exhibition include poetry giant Kim Hye-soon’s “Phantom Pain Wings,” winner in the poetry category of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and International Booker Prize-winning Han Kang’s “I Do Not Bid Farewell,” which received France’s Prix Medicis this year, are also available at the exhibition.
The LTI will also host a talk with Han at the venue on May 10.