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DATE: Tuesday. September 23, 2025. 7:20PM (Seoul)
VENUE: Seoul Public Activities Center (SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터). ‘다목적홀’
(ADDRESS: Basement Floor, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan Verdium Friends(용산베르디움프렌즈) #101, Yongsan-gu, Seoul), 2-3 minutes walking from Exit 8 of Samgakji-Station (Line 6 & Line 4)
ADMISSION (Online & In-person): Free for RAS Korea Lifetime and Annual Members; W10,000 for Non-members; W5,000 for Non-member students (Student ID requested)
SUMMARY:
Over the past decade, Korean literature in translation has grown significantly in both output and popularity. As co-founder of the indie press Honford Star, which is dedicated to producing translations of novels and short stories from East Asia, I have observed this transformation closely.
When Honford Star began, the most visible works of Korean literature in English were Shin Kyeong-sook’s Please Look After Mom, Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, and Kim Young-ha’s I Have the Right to Destroy Myself. While this seems successful enough, at the time, according to statistics, South Korea led the world in publishing translations into English, a large proportion of which were volumes of poetry, which had limited reach among general readers.
In 2025, the situation has changed dramatically. Each year, dozens of Korean titles across genres are published in English outside of South Korea. I argue the reason for this change stems from three factors: cultural climate, funding, and networks. The cultural climate includes the global popularity of Korean media and culture, helped by the visibility of literary reading habits by prominent figures such as BTS members. Funding refers mostly to the generous support of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which has reduced the financial risks associated with publishing a new book. Finally, professional networks have expanded as new translators, agents, and outward-looking Korean publishers have entered the field, reshaping the translation space for Korean literature.
The lecture will conclude by considering how the increase in translations might affect the future of Korean literature.
BIO:
Taylor Bradley is co-founder, with Anthony Bird, of the indie publisher Honford Star, which, since its founding in 2017, has earned two International Booker Prize nominations. He lives in Seoul with his wife, daughter, and gecko.
VENUE:
The Seoul Public Activities Center(SPAC, 서울시공익활동지원센터) is located at Yongsan Verdium Friends #101 (용산베르디움프렌즈 101동) B1, 40 Baekbeomro 99-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Walk 2-3 minutes from ‘Exit 8’ of Samgakji Station (LINE 6 & 4) and take the elevator down to the B1 Floor.
