Strength in Diversity

At the risk of sounding less than perfectly humble,I feel that the Winter issue of Korean LiteratureNow is one of our strongest and most diverse todate. It includes a welcomely robust admixture of genres andpersonalities, which I hope will allow it to cross borders, movingbeyond the oft-times narrow confines of national literature.In a partial testament to the aforementioned diversity,Winter opens, appropriately enough, with an interview withJung Young Moon by Justine Ludwig. Jung was born in 1965in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, well outside SouthKorea’s academic and literary center in Seoul. He made hisway, however, to its most prestigious institution of higherlearning, graduating from Seoul National University witha degree in psychology, a field not surprising to those familiarwith his works. Since his literary debut in 1996, he has wonprestigious literary awards. He is, however, much more thana mere writer of fiction. As testament to his work in drama,the Korean National Theater produced his play, The Donkeys,in 2003. Jung is also an accomplished translator, havingwrought more than fifty works from English into Korean. Theinterview is followed by an excerpt from his novel, VaselineBuddha, which was translated by Jung Yewon.This opening piece will be followed by a second interview,this time of Han Yujoo by Scott Esposito. Han was born in1982, and made her literary debut in 2003, at only twentyone years of age, when her short story “To the Moon”won Literature and Society’s New Writers Award. She wasformally trained in literature, studying German literature asan undergraduate, and is presently a master’s candidate inaesthetics. Her books include the novel The Impossible FairyTale, an excerpt from which appears following her interview.Han is also a productive and acclaimed translator, havingmade Michael Ondaatje and Geoff Dyer’s works availablein the Korean language. What distinguishes Jung and Han’swriting from others is their deviation from the traditionalnarrative, and the questioning of form and novelistic structure.We are also extremely fortunate this winter to be able tohost a column by Ann Goldstein, former head of the NewYorker’s copy department, and accomplished translator inher own right. In a column titled “One Language,” she sharesthe experience of comparing Italian translations of the Bibleover a span of five centuries. From the different word choicesdisplayed in a single passage in Genesis 11, Goldstein showsthe translators’ careful deliberation put into each word andthe resulting diversity.Our Special Section demonstrates the range and varietyof Korean literature. Titled “Korea and Its Literature asa World of Religious Pluralism,” it includes a solid overviewby Professor Bang Min-Ho, which is followed by excerptsfrom both fiction and poetry that span several decades andcover everything from ancient native shamanism to modernProtestant Christianity.Evidencing Korean literature’s ever increasing global reachand exposure, this issue also includes a very special essay,penned by none other than the renowned editor, writer, andpublishing consultant Elmer Luke. Other captivating featuresof the Winter issue include excerpts from and reviews of theworks of many of today’s finest writers of both fiction andpoetry, as well as the acceptance speeches of the translatorswho have won this year’s LTI Korea Translation Award.In all, the Winter issue of Korean Literature Now seemsboth a fitting way to end a year that has seen many momentouschanges in South Korea and around the world, and to ring inhope for a better year to come. 

John M. Frankl 

Professor of Korean and Comparative Literature 

Underwood International College 

Yonsei University