The London Book Fair, one of the world’s most important marketplaces for publishers, starts
today, March 8. Each year, the Market Focus
initiative puts the spotlight on links with a specified country or region,
highlighting its publishing industry, and the opportunities for conducting
book-related business between it and the rest of the world.
This year, Korea
is being showcased. This reflects the country’s status as one of the top ten
publishing markets in the world, and its expanding reputation within the
international literary community, as exemplified by Kyung-sook Shin’s winning
the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2011, with Please
Look After Mom.
In conjunction
with each year’s Market Focus, The British Council runs a cultural programme,
to promote exchange between the chosen country’s writers and UK readers,
writers, translators and editors. The
Korean Cultural Programme, curated in partnership with The Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), will see ten of Korea’s most exciting
writers, representing the depth and range of the country’s contemporary
literature, involved in events in London, and across the UK.
Last November,
in preparation for the Korean Cultural Programme, The British Council and LTI
Korea, sponsored 6 UK literary editors to travel to Korea for a scoping and
study trip.
Mary Doherty, The British Council’s spokesperson for the
Korean Cultural Programme, answered my questions via e-mail.
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
is the chosen country. Will North Korea feature at all?
All the
participating writers are from South Korea. However, while literature from North
Korea will not be specifically explored, the writers are likely to talk about
how the shared history and modern politics of the Korean peninsula influences
their writing.
What was achieved by the editors’ trip to
Korea? Have any of the participating editors since bought English language
rights to Korean books for publication in Britain? Have any such titles yet appeared in
bookshops?
Six editors
visited Seoul: Maria Rejt from Mantle (Macmillan), Laura Deacon (Blue Door/HarperCollins),
Paul Engles (MacLehose/Quercus), Daniel Seton (Pushkin Press), Katie Slade
(Comma Press) and Stefan Tobler (And Other Stories). We were very pleased to
have a mix of representatives of larger and more specialist publishing houses
in the UK who regularly publish fiction in translation. They met authors,
editors, translators and publishers and made very exciting connections. We
expect that they will follow up during the London Book Fair – it is too soon
for books to be appearing yet.
Has there been a similar programme for
Korean editors visiting Britain? If so,
how did it go and what were the results?
We organised a
study trip for senior representatives of different parts of the Korean literature
sector in the UK in October last year. All the literature professionals visited
Edinburgh and Norwich as well as London and our programme was designed to
introduce them to as many aspects of the British literature scene as possible
including publishers, reader development organisations, arts and live
literature venues and bookshops. We expect to see the results in the form of
increased exchange of authors and books between Korea and the UK over the next
months and years. Already, Fiction Uncovered has begun a partnership with Toji Cultural Foundation to bring UK writers to Korea to participate in residencies.
How and why were the guest Korean
novelists selected?
The British Council and LTI Korea chose the writers
for their artistic excellence and diversity, after wide consultation with
partners, writers, readers and literature experts in both South Korea and the
UK in order to find a selection that best represents the range of contemporary
writing from South Korea. The group includes novelists and writers of poetry,
graphic novels, short stories and children’s books, both established and
emerging.
How have British writers responded to the
opportunity to meet with their Korean counterparts?
We organised
visits by three British writers to Korea last autumn and they were all excited
by the opportunity to meet with Korean authors. The children’s
writers Tim Bowler and Julia Golding visited the Paju Booksori and WOW Literary
festivals in October 2013. Scottish author Kerry Hudson then spent a month in
residencies in Korea, first in a traditional community in Gongju and then at
Seoul Art Space -Yeonhui. Reciprocal residencies have been arranged for the authors Suah
Bae and Kim Aeran who will be spending twelve weeks in the UK’s two UNESCO
Cities of Literature, Norwich and Edinburgh respectively, in the spring and
summer of 2014.
How have British publishers responded to
the opportunity to meet Korean publishers? Are they more concerned with selling
rights to the Koreans, than buying rights from them?
We had more
applications for the editors’ trip than we had places and we understand that
the diaries of Korean publishers visiting London are filling up with meetings
where they might sell rights. Certainly those editors who travelled to Seoul in
November came back with a real enthusiasm for buying rights to Korean works.
Do you have any events just for
booksellers? Do you think booksellers will be supportive of Korean literature
in translation in Britain?
All the evening events
are open to everyone, including booksellers, and will give an insight in to the
breadth and depth of Korean writing. Because of its history and geographical
position, Korea is a country that interests many people – even those who do not
usually buy literature in translation. Modern Korean literature is window on
contemporary Korean society and the recent past and it deserves to take its
place with other novels in translation.
What do you hope the Korean cultural
focus will achieve?
The
Cultural Programme will do much to open doors, creating cultural connections
and promoting greater understanding of the UK in South Korea and of South Korea
in the UK. We know from previous cultural programmes we’ve run that many
organisations and individuals will make the most of the opportunities we’ll present
to develop longer-term partnerships between the UK and South Korea.
The British Council’s Arts programme
in South Korea is facilitating new ways for people in the UK and South Korea to
connect and understand each other and share skills and innovations. Our
projects are designed collaboratively with partners, and in response to needs
and opportunities in both countries. This coming year we will be working
with partners across South Korea and the UK on exciting projects to bring
together writers and professionals through exchanges, festivals and
professional development activities
Browse the Project
These are the ten writers featured in the Korean Cultural Programme. Click on the names to check out the links.
·
• Kim Insuk
·
• Yoon Tae-ho
·
• Hwang Sun-mi
·
• Kim Young-ha
·
• Yi Mun-yol
·
• Hwang Sok-yong
·
• Han Kang
·
• Lee Seung-U
