TimeBulletin / June 16, 2019

Today’s Google Doodle denotes the 117th birthday of Jeong Ji-yong, an author, translator, and teacher whose work experienced a resurgence in the late 1980s and who is currently broadly considered a pioneer of modern Korean poetry. The Doodle was made by Seoul-based visitor artist, Mikyung Lee.

list_Books from Korea / -

A Fateful Meeting with Modern Korean Poetry   By Yin Hai-yan on Nov 09 2014 06:36:13 Vol.21 Autumn 2013 It was by coincidence that I encountered Chong Chi-Yong, the first modernist Korean poet. That is why I never imagined that he would become so central in my life. Twenty years ago when I had just enrolled in a master’s degree program, I visited the home of a friend of my father and came across Jo Jung-rae’s epic novel, Taebaek Mountain Range in his study. I borrowed it and read the whole series. Twenty years has passed, yet I still have a vivid memory of the poem “Nostalgia” that was in the book. I cannot forget the shivers I experienced upon reading that poem which was an integral part of the narrative of the novel. But there was no way of knowing about the poet Chong Chi-Yong, the writer of “Nostalgia,” the poem I fell in love with, or his other works. It was not until the following year that China and Korea established diplomatic relations, and until then there was very little material on Korean studies that I could get my hands on. It was not until four years later in the spring of 1997 that I was able to re-encounter Chong Chi-Yong. I was pursuing my second doctoral degree at Inha Univeristy in Korea. The course on “Modern Korean Poetry,” which I had registered for during that semester required that I submit an essay every week. It was a truly difficult task for someone who was just getting used to attending college in Korea as a foreign student. But it was from this course that I was at last able to come in contact with the treasure chest of Korean modern poetry and found myself being mesmerized by the beauty of Chong Chi-Yong’s poems. In the process of studying and analyzing poems like “Nostalgia,” “Glass Window 2,” “Mount Jangsu,” and “Indongcha,” I discovered that Jeong, who was known only as a modernist to me, was deeply knowledgeable about classical Chinese poetry. I subsequently ended up choosing Chong Chi-Yong as the topic of my doctoral dissertation.

list_Books from Korea / -

MerwinAsia Emerges on the Translation Scene   By Doug Merwin on Nov 21 2014 14:40:37 Vol.11 Spring 2011 I’m pleased to report that MerwinAsia published two volumes of Korean literature in translation in 2010. They are The Long Road, a novel by Kim Insuk, translated by Stephen Epstein, and Until Peonies Bloom, the complete poems of Kim Yeongrang, translated by Brother Anthony of Taizé. I have been in touch with Professor Epstein over the years, and of course knew of him by reputation, but have never met him. A chance e-mail conversation led to the publication of his translation of The Long Road. I met and got to know Brother Anthony at a conference held by the University of British Columbia in the mid-2000s. He kindly submitted his translation of Kim Yeongrang’s poetry to MerwinAsia, a new and barely known publisher, for which I am extremely grateful. Although I no longer read Korean, I am comfortable making my publication decisions for translations based on the literary merit in English. Without question, these two volumes meet that standard. It is the goal of MerwinAsia to publish at least one volume of translated Korean literature every year. The two books are:                                     The Long Road: A Novel             Kim Insuk             Translated by Stephen J. Epstein                     Until Peonies Bloom: The Complete Poems of Kim Yeong-nang              Translated by Brother Anthony of Taizé              (bilingual text)  

ISNA News Agency / December 07, 2021

برگزیده شعرهای «جانگ جی‌ یونگ» و «کیم یان‌رنگ»، دو شاعر کره‌ای با نام «گل‌های کاملیا» به صورت دوزبانه منتشر شد. به گزارش ایسنا، این کتاب به عنوان دومین کتاب حوزه ادبیات کره جنوبی، در ۲۲۲ صفحه و با قیمت ۶۲هزار تومان توسط نشر پرنده منتشر شده است.

Shinmai / January 15, 2022

小鳥と会話できそうな気がする 　鋭く柔らかな心がはばたく 　小鳥と僕のエスペラントは口笛だ 　小鳥よ　今日はずっとそこで鳴いてておくれ 　いつの時代の詩と思うだろうか。これは１９２６年、２４歳だった朝鮮の詩人・鄭芝溶(チョン・ジヨン)が書いた…