Someone on Korean Twitter pointed out that Sewol happened in 2014 and most of the victims from last night were in their twenties—this means two national disasters happened to essentially the same generation of young Koreans. And the pandemic made them lose two years of their 20s.
I'm not ignoring the (very respectful 💜) requests to translate Namjoon's letter—I just feel incredibly ambivalent about military conscription in general because of my own experiences in serving in the Korean army and my own political very non-mainstream beliefs.
This project was conducted under so much secrecy that it still feels very odd to be suddenly allowed to share this, and we want to leave the surprises in the book a secret for as long as possible out of respect for ARMY, but yes, Slin,
@clarehannahmary
and I are its translators.
I do want to add that as Korean literary translators, our work on this book was conducted with the deepest respect for ARMY and BTS as they have been so supportive of Korean literature in translation over the years. It is truly an honor and a highlight of our careers 💜💜💜🙇🏻♂️🙇🏻♀️🙇🏼♀️
When Japan occupied Korea, they initiated what’s called the Ethnic Extermination Policy (민족말살정책) where the teaching of the Korean language was outlawed and the expression of Korean culture and history was either repressed or distorted.
"One may wonder why Israel would kidnap a poet. The answer is simple. In its genocidal war against Palestinians, Israel seeks to erase not only Palestinian lives but also their culture and heritage. Targeting a poet is part of this..."
@PalestineCenter
:
I am too ashamed and angry at this state of division to translate the letter. We have failed and continue to fail the younger generations for not ending this war. It feels wrong for me to then translate a brave young man's letter of giving comfort to his friends. I am sorry.
I served in the Korean Army and was decorated as a Person of Meritorious Contribution to the State (국가유공자) for extraordinary sacrifice.
BTS should've been given exemption from military service.
Either that or these useless soccer players who never win shouldn't be exempt.
A ruling People Power Party member is asking the ministry of national defense on Facebook to make a BTS concert happen to save the much criticized World Scout Jamboree
And while I know that BTS never asked for exemption—they want to be treated equally—I am also of the unpopular opinion that if we're exempting soccer players who don't even win World Cups from military service, we should've exempted no. 1 Billboard artists.
My take: unlike a lot of highly managed kpop acts, BTS received very little in terms of marketing and publicity resources (Big Hit had taken a big hit—read BEYOND THE STORY for more) and had to manage their own social media presence, ironically bringing them closer to fans.
I have a question for y’all and be HONEST.
Why do you think other groups that are out right now are not hitting like BTS did, I’m talking about talk shows, award shows, overall demand.
Let me know
It is shameful that it is the 70th year of the ceasefire and we still have not declared an end to the Korean War. (I mostly blame America for this, but that's a whole new thread.) And it's our youth that still pay for it, whose parents were not even alive in 1950–3.
But Korean politicians care more about their d*cks feeling bigger because some other Korean man kicked a ball into a net instead of actual "soft power" or the reputation of Korean artistry internationally. Or, I dunno, more than negotiating a peace treaty with North Korea.
My doctors say it is a miracle I 1) did not die, 2) did not become paraplegic, and 3) can walk at all. You can say I am in a very particular position to have an opinion on the matter of conscription. My opinion is, it is romanticized too much, in service of someone else's empire.
Thanks to ARMY, a Korean book in translation has debuted on the NYT Bestseller list at
#1
.
I’ve followed this chart ever since my family subscribed to the Sunday edition of the Times when I was a kid—this is my absolute wildest childhood dreams come true. Thank you, ARMY 💜💜💜
It’s not just Korea that has Namjoon, he actually belongs to the whole world, but I guess me and Sandy Joosun Lee and Damion Searls are the only English translators to have realized that yet lol
While serving, I was injured in a construction accident that fractured two vertebrae and shattered all my heel bones. To this day I have fused vertebrae and like 1/3 of my feet skeleton is titanium implants. I was made Person of Meritorious Contribution to the State in 2002.
As part of an initiative against censorship, any teenager in America is eligible for a Brooklyn Public Library card. This will allow teens in states with book bans to check out ebooks and audiobooks at BPL. A select list is made “always available,” in other words, no waiting.
Libraries across the country are facing an increasingly coordinated effort to remove books from shelves. With
#BooksUnbanned
, BPL seeks to combat the negative impact of censorship. Learn more at
My translation of
#Namjoon
’s letter (May 5th, 2023)
*it rained yesterday (5/5) in Korea
**I referenced
@bora_twts
’ translation (which is superior to mine) for the past participle reference, big thank you 💜
***Such a beautiful letter, I immediately wanted to translate it 💜
A BTS member writing a song and telling their company, "I know listeners will like this song because I talk to them every day and know what they're feeling" and a company saying to their singer "This is the trendy vibe now, sing it" is... not going to result in the same art 😭
I’m gay and I was conscripted into the (Korean) army. The funny thing is that the great majority of gays I know do great in the military. I also have a black belt in a martial art and regularly outscored straight men. Drove them fcuking wild 💁🏻♂️ But we put the fierce in fierce.
like many other people, my other tiktok hole this week has been thai military conscription where the fiercest divas you’ve ever seen find out if they have to literally serve
ARMY isn't a vague presence for BTS. They see and directly interact with ARMY from around the world through the various platforms no one was being paid to manage. Obviously they have some management now, but it seems clear they still maintain significant direct contact with fans.
I’m a “disabled veteran” because 1) disabled and 2) the Korean War technically never ended and therefore, all former military conscripts are technically veterans.
My doctors say it is a miracle I 1) did not die, 2) did not become paraplegic, and 3) can walk at all. You can say I am in a very particular position to have an opinion on the matter of conscription. My opinion is, it is romanticized too much, in service of someone else's empire.
And this confidence comes from a foundational aspect of their practice as artists—which is to directly listen to fans 💁🏻♂️
Most corporations will never get it because this model decenters them in the success of their artists. They would rather their artists fail, and they do.
A non-Korean speaker just messaged me from a Korean cab asking, "Why did the cab driver just say 'Marie Antoinette' to me?"
I am guessing the driver said 말이 안 통하네
Contrast this with other kpop acts who cultivate "mystery" (신비주의 마케팅) and make themselves inaccessible. This is actually the default setting of most kpop groups—very little direct interaction. BTS did the opposite out of necessity and it ended up becoming their strength.
Why does a bunch of soccer players who didn't even actually win the World Cup get exemption??? While you get multiple No. 1's on the Billboard Hot 100 and NOTHING???
I literally gave VERTEBRAE in service to my country and even I think that's BS
I'm not saying BTS is "reactive," if anything they're the opposite of reactive (reactive would be companies "reacting" to the market and chasing trends). I'm saying they can put out the music they want to put out because they're confident they will strike a chord.
A significant portion of their work is reacting to what their fans are feeling in the moment, and they can do this because they actually interact with fans. Other acts are more focused on... reacting to what their management company feels in the moment. Those are not the same 😭
You guys I know it’s exciting the book is coming out very soon but please refrain from revealing any knowledge in the book until BTS Army Day 😅😭💜 Let’s enjoy this communal experience of anticipating and indulging in the work together at the same time! I know you understand 💜
Americans should really be careful about "pressuring" the Korean government to do something about gay rights when, again, Korean homophobia is largely funded and enabled by local institutions created by American churches. They really need to watch their righteous tone.
Please do not erase the names of my co-translators, Slin Jung and Clare Richards, in covering this book. The translation would never have been possible without them. I am honored and humbled to be their co-translator.
🧵i tweeted this a few months ago and got ✨dragged✨but the real question i was asking is: where do we hear about the pain and inner lives of men?
i asked a male friend this question and he replied, "no one wants to hear about men's inner lives." /1
Received word last night about how the BEYOND THE STORY promotion is going to go ahead—still can’t really talk about it, but I’m excited! Thank you everyone (every7?) for being so patient. Pre-order if you haven’t!
As a translator, I thank everyone who helped Yilin with her fight for rightful recognition of her work 💜 including
#BTSARMY
who are mentioned so prominently in this CNN article! What an incredible fandom! Special thanks to
@kook00san
for the idea and organizing 💜
Yilin @ The Lantern and the Night Moths is OUT NOW
Thank you
@jessieyeung
at CNN for giving me a chance to talk about how the resolution came as a result of community efforts. I am glad they included the detail about the help I received from
@AntonHur
,
@clarehannahmary
, Slin Jung, and ARMY
#BTSArmy
, you did it… you SOLD OUT the first print run of INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE by Lee Seong-bok 😭💜 For a Korean work of poetry in translation to sell out this quickly is surely unprecedented—I thank you from the bottom of my heart! 🙇🏻♂️💜
So... we sold out of INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE! We are keeping orders open and the next print run will arrive later this month. Thank you all so, so much for responding to this book, and, of course, to
@anthgarrett
for being instrumental in getting all these new eyes on it!
@HelanaDarwin
I quit a good job that I wasn’t a good fit for. I felt guilty, but a friend advised me, “Under capitalism, we are ALL exploited, and they are using your guilt to extract labor from you. Don’t feel guilty, just quit.” She’s a high-powered corporate lawyer 😆 I quit immediately.
I have come across this attitude A LOT as a translator—there are Korean academics who don’t believe Korean literature can or should be translated, for example. But sometimes, artists want their work to be more accessible and inclusive of different people! And that’s all right!
3. The guest was one of those most irritating category of people - the ‘I used to be a BTS fan until they sang a song in English’ snob. 🙄🙄🙄 I rolled my eyes so hard I sprained them .
Across Korea, there are rural spots on the map labeled with odd names like “Valley of Hell” or “Demon Valley,” places where the bodies of the victims of massacres during the (ongoing) Korean War were dumped en masse. As described in I WENT TO SEE MY FATHER by Kyung-Sook Shin:
@reeraboo
Whether they can TELL us that they know, that's a bit more fraught because their status is now non-civilian. And I'm hardly an expert, my experience was two decades ago 😆 But my money is on, They know.
I'm very friendly with the Korean publisher of this book (그 여름의 끝) and I've translated the poet before. Should I pursue its translation? It takes a huge commitment on my part because I have to sell *and* translate the book, but it's slightly easier if I can prove demand.
🧐🤔 the little book on top of one of Namjoon’s November 2022 reading piles was 그 여름의 끝 or The End of That Summer by Lee Seong-bok.
@AntonHur
ID’d it back then as he was translating Lee Seong-bok’s INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE at the time (published 2023)
The Japanese attempted to exterminate Korean culture and delegitimize its existence in public life. This happens to this day in Japan where their colonial history is glossed over or outright lied about in school textbooks. Culture keeps a people alive. Colonists will come for it.
Han Kang’s WE DO NOT PART is about this incident, which is not that often talked about in South Korea to this day despite it likely being the true trigger event that set off the Korean War.
Technically this is not a poem but from a collection of Lee Seong-bok’s aphorisms titled <네 고통은 나뭇잎 하나 푸르게 하지 못한다>.
I am publishing an English translation of Lee Seong-bok’s aphorisms next month from
@sublunaryeds
:
@AntonHur
do you know if this excerpt Namjoon just shared on his Instagram is from Lee Seong-bok works? It seems to me it might be from 이야기된 고통은 고통이 아니다 but I couldn’t be certain, or from which of his books it’s from, if it is his work (sorry if my search went wrong)
Thank you everyone from the bottom of our hearts—we can't respond to every message and comment, but Slin,
@clarehannahmary
, and I are beyond thrilled and deeply moved by your overwhelming support 💜
This project was conducted under so much secrecy that it still feels very odd to be suddenly allowed to share this, and we want to leave the surprises in the book a secret for as long as possible out of respect for ARMY, but yes, Slin,
@clarehannahmary
and I are its translators.
@britishmuseum
If the British Museum has *any* sort of academic values, it will not label criticism of its so-called scholarly practices as “personal attacks.”
But we all know the BM is *not* a proper scholarly institution but a mere pillager and a perpetuator of outdated colonial attitudes.
@reeraboo
Just to expand on this because it's getting so much attention 😅 Even in the Stone Age when I went for basic training, we could receive letters from family. And *some* boot camps are experimenting with allowing trainees an hour of phone time a week. I'm confident they'll know.
In a year of outstanding translations across many genres, we’re so proud to announce the dozen books on
@bookcritics
2023 Barrios Prize Longlist, w/great appreciation to
@knownemily
&
@lithub
for featuring it on their site today.
Full list follows. 1/6
I don't really know how to announce this but yesterday I signed a contract with
@ittapublishing
to deliver a novel written in Korean. I'm going to be a Korean novelist.
Oh aaaaaaaabsolutely. It is a most techno-orientalist position to assume Asians do not have emotions or “deep thoughts” or any kind of notable interiority. This is how Asians’ literature, music, arts, and our very humanity are automatically discounted and dehumanized.
@AntonHur
You’ve just made me realize BTS’ works are rarely, if ever, discussed in terms of art speaking of the inner lives and pain “of men”. Which feels like maybe a missed conversation in some ways. b/c so many of their songs are so introspective and…vulnerable(?)
ARMY ofc *does* talk+
The North American edition of Baek Sehee’s bestselling I WANT TO DIE BUT I WANT TO EAT TTEOKBOKKI translated by me is out today 🧡🧡🧡💜
A book about persistent low-grade depression and the journey one woman takes to find true happiness.
It is comical to me that Japan’s writing system is so inferior to Korea’s in every conceivable way that not even militant policy could make us adopt it in the end. But the Japanese really, really tried. They failed. So will this attempt.
2023 was a juggernaut year: translated 7 books, published 5 books including my Korean author debut, made
#1
on the NYT Bestsellers list, was a finalist for a National Book Award and Firecracker Award and got my 2nd Barrios Prize nom—all for three different books. Blessed 🙇🏻♂️💜✨
“How would YOU feel if people said South Korea should not exist and Korea should be a single integrated country instead with North Koreans given equal democratic rights and access to resources and opportunities as South Koreans?”
Don’t threaten me with a good time
어이없음. 한국문학번역원장 왈 "제가 궁극적으로 목표로 하는 것은 원어민 번역가가 한국 작품을 옮기는 거예요"
그런데 같은 인터뷰에서 <저주토끼> 부커상 최종 후보 된 것과 <대도시의 사랑법>이 더블린상 후보 선정된 것을 언급하는데 둘 다 원어민 번역가가 아니었음.
그건 내 번역이었으니까.
“I used to like reading your translations but I no longer will because you support [anti-Arab slur]”
Lol good! I don’t want my beautiful words defiled by your filthy gaze 💜
Today is 4.19, anniversary of Korea’s April Revolution that led to the downfall of the corrupt First Republic. It started with student protests in Daegu that Feb, becoming a national uprising. Since then, college students have always been at the forefront of democracy movements.
🚨All four foreign nationals were killed along with their Palestinian driver, Saif Issam Abu-Taha, Sadly, the media neglects mentioning Said, as if his life is less valuable than the foreigners !
They are all victims of Israel’s ongoing war crimes against
#Gaza
civilians.
Namjoon reads Lee Seong-bok!
@sublunaryeds
is publishing my translation of Lee Seong-bok’s INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE next year and I’m currently rights-querying for more of his books—thank you,
#RM
, for continuing to support Korean literature 🥲💜📚
@BTS_twt
#BTS
#방탄소년단
My translator friend Damion Searls tells me that thanks to
#BTSARMY
, he is seeing actual royalties from his translation of DEMIAN by Hermann Hesse ☺️
@PenguinClassics
Concepts and motifs from DEMIAN was used in BTS’s iconography during their WINGS era.
Thank you for the responses! My husband took this photo of me looking pressed 😆 Going back to my vacation, enjoy the book and your summer (winter in the Southern Hemisphere)!
#BeyondTheStory
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first and only time since Chi-Young Kim’s translation of PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM by Kyung-Sook Shin that a Korean book in translation appeared on the NYT Bestseller List, period. Prove me wrong! (With actual proof, not conjecture!)
Thanks to ARMY, a Korean book in translation has debuted on the NYT Bestseller list at
#1
.
I’ve followed this chart ever since my family subscribed to the Sunday edition of the Times when I was a kid—this is my absolute wildest childhood dreams come true. Thank you, ARMY 💜💜💜
I am overwhelmed. I believe this is the first year I've been eligible for
@TheBookerPrizes
and never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I'd have not one but TWO of my translated titles on the international longlist. Thank you, judges!!
Korean courts dismiss case brought by homophobic groups to cancel Seoul Pride: “Those who do not want to go to the Queer Festival don’t have to go… We cannot allow the right to seek forcible prevention of an act of another.” 🏳️🌈🇰🇷
go read “beyond the story” first, but i wrote about the book and how it wonderfully chronicles the unprecedented rise of
@BTS_twt
in their first decade.
(sorry for the triggering “hello this is big hit music” photo!!!)
@tmon912
None of us can do it justice. He has a candid, clear tone but just slightly sardonic and then there’s a turn and then, this unexpected profundity. I think he wanted to be a poet when he was little and I can see why.
Homophobia in Korea is largely funded by Protestant churches, which in turn were/are founded and funded by American missionary churches and interests, a fact that seems to miss every outside observer of Korean culture.
APNews: Arts Council England (
@ace_national
) has updated its policies, warning that "political statements" made by individuals linked to an organisation can cause "reputational risk", breaching funding agreements (1/5)
Willing to wager that speaking Korean-English is a higher cognitive load than speaking five European languages, but I know how y’all are not ready for that conversation 😌☕️
The only Korean novel on this list (I think) is WHALE by Cheon Myeong-kwan, which will be available in English from
@archipelagobks
in Sept 2022 (tr. Chi-Young Kim):
#BTS
#BTSarmy
‘저주토끼’ ‘대도시의 사랑법’ 두 작품 모두 부커상 후보에 올린 번역가 안톤 허는 “10년 전에 비해 현저히 떨어진 번역 지원금 때문에 저조차 번역계를 떠날 생각을 하고 있다”며 “번역가의 생계가 계속 위협받는 한, 해외에서의 한국 문학 열풍 따위는 없다”고 강조했다.
Years ago, Seoul National University created a reading list of "classics" recommended for all incoming freshers. Canons and school book lists are always controversial, but I liked SNU's preamble message that a classic is a work that is "in conversation with the present."
“Could ‘Parasite’ Star Lee Sun-kyun’s Death Lead to a Social Reckoning in Korea?”
This is such typical delusional American thinking, that somehow the threat of US money withdrawing from the Korean entertainment industry is going to make us “nicer”?