Cover to Cover

Dec 27 2023 8

Cover to Cover Podcast artwork

The Cover to Cover podcast brings you local insight into the world of Korean books from Seoul, South Korea. Join third culture kids and copy editors at The Korea Herald, Naomi Ng and Beth Eunhee Hong every month for insightful, entertaining reviews, interviews and conversations about Korean books. No.1 영자신문 코리아헤럴드의 카피에디터 시선으로 바라본 한국의 문학 서드컬쳐키드(TCK)로 자라온 나오미와 배쓰 에디터는 한국 문학을 어떻게 생각할까요? 매달 나오미와 배쓰의 생생한 영어 리뷰와 흥미로운 생각을 들어보세요. 듣고 여러분의 의견을 공유해주세요!

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Best Korean books of 2023

Dec 27 2023 20 mins

It’s the end of another year, and we’ve rounded up the top 5 Korean books translated into English that came out in 2023 that you’ve got to check out. We discuss how and why we chose these books, and some of the key themes, including feminism, generation gaps and LGBT rights. This episode also features special appearances by our books reporter Hwang Dong-hee and literary tra

When a ghost tries to cross the DMZ: Joseph Han’s “Nuclear Family”

Oct 04 2023 31 mins

What happens when a ghost tries to cross the DMZ dividing North and South Korea? Author Joseph Han’s debut novel “Nuclear Family” explores themes of separated families, generational trauma and the Korean immigrant experience in Hawaii. Upon the release of the Korean translation of his book to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War in 1953, we interviewed Josep

The BTS book: fandom, mental health and beyond

Aug 28 2023 34 mins

Happy 10th anniversary to BTS! In this episode, we dove into the BTS book "Beyond the Story” (translated by Anton Hur, Claire Richards and Slin Jung) which has been taking bestseller lists by storm around the world. We sat down with Dr. Areum Jeong, an assistant professor of Korean Studies at Arizona State University and K-pop expert, about her TCK roots, ARMY fandom, how B

Must-read queer Korean literature

Jun 23 2023 34 mins

Happy Pride! To commemorate, we sat down with award-winning literary translator Anton Hur. Anton’s translation of the queer Korean novel “Love in the Big City” by Park Sang-young was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022. In this wide-ranging conversation, Anton delved into how his unique upbringing shaped his career path, the current landscape for LGBT book

The dark side of the Korean language boom

May 31 2023 28 mins

As Hallyu continues to take the world by storm, including the growing popularity of Korean language learning, we sat down with award-winning Korean author Seo Su-jin to uncover the dark side of the Korean language boom. Through her debut novel “Korean Teachers,” translated by Elizabeth Buelher and published by Harriett Press, Seo delves into the exploitative and sexist working

How well can ChatGPT translate Korean literature?

Apr 28 2023 31 mins

For our April episode, we spoke with award-winning literary translator and writer Sora Kim-Russell, whose translation of Hwang Sok-young's “At Dusk” was nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2019. She has won various translation awards, including the Shirley Jackson Award for her translation of Pyun Hye-young’s “The Hole.” Her translations have appeared in t

South Korea’s F word: Inside the feminist movement

Mar 07 2023 61 mins

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we talk to Hawon Jung, author of “Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Korea’s Feminist Movement and What It Means for Women’s Rights Worldwide.” We discuss why “feminism” is such a loaded term in South Korea, the #MeToo movement, digital sex crimes, deep-rooted patriarchal gender norms and how the women’s rights mo

Discovering hidden gems in Korean lit

Dec 30 2022 25 mins

In our final episode of 2022, we talk about hidden gems in Korean literature with Taylor Bradley, co-founder of the independent publishing house Honford Star. Taylor co-founded Honford Star in 2016 with Anthony Bird with a mission to publish the best literature from East Asia. In this episode, we look back on highlights of translated Korean fiction over the past year for Honford St

Halloween special: The world of Korean horror webtoons

Oct 28 2022 38 mins

In this special Halloween episode, we have a spooky Korean urban legend for you, featuring copy editor Brolley Genster. Our main topic is the world of Korean horror webtoons. Culture reporter Lee Si-jin breaks down the Korean webtoon industry and the horror webtoon genre. We discuss what makes Korean horror webtoons unique, and some of the most prominent adaptations in the last few

Bestselling Korean book picks for fall

Sep 29 2022 35 mins

In Korea, fall is a season for contemplation and deep reflection. To mark the start of fall, we’ve picked two bestsellers in Korea: Baek Se-hee’s “I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” translated by Anton Hur and Kim Ho-yeon’s “Inconvenient Convenience Store.” Co-hosts Beth Eunhee Hong and Naomi Ng discuss why these books resonated so much with Korean readers, a