New Project: Translated Korean Books

Many of you had noticed my new interest in the Korean language. I am trying to learn it using as many resources as possible. As a result I became interested in the culture dynamics too. And I figured the best way to thoroughly understand a culture was by reading its literature. So I decided that after learning how to read Korean, I should read books in Korean (makes perfect sense, right?). But as of now I will be reading translated Korean books.

This is to broaden my horizons as a reader. We tend to read books that are in our native language. Ignoring a world filled with beautiful books written in other languages. And I know it is hard to learn a new language. It takes time and effort. Or even to get familiar with norms of a culture that you don’t know anything about.

So I will start a project (on the blog) where I review Korean books or books about South Korea.

But you don’t have to wait for my reviews to know about Korean books and this is the point of this post.

Today I will help you to take your first step towards reading translated Korean books:

Lately I have been listening to a Korean radio show called "Catch the Wave" hosted by Adrien Lee. This show is dedicated to everything Korean from its drama and movies, food and more. But most importantly is the Open the Book segment with Professor Charles Montgomery. In this segment, they discuss Korean books that have been translated or not. From this segment I had formed my number 1 guide on all Korean books that I shall be reading in the near future.

So if you are interested, here are 3 different ways you can listen to the show:

1)      If you have iTunes, search "Catch the Wave" and subscribe to the podcasts

2)      Go to their official website to listen to the podcasts without having to download anything

3)      And if you want it all live, click here

I very much enjoy this show. I obviously don’t just listen to this particular segment of the show. But it is my favorite. I can't put enough emphasis on how you should read translated books. After all my favorite YA book was originally written in German (Cough *Ruby Red* Cough).

Have you ever read a translated book? What was it called?