LTI Korea 
DLKL 
SIWF 
-
Readings
An Heeyeon Reading Gooseberry, Gooseberry
Gooseberry, Gooseberry I imagine wearing white sneakers, running full speed ahead To deliver them to you on your gooseberry farm Today, too, you receive a cold glare and bored, slice gooseberries in half Too sour to eat raw, hand-stinging From here to there heaped mountain-high, freighting carts, starting all over again […] ✔For the paper version of this novel, visit the following link:https://klwave.or.kr/klw/magazines/2250/articleView.do
By An Heeyeon
-
Readings
Jeon Sungtae Reading EMPTY CANS
There in the distance you walk my horizon, just as I walk yours. —Kim Jungil, “Horizon” They were up to tae now. They’d already discussed taedo, taedong, taeran, and taeman, and next was taemyeong. The Korean researchers immediately ruled out as obsolete the first definition for taemyeong (台命), meaning “orders given by high-ranking officials,” and had begun talking about the second taemyeong (胎名), or “nicknames given to fetuses.” Nergüi flipped back and forth between two different Mongolian dictionaries. “We do not name babies in the womb,” he declared, adding that there was no equivalent noun in the Mongolian language for taemyeong. Nergüi was a visiting researcher at the university, sent there to help compile a Korean-Mongolian dictionary. He and the three Korean researchers had spent the last six months choosing which words would go into the dictionary, and now they were nearly at the end. They’d chosen forty-thousand entries already and were planning to add about five thousand more from among words beginning with ㅌ, ㅍ, and ㅎ. […] ✔For the paper version of this novel, visit the following link:https://klwave.or.kr/klw/magazines/2231/articleView.do
By Jeon Sungtae
-
Readings
Shin Hae-uk Reading garndmas with beautiful foreheads, grandmas
grandmas with beautiful foreheads, grandmas grandmas with beautiful foreheads, grandmas facing each other with their beautiful foreheads they loosen their knotted story bindles unfurling, broadening, the moors of story lie vast unstoppable nothing not on those moors would you please squeeze me in the grandmothers squeezing me in patching scraps over the missing parts and the grandmothers of distant days to come hiding me, crookbacked little grannies grandmas never stop to take a break, grandmas stitching stories grandmothers blanketing the moors with lulla-lullabies grandmas with beautiful foreheads, grandmas ✔For the paper version of this novel, visit the following link:https://klwave.or.kr/klw/magazines/2211/articleView.do
By Shin Hae-uk
-
Readings
[English Audiobook] "Winter Solstice”, "Plaza" by Park Joon
Enjoy this English audiobook of two poems by Park Joon, “Winter Solstice” and “Plaza,” translated by Susan K and Eun-Gwi Chung.
By Park Joon
-
Readings
[English Audiobook] "Loss" "Understanding Adaptation" by Moon Boyoung
Enjoy this English audiobook of two poems by Moon Boyoung, "Loss" and “Understanding Adaptation,” translated by Hedgie Choi.
By Moon Bo Young
-
Readings
[English Audiobook] “Hideo” by Seo Jangwon
Enjoy this English audiobook of the short story “Hideo” by Seo Jangwon, translated by Paige Aniyah Morris.
By Seo Jangwon
-
Readings
[English Audiobook] "Expectation" by Haena Sung
Enjoy this English audiobook of the short story “Expectation” by Haena Sung, translated by Lee Kyung Min.
By Haena Sung
-
Readings
A Short Story Reading by Hwang Jungeun: “A Day Without Trouble”
The following year, Yeongin began looking for a new job.She interviewed with a company that sourced fabric and materials from Korea and China, then shipped them to Vietnam, where it manufactured clothing for global retail brands. She took the elevator up to the twelfth floor. When the doors opened, a long, wide hallway stretched ahead, lined with large doors on either side. Some resembled apartment doors, while others were fitted with wrought iron grilles or made of glass lit by neon signs. Boratec, Dozen, Unico, Cox—it was difficult to tell by the company names alone what any of them did.When Yeongin came to the right number, she knocked on the glass double doors and stepped inside. A man introduced himself as Manager Kim. He seemed lively, curious, and slightly belligerent, and had bloodshot eyes. He led her into the sample room and pointed to the clothes hanging on the wall: anorak jumpers, jumpsuits, shirtdresses, golf skirts, padded jackets. We made these, he said.[…] ✔For the paper version of this novel, visit the following link:https://klwave.or.kr/klw/magazines/2190/articleView.do
By Hwang Jungeun
-
Readings
A poetry Reading by Poet Oh Eun “That”
That There is somethingIts name escapes me There is somethingWith a nameHere I amNot knowing its name I become engrossedIt is engrossed right alongside me There is someone solving a riddleA riddle no one posed A few days laterThe name comes to meThere I am, feeling the emptiness Something went unnamed then But on the street, in the bus, outside the revolving doorAfter much thought With its nameThere it is ✔ More poetry by Oh Eun can be found at the link belowhttps://kln.or.kr/bookmark/poetryView.do?bbsIdx=2174 Translated by Seth Chandler
By Oh Eun
-
Book For You
[Book for You] The Guilt of an Imperfect Vegan
[Heo Gyun]I’ve just had a nap,so it’s the perfect time for a new story. [Heo Nanseolheon]Are you even fully awake? [Heo Gyun]Don’t you know that a good story clears your head?Today, we’ve got a letter from the Philippines. Dear Team Heo,I’ve been wanting to go vegan,but it hasn’t been easy due to my lifestyle and financial situation.I share meals with the people I live with,so sticking to a vegan diet on my own is tough.Plus, many of my favorite foodscontain meat or seafood.So, I feel like a hypocrite for sayingthat I love and respect animals.What should I do?- Ember [Heo Gyun]This reminds me of No Need to Try So Hard,a collection of short stories by Choi Eunyoung.Let’s delve into the story “Goodbye, Cucu.”As a young girl, the protagonistfinds a dying chick at a playground.She takes it home, names it Cucu,and cares for it with love.When Cucu grows into a chicken,her parents suggest sending it away.Reluctantly, she says goodbye, sensing its fate.From that day on, she stops eating chicken.When asked why, she simply saysshe’s allergic to meat. [Heo Nanseolheon]She probably doesn’t want to spoil the mood. [Heo Gyun]That’s right. She was also hurt by her family,who teased her for being too attached to Cucu. But her perspective shiftswhen she meets Seon-ah, a college juniorwho, like her, doesn’t eat chicken. Unlike her, Seon-ah refuses to eat it because of the unethical ways of raising chickens.This gives her the courage to stand by her beliefs,even if some might call her a hypocrite. It may seem natural for humans to eat meat,but nothing about factory farming is natural.She believed that even animals destined for slaughterdeserve minimal standards of life while alive,hypocritical as that may sound.- Choi Eunyoung, “Goodbye, Cucu,” No Need to Try So Hard (Maumsanchaek, 2022), p. 189. [Heo Nanseolheon]People say, “A group of imperfect vegansis better than one perfect vegan.”Even making an effort to avoid meat occasionallyis a step toward a vegan lifestyle.Shouldn’t we each find our own wayto coexist with animals? [Heo Gyun]The fact that Ember is reflecting on thisand feeling conflicted showsshe’s already doing her best.When the time comes,she can practice veganism in her own way.Who could possibly call her a hypocrite? [Heo Nanseolheon]And even if it were hypocrisy, so what?In part, hypocrisy makes the world go around.Even if Ember could be deemed hypocritical,her daily resolution to uphold her beliefsdeserves praise for sure. Now it’s my turn.I’d like to share an excerpt from the poem “Let People Be Born”in Let Love Be Born by Yi Won. Let people despair. Let people be born.Let love be born. Unravel our hearts again.Our hearts.Different heartbeats gather to formOne heart.All our breaths together createA single heart.- Yi Won, “Let People Be Born,” Let Love Be Born, (Moonji, 2017) The poem suggests that everyoneis bound to face despair.Nobody has enough money, will,or strength on their own.But if our hearts keep beating through despair,true love and humanity can be born.It shows how individual efforts unite,forming “one heart” with a shared purpose. [Heo Gyun]Veganism costs a lot of money. Plant-based proteins are more expensive,not to mention harder to find. Everyone knows that!Also, it’s easy to lose resolvewhen it feels like cutting out meat on your ownwon’t make a real difference. [Heo Nanseolheon]It’s only natural for Ember to feel “despair.”But when people who share this despair unite,true solidarity through “love” and “humanity”becomes possible.No one is perfect, and that’s okay.I hope Ember keeps practicing veganismwith persistence and sincerity.The world needs people like Ember, who inspire others and help build solidarity. [Heo Gyun]In Korean, there’s a proverb that says“The first spoonful doesn’t fill you up.”No one is perfect from the start, so don’t be too hard on yourself. [Heo Nanseolheon]Being a vegan is a huge challenge. Focus on making small, gradual changes and practice veganism steadily and consistently. [Heo Gyun]I hope our advice puts Ember’s mind at ease. [Heo Nanseolheon]All right then, let’s get going. Translated by Helen Cho
By Korean Literature Now
