BookDragon Korean

Prophecy [Book 1 of Prophecy Series] by Ellen Oh + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

07 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

As the mother of three young girls, Ellen Oh is constantly on the lookout for good books that showcase female empowerment. She's found a few here and there – say, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson, The Hero and the...

Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia’s Underground Railroad by Melanie Kirkpatrick [in Christian Science Monitor]

27 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Korean, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, North Korean, Repost

Please allow me to share a so-called North Korean political joke: “Kim Jong Il and Vladimir Putin ...

My First Book of Korean Words: An ABC Rhyming Book by Henry J. Amen IV and Kyubyong Park, illustrated by Aya Padrón

10 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Korean, Korean American, Nonfiction

No matter where you've been hiding, someone has been able to infiltrate your defenses and made you watch the freakishly popular "Gangnam Style" by PSY (in Korean, 싸이, although apparently it's short for 'psycho'). The South Korean singer (educated at Boston University and Berklee College of Music, I must add)...

Home by Toni Morrison

08 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Korean

The legendary 1993 Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison begins her latest novel with a jarring disconnect of warning: the title is Home, and yet the first pages open with an unannotated verse – "Whose house is this? / ...

Maya and the Turtle: A Korean Fairy Tale by Soma Han and John C. Stickler, illustrated by Soma Han

07 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean, Korean American

In between "Long, long ago ...

Jinchalo by Matthew Forsythe

08 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Canadian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean, Young Adult Readers

By no means is Jinchalo your conventional manga/manwha/graphic work. Not to be going around in circles, but its title – which, in Korean, means something akin to 'really?' 'is that for real?' – works rather appropriately as a response to experiencing this adventure ...

All Woman and Springtime by Brandon W. Jones [in Christian Science Monitor]

04 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Nonethnic-specific, North Korean, Repost

Just as North Korea’s presence in news headlines has proliferated of late – thanks to the installation of the third-generation round-faced despot; nuclear tests; failed missiles; blatant threats – book shelves, too, have seen an increase in North Korea-themed titles, predominantly written by non-Korean authors. In...

Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden [in Christian Science Monitor]

02 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Korean, Nonfiction, North Korean, Repost

Escape from Camp 14 is the most devastating book I have ever read. Perhaps the resilience of youth got me through the aftermath of learning about slavery, the Holocaust, even Iris Chang’s now-classic The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust, the title I previously held...

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

20 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Korean, Nonethnic-specific, North Korean

This is a book I bought twice: first to stick in my ears on long runs (chillingly read by a Korean American triumvirate of Tim Kang, Josiah D. Lee, and James Kyson Lee), and when I couldn't soak in the story quickly enough, I ordered...

Tongue by Kyung Ran Jo, translated by Chi-Young Kim

07 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Korean, Translation

Here's what stands out most about this slim Korean novel for me: it's surprisingly not Korean. Except for the few Korean names, virtually no other Korean markers exist within these pages, which I found rather strange in a novel set in Seoul featuring the lives of...

Drifting House by Krys Lee [in Library Journal]

27 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, North Korean, Repost, Short Stories

* STARRED REVIEW Krys Lee, whose peregrinations originated and are currently paused in Korea with formative stopovers in the U.S. and England, infuses the nine stories of her breathtaking debut with the consequences of dislocation – whether forced because of war, or chosen by virtue of...

The Kimchi Chronicles: Korean Cooking for an American Kitchen by Marja Vongerichten with Julia Turshen, photography by Andrew Baranowski, foreword by Jean-Georges Vongerichten

18 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Hapa/Mixed-race, Korean, Korean American, Nonfiction

Confession: in spite of every good intention, I haven't yet seen the eponymous show for which this book is billed as a "Companion to the Public Television Series." That said, this gorgeous volume clearly stands alone ...

Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth by Joan Schoettler, illustrated by Jessica Lanan

12 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean, Nonethnic-specific

Manga addict that I’ve become in my old age, I tend to start books-with-pictures from the back cover. This, I’ve learned, often yields insightful rewards. [And no, I am not one of those skippers with novels, ahem!] Going backwards worked well here: author Joan Schoettler, who...

Author/Artist Interview: CYJO + “KYOPO”

08 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Korean, Korean American, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

CYJO + “KYOPO” = MARVEL Come one, come all! Get ready for the upcoming Asian Pacific American invasion at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. “Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter” opens this Thursday, August 12 and runs through October 14, 2012. Presented in conjunction with the...

This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park [in Library Journal]

15 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Repost

Set in postwar South Korea, where tradition is challenged by the eye-blinking changes erupting from a rapidly evolving modernity, Park’s (Shakespeare’s Sonnets) novel is essentially a triangulated love story involving wealthy and stunning Soo-Ja who dreams of becoming a diplomat in a brave new world,...

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-ha Kim, translated by Chi-Young Kim

20 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Translation

In densely populated Seoul, a mysterious man makes a lucrative living by helping "clients" commit suicide. He’s not exactly Dr. Death Kevorkian offering physically depleted bodies reprieve; instead he has a special talent for finding lost, disconnected souls ready to leave behind their unfulfilling existence...

Korea As Viewed by 12 Creators produced by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, translated by Vanessa Champion, Andy Milanesio, Andrés Moon

23 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean, Translation, Young Adult Readers

The idea is fascinating; so obviously simple yet undeniably clever. Six French graphic book artists were sent to Korea to be "completely immersed." Six Korean manwha artists were also asked to participate. All 12 were given "complete carte blanche" to convey their individual views of...

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher

17 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean, Memoir, Nonfiction, North Korean, Translation, Young Adult Readers

In another century, travelers wrote a few postcards. Today's modern wanderer might send group emails or abbreviated texts; the more techno-savvy might start a blog and instantly upload the pictures from those tiny devices. The really ambitious write essays and even books. Guy Delisle (thank goodness!)...

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons by Il Sung Na

09 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in British, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean

Surely the wintry melée is over, especially since our son and I have the tell-tale signs of sneezing and wheezing with the bursting buds. Not that we're complaining, of course! Celebrate the warmth with little rabbit and his friends as they shed the last season. All...

March Story (vol. 1) by Hyung Min Kim, art by Kyung Il Yang, translated by Camellia Nieh

11 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Korean, Translation

I admit it: Reading this put me in freak-out mode. Do NOT leave it lying around for your young kiddies to find ...