[Kim Seong-kon] K-pop is not enough on its own

Despite the increasing popularity of K-pop and Korean TV dramas overseas, Korean literature does not seem to attract foreigners’ attention much. With the possible exception of Shin Kyung-sook’s “Please Look after Mom,” which was on the New York Times bestseller list for a while, Korean literature in translation still seems to be left out in the cold in the international book market. Even Shin’s novel might not have been so lucky, had it not been for Amy Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” which inspired Western mothers’ curiosity of how to raise children in East Asia.

Under these circumstances, the prospect of promoting Korean literature in Western countries does not seem rosy, partly because of its uncertain marketability, and partly because of the unwillingness of the Western publishers to tolerate cultural differences. Therefore, only those publishers who are dedicated to minority literature are willing to publish Korean literature in translation at the risk of financial loss.

Dennis Maloney, publisher of White Pine Press in New York, who has devoted himself to publishing non-Western literature in the United States, points out the difficulties, saying, “It is difficult for supporters in Korea and other countries where we publish translations from to realize how hard it is to market such work in this country. It seems each year the number of people who read foreign literature in this country decreases and those who read foreign literature in translation, a small minority to begin with, get even smaller.” Indeed, it is well known that English-speaking people, especially Americans, tend not to read books in translation. They seem to think: “Why bother to read translations when there are so many good books written in English already?”

Perhaps that is why active marketing for Korean literature in translation is indispensable. For that matter, Maloney asserts that foreign publishers need marketing funds from Korea: “We have suggested to the foundations in Korea that they provide some marketing funds in addition to the publication support so we can attempt to develop the audience for Korean literature.”

Some Koreans who are proud of their literature complain, “Why should we, not the publishers, spend money on marketing books on Korean literature overseas?”

The problem is that few foreign publishers spend money on advertising books on Korean literature which do not sell well.

Maloney comes up with some ideas to promote Korean literature in the West. First, we need “a good directory with contact names of professors who teach Korean literature and a contact list of Korean community resources in this country (also Canada and England).” Second, we need “funds to advertise in appropriate periodicals.” Third, we need “funding to develop website links with such commercial sites as Korea link and other academic sites to advertise our Korean titles.”

Added to these extreme difficulties is the realization and fact that the effort on the part of Korea to promote its literature overseas has been far from satisfactory. Paul Norbury, editor and publisher of Curzon Press in England, writes, “Since we published ‘Simple Etiquette in Korea’ in 1988, we have contacted various Korean institutions concerned, including Korean Air for its publicity and sales. Surprisingly enough, not a single institution has responded. Even the Korean Ministry of Culture has not, even though the book came out just before the 1988 Olympics. The indifference of Korea was complete.” Although it happened a long time ago, it still is quite embarrassing to hear such a complaint from foreign publishers.

Luckily these days, the Korea Literature Translation Institute and the Daesan Foundation are doing a superb job to promote Korean literature overseas in many ways. Nevertheless, we still have to go far to make Korean literature conspicuous in the international community. Of course, we are greatly encouraged by the enormous popularity of K-pop and Korean television dramas overseas these days. Nevertheless, we should also try to promote Korean literature at the same time, because literature is the best medium for understanding a foreign culture comprehensively. Indeed, literature provides the reader with abilities to understand other people and other cultures, and to have the capacity to embrace cultural differences. Besides, the understanding and discussion of Korean culture through Korean literature will let the foreign readers broaden the horizon of their knowledge, nurture their ability to perceive their own national culture and identity in comparative perspective, and develop a better insight into Korean society. This literary attainment can also serve as a priceless pillar that defends us from cultural imperialism, a dark side of globalization, and against abuse of commercialism.

Undoubtedly, pop culture is the best medium to attract foreigners’ attention. Surely, however, pop culture alone will not be enough; serious literature should follow and back up K-pop, Korean movies and dramas in order to make foreigners understand and appreciate the essence of Korean culture rightly. K-pop, for example, is far from traditional Korean culture; rather it is a mixture of Korean and Western culture. Korean literature, however, is uniquely Korean, eminently emitting authentic Korean sentiment and cultural identity. We need to promote not only Korean pop culture but also Korean literature overseas.

By Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon, a professor of English at Seoul National University, is editor oaf the literary quarterly “21st Century Literature.” ― Ed.