Yeoyu – New Voices from Korea is yet another wonderful publishing project, covering eight new voices from Korea. It was made possible by Strangers Press; a small press from Norwich; certainly an excellent one. They are focusing on publishing literary translations and international writing in innovative and creative ways.
Yeoyu is their second line of publications. It was a collaboration with publisher-activist and translation trailblazer, Deborah Smith, University of East Anglia, Norwich University of the Arts, the National Center for Writing and LTI Korea. The books were designed by Norwich University of the Arts. They are so lovely and make you want to read more.
여유, Yeoyu, means something like ‘scope’ and/or ‘relaxed’ in English; scope to be yourself, to follow your own interests. In some ways it means the opposite of being constrained by convention, more to be unbounded in such a way. In a sense, it means to be oneself but with enough ‘left over’ – for others, maybe.
Strangers Press
Yeoyu – New Voices from Korea
These beautifully designed books are short; in fact, the longest is around 45 pages. They are here to introduce you to new authors from Korea and give you lots of pleasure in the meantime. Also, in each book, you’ll be able to discover a different Korea, thus dive into the Korean culture in many different ways.
With this in mind, I’ll read all eight books and write about them here. So don’t forget to check this page for updates and join me if you want.
The List
- Five Preludes & A Fugue by Cheon Heerahn
- Old Wrestler by Jeon Sungtae
- Europa by Han Kang
- Divorce by Kim Soom
- Kong’s Garden by Hwang Jungeun
- Milena, Milena, Ecstatic by Bae Suah
- Demons by Kang Hwagil
- Left’s Right, Right’s Left by Han Yujoo
If you like the idea of reading eight different authors from Korea, then you can buy the whole set here: Strangers Press. It is only £35.00 and also shipping is free for UK residents. I think it is important to realize the importance of such small press and support them in any way we can.
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