Foreign residents living in Korea can share their impressions on Korean literature in the upcoming Second Annual Korean Literature English Essay Contest.

This year’s contest, organized by Literature Translation Institute Korea (LTI Korea), invites participants to submit an English essay written about one of three selected texts - Sea and Butterfly by Kim In-suk, Discovery of Solitude by Eun Hee-kyung, and To Believe in Love by Kwon Yeo-seon. PDF files of the texts as well as the contest application form are available for download at LTI Korea’s English website. Submissions will be accepted from August 16 to September 16, and contest winners will be announced on October 2.

The Second Annual Korean Literature English Essay Contest, hosted by Literature Translation Institute Korea, invites participants to submit English essays written about English translations of selected texts from Korean literature. This year's contest features translations of works by (from left) Eun Hee-kyung, Kwon Yeo-seon, and Kim In-suk (photos courtesy of LTI Korea).
A Grand Prize winner and three recipients of the Award of Excellence will be presented with certificates and prizes at an awards ceremony on Hangeul Day, October 9, at the Digital Library of the National Library of Korea. Culture Minister Choe Kwang-sik is expected to attend the ceremony and deliver a congratulatory speech, together with Woo Jin-yung, director of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), a sponsoring organization for this year’s contest.

In addition, one of the authors of the three texts featured in the contest will be invited to give a reading and hold a Q&A session about her work.

“I hope this English essay contest offers a good opportunity to share English translations of exceptional Korean literature with a great number of foreign residents in Korea,” said LTI Korea President Kim Seong-kon.

Launched for the first time in 2011 by LTI Korea to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the institute’s founding, the Annual Korean Literature English Essay Contest aims to help English translations of Korean literature reach a wider audience. LTI Korea runs various programs to promote Korean literature and culture worldwide, including grant initiatives for translators and publishers, literature-related international exchanges and translation training, and fellowship programs for scholars of Korean literature.

Sourced from Korea.net