About Me
“A little too fluent”—South China Morning Post
I am a writer and translator working in Seoul.
I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was raised in British Hong Kong, Ethiopia, and Thailand, but mostly in Korea, where I’ve lived for almost thirty years. I was awarded the title of Person of Distinguished Service to the Nation while serving in the Korean Army.
Books
- The Court Dancer by Kyung-Sook Shin (Pegasus Books, 2018)
- The Underground Village by Kang Kyeong-ae (Honford Star, 2018)
Publications
- Words Without Borders : “Genesis” by Jeon Sam-hye, “A Lunar Sorority” (essay)
- Asymptote Journal : “Aficionados” by Jung Young Su
- Litro Magazine : “How to Write Queer Korean Lit: A Manual” (essay)
- Anomaly : “A Spell to Invoke the White Dolphin” by Jeon Sam-hye
- Westerly Magazine : Poetry by Shim Bo-seon and others
- Slice Magazine : Exquisite corpse project by Jeon Sam-hye
- Korean Literature Now : Poetry by Kim Un and others
- Cordite : “Was” (poem)
Grants
- PEN Translates (2017)
- Daesan Foundation literary translation grant (2017)
- Korea Literary Translation Institute translation grant (2010, 2016, 2017)
- Multiple grants from the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea
- Multiple grants from Arts Council Korea
Taught at
- Seoul National University College English Program
- Ewha University Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation
- Literary Translation Institute of Korea Atelier Program
Education
- LLB, Korea University College of Law
- MA, Seoul National University College of Humanities (under Dr. Nancy Jiwon Cho)
Other
- Korean literature critic on TBS eFM’s The Bookend (2015-2017)
- Manages Korean literary translation group Smoking Tigers.
Interviews
- Matthew Sciarappa’s YouTube channel
- EBS Morning Date (Part 1, Part 2)
