Chon Soo-yong, the newly appointed president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of LTI Korea By Lee Gyu-lee Chon Soo-yong, the newly appointed president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), vowed to take Korea’s first Nobel Prize in literature by Han Kang as leverage to ground a new pillar in Korean literature. “After writer Han Kang's Nobel Prize in literature win, international readers' interest in Korean literature has grown explosively.
To maintain this momentum, we must cultivate discourses on Korean literature abroad while establishing graduate schools of translation to nurture high-quality Korean literary translators,” the president said during a press conference in Seoul, Monday, marking 100 days since her appointment. “With the mindset that the Nobel Prize is the beginning, not the end, we will lay the groundwork for establishing Korean literature as a new pillar of world literature.” Chon, 70, a professor emeritus of English literature at Ewha Womans University, was appointed to lead LTI Korea in recognition of her extensive experience in literature, literary translation and education.
Sharing her vision and goals for her term, Chon detailed three specific objectives: creating opportunities for discussion on Korean literature overseas, strengthening global literary networks and establishing a graduate school specializing in Korean literature tran.