The Magical Language of Others is a powerful and aching memoir, a tale of deep bonds to family, place, and language.After living in America for over a decade, Eun Ji Koh’s parents return to South Korea for work, leaving fifteen-year-old Eun Ji and her brother behind in California. Overnight, Eun Ji finds herself abandoned and adrift in a world made strange by her mother’s absence. Her mother writes letters, in Korean, over the years seeking forgiveness and love―letters Eun Ji cannot fully understand until she... Read More

One Left is a provocative, extensively researched novel constructed from the testimonies of dozens of "comfort women." Kim Soom tells the story of a woman who was kidnapped at the age of thirteen while gathering snails for her starving family. The horrors of her life as a sex slave follow her back to Korea, where she lives in isolation gripped by the fear that her past will be discovered. Yet, when she learns that the last known comfort woman is dying, she decides to tell her there will still be “one left” after... Read More

In K-pop Confidential, the YA novel from journalist Stephan Lee, a Korean-American girl plunges into the complex world of an idol factory and K-pop trainees in South Korea while staying true to herself in the process. Join us for a lively conversation with Stephan Lee about his debut novel and everything K-pop, including its ever-increasing popularity in the U.S., the challenges the K-pop trainees face, and the issues Korean Americans grapple with as they find their own heritage.   Due to the novel... Read More

  When David Yoon’s debut novel Frankly In Love hit shelves last year, it was an instant New York Times bestseller and a William C. Morris Award finalist. With his sophomore novel Super Fake Love Song, David Yoon offers another contemporary YA must-read where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love. Join us for an in-depth conversation with David Yoon as he discusses his career and highly-anticipated second novel. “Yoon captures the humor, the heart,... Read More

Korean Art From 1953: Collision, Innovation, Interaction is a richly illustrated book containing fourteen essays written by leading Korean art historians and scholars, topics range from the 1950s avant-garde to the feminist scene in the 1970s, the birth of the Gwangju Biennale in the 1990s and the lesser known North Korean art scene, and many Korean-born artists who have emerged to secure a place in the international art world. Yeon Shim Chung and Kimberly Chung, two of the four co-editors of this monumental... Read More

Drawing by Karl Stevens for the New York Review of Books What if the finest, funniest, craziest, sanest, most cheerfully depressing Korean-American novel was also one of the first? - Ed Park Join Alexander Chee and Ed Park in their conversation on Younghill Kang, the first Korean-American novelist and a pioneer of Asian American literature. As they discuss the life and career of Kang and his novel East Goes West, the two eminent writers reflect on the emergence of Korean American literature in the 20th century... Read More

Image Credit: Instagram @drawings_for_my_grandchildren In this interview series, we take a dive into contemporary culture in South Korea. Grandpa Chan and Grandma Marina are influencers on Instagram, perhaps unlike anyone else you see on that platform, maybe just because of their age. Their Instagram account Drawings for My Grandchildren started in 2015, for which Grandpa Chan draws and Grandma Marina writes stories of their lives for their grandchildren. After 1100 posts and almost 400,000 followers, Grandpa... Read More

America's leading authority on BTS, K-Pop, and East Asian entertainment, Tamar Herman returns to the Korea Society with her book BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears. BTS has conquered Western music charts and social media on their way to being the biggest band in the world. With record-breaking firsts and three Billboard No. 1 albums within a year, their music and messaging has gone on to transcend the limitations of language, geography, and genre. Going behind-the-scenes of today's biggest pop band and focusing on... Read More

In this series, we take a dive into contemporary culture in South Korea. In this second episode, we explore the world of "manhwa," the world of Korean graphic novels and comic books, with the creators of just-published Banned Book Club: how was "manhwa" consumed by South Koreans in the past and present, how it is influencing and being adopted into different forms of entertainment, and how the new generation of writers and illustrators are using it to tell their own stories. New Narratives in Korea: Manhwa... Read More

First published in Pyongyang in 1988, Friend by Paek Nam-Nyong is one of the few North Korean novels that has reached an international audience. Professor Immanuel Kim, the translator of Friend and a specialist in North Korean literature and cinema, offers a glimpse into contemporary life in North Korea through this novel and other popular culture from Pyongyang. "a beguiling introduction to the everyday, with none of the rockets and military parades that the words “North Korea” often bring to mind" - The New... Read More