Korean Science Fiction, Internationality, and Korean Literature. Thoughts from Gord Sellar

As usual, avoiding real work and cruising the web I come  across a few useful links.The first one had to do with with science fiction in Korea, by old Korean Science Fiction hand Gord Sellar who wrote a post titled,Articles on Korean SF in _list Magazine. I originally intended to note it in a “found on the web” post, but the more I looked at it, the more I realized it raised very specific questions about Korean Science Fiction that also resonated across all Korean fiction and its internationalization and internalization of interational lieereature

So, first things first, Mr. Sellar writes a long post the key part of which (to me) was:

Specifically, I mean, the ongoing canon-building going within Korean SF in terms offoreign works translated to Korean. For example, Kim Boyoung is discussed here primarily as an author, which is fine, as she deserves attention for her own unique creative works. However, she is not only an author, but also a translator, and like a number of other SF translators, she has played an important role in the development of Korean SF not only by direct influence through her own work, but also through the choices she has made as a translator.

These articles present this part of SF mainly as historical and foundational, rather than as the ongoing, expanding process it really is right now. As a result, plenty of the figures (especially translators, but also publishers) who play a crucial role in the Korean SF scene don’t get mentioned, because they’re working in the area of inbound literary globalization. To understand the development of SF in any society, one must acknowledge the interplay between foreign influences and local innovations, and how it is usually ongoing and constant, especially outside the English-speaking world. Not to privilege the foreign stuff, but to understand the transmission of a literary genre from one culture to another, and how that process continues and mutates over time.

yeah… canon building (particularly where the subject is below-canonical) and the effect of the crucial effect of inbound literary globalization – perhaps the two most important issues in SF here AND in literature in general. And then the recognition that this is both inevitable and necessary… an idea which has not yet taken complete hold here.^^

I ask a long, rambly question/comment in that section and Mr. Sellar responded clearly and concisely, and point by point.

If you are interested in Korean Literature, Science Fiction, Korean Science fiction, or just reading the best response I even received on a comment on a blog post, step over here to check it out.

 

Source: Morning Calm, Night Terrors: Korean Modern Literature in Translation