Chi-young Kim is a Korean-to-English literary translator who lives in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Originally having trained as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and translating as a hobby helping her mom, Kim became a professional literary translator after graduation, when she started working for a publishing company in New York. Her work includes the English translations of the award-winning novels '' Please Look After Mom'' by

Shin Kyung-sook Kyung-sook Shin, also Shin Kyung-sook or Shin Kyoung-sook (, born 12 January 1963), is a South Korean writer. She was the only South Korean and only woman to win the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012 for '' Please Look After Mom''. Life Kyung-so ...

and '' The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly'' by Hwang Seon-mi. Her translation of

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

by Cheon Myeong-kwan was shortlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

. In 2024, her English translation of '' Apartment Women'' by Gu Byeong-mo was released. Other internationally acclaimed translated works are Your Republic is Calling You by

Kim Young-ha Young-ha Kim (c. November 11, 1968) is a modern South Korean writer. Life Kim was born in Hwacheon on November 11, 1968. He moved from place to place as a child, since his father was in the military. As a child, he suffered from gas poisoning ...

or The Investigation by

Lee Jung-myung Lee Jung-myung is a South Korean writer. A popular writer of historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical event ...

References

Sources

Translator Behind Int'l Success of Korean Novels
profile in ''

The Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ), also known as ''The Chosun Daily,'' is a Korean-language newspaper of record for South Korea and among the oldest active newspapers in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, ''The'' ''Chosun Ilbo ...

'', 21 May 2014. *https://web.archive.org/web/20140524023257/http://www.englishpen.org/capturing-the-mood/

External links

* Korean–English translators 21st-century American translators Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{US-translator-stub