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| Meet the Publisher |
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Vol.6 Winter 2009
(Page 74) |
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Minumsa |
 By Lee Yeong-gyeong(reporter for The Kyunghyang Shinmun) |
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Discovering New Writers and Introducing World Literature to Korea
| Minumsa, a publisher with a 43-year history, started out by publishing
general literature and books on culture, and has played a key role in
discovering outstanding literature from home and abroad.
They reestablished themselves as a comprehensive publishing group in the
1990s, and have since expanded into all fields of publication,
including children’s books, books on science, the economy, and the arts. |
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Minumsa, a major publisher in Korea,
opened its doors in 1966. The word
“minum” means “carrying the honest voice
of the people,” and embodies the spirit
of Director Park Maeng-ho, the founder
of the company, whose goal was to issue
books that conveyed the voice of the people
under the military dictatorship at the time. |
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Minumsa, which started out by publishing
general literature and books on culture,
has expanded into all fields of publication,
including the children’s book genre, books
on science, the economy, and culture, and
has now established itself as Korea’s second
largest publisher in terms of volume.
From i t s i n c e p t i o n , Minumsa
has focused its efforts on discovering
outstanding works by young writers.
Through the series, Today’s Poets, which was
launched in 1974, and the Today’s Writer
Award, the publisher opened the gateway
for new writers to publish their works.
Such ventures were unprecedented in those
days, when it was extremely difficult for
new writers to publish their works, and
it was through such efforts that Korean
literature suddenly regained its youth. The Big Root by Kim Soo-young, Resurrection by Ko Un, and Snow Falling over the Three Southern Provinces by Hwang Donggyu,
among other works, were published
through the Today’s Poets Series. In addition,
works such as Son of Man by Yi Mun-yol, Marriage Is a Crazy Thing by Lee Mangyo,
and A Life in Roses by Jung Mi-kyung,
have been recognized through the Today’s
Writer Award. Yi Mun-yol has established
himself as a master of Korean literature,
and his works, including The Poet, For the Emperor, and Our Twisted Hero, have
been introduced to Europe and the United
States to positive responses. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a Chinese classic
in 10 volumes annotated by Yi Mun-yol,
and Water Margin, also in 10 volumes,
have become steady sellers in Korea. A
total of 18 million copies of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been sold in
Korea. Minumsa has also published other
works such as The Road to the Race Track,
The Republic of Uzupis by Hailji, and The Immortal Yi Sun-sin by Kim Takhwan.
Most recently, Minumsa has been
experimenting with the revitilazation of
full-length novels, and reprinting some fulllength
novels by young writers in World Literature, a literary quarterly. Through
such efforts, long novels by remarkable
young writers, such as Kim Eseol, Lee
Hong, and Hwang Jungeun, have been
published.
Minumsa continues to respond with
sensitivity to the changes in the era,
and cultivate new territories. In 1996,
the publisher founded Golden Bough
Publishing Co., Ltd., a publishing brand
which specializes in genre literature, and
led the effort in introducing to Korea
outstanding genre literature from abroad,
and discovering new writers in the field
of genre literature in Korea, which, in
the past, was almost nonexistent. Dragon Raja, a fantasy novel by Lee Yeongdo and
a major piece of work in this field, has
been published in various Asian countries,
including Japan, China, and Taiwan.
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Minumsa also continues to publish
compilations of works by Korean writers,
such as Short Korean Mystery Stories and Short Korean Horror Stories, and introduce
major works by writers from abroad.
From the days of its foundation,
Minumsa has continued to have an
interest in international literary exchanges.
Through the World Poets Series, launched in
1972, collections of poetry by Apollinaire
and Rainer Maria Rilke, among others,
have been published. The quarterly World Literature, launched in 1976, made its way
into the quarterly journal market, holding
up global literary exchanges as its mark of
distinction. Writers such as Milan Kundera
and Orhan Pamuk have been introduced
to Korea through World Literature, as
well as the writings of theoreticians,
such as Deleuze, Foucault, and Derrida.
The Complete Works of World Literature,
which was launched in 1998, includes
223 volumes as of today, and is deemed
the most representative works of world
literature in Korea, with an outstanding
selection and high-quality translations.
In the 1990s, Minumsa reestablished
itself as a comprehensive publishing group,
with subsidiary publishers including
BIR Publishing Co., Ltd., a publisher of
children’s books; ScienceBooks, a publisher
specializing in science books; The Golden
Compass, a publisher of economic
management and nonfiction books;
Semicolon, a publisher of art and design
books; and Mineum-in, a publisher of
books on humanities and culture, through
which it continues its work as a publishing
powerhouse.
1. Chohanji
Yi Mun-yol, 2008, 308p,
ISBN 978-89-374-8167-3
2. The Immortal Yi Sun-sin
Kim Takhwan, 2004, 348,
ISBN 978-89-827-3686-5
3. Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert, 2000, 558p,
ISBN 978-89-374-6036-4
4. Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen, 2009, 560p,
ISBN 978-89-374-6088-3
5. Kiss of the Spider Woman
Manuel Puig, 2000, 396p,
ISBN 978-89-374-6037-1 |
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