"I think that the key to success for Korean literature in Italian is the special deepness of Korean literature."

The Bologna-based literary agent Maria Gabriella Ambrosioni talked about Korean literature in Italian during her presentation in the "World Literature and Korean Literature in the Global Publishing Market" seminar on June 16, part of the 2016 Seoul International Book Fair.

Reminiscing about the first Korean novel she read, she shared her first impressions of Korean literature. "It was -- and it is, more and more -- a healthy and flourishing body of literature that cares about human beings and sees where are the serious wounds; it gives you a new sensitivity toward the world," she said. She added that Korean literature "is so extraordinary, it has immediately become a phenomenon in Italy."



Ambrosioni shared a list of Korean novels that have been published in Italian or which are scheduled to be published, including Han Kang's award-winning "The Vegetarian" that will come out in Italian around autumn this year, put out by the Italian publisher Adelphi. She shared with the audience some reviews and news articles about Korean authors and books in the Italian press, such as one about Lee Jung-myung, author of "The Investigation," and one about Shin Kyung-sook, whose book "I'll be Right There" was published in Italian in 2014. Mentioning the Korean literature article "The Korean Tsunami" published in the fashion magazine Vogue Italia, she said, "Suddenly in Italy every publisher was publishing one or more Korean titles."

The literary agent added that, "By dealing with life, death, pain, love and all the important issues of everybody's life, Korean literature becomes universal and speaks to readers everywhere, and in Italy, too, of course."

Alongside the "Korean Literature in Italy" session, New York-based literary agent Barbara J. Zitwer and Libri Publishing Group's Adam Halmos presented during the seminar, as well. Zitwer spoke about the efforts made by and lessons learned by the international agents behind the success of Han Kang's "The Vegetarian," and Halmos talked about the ways in which a small country like Hungary can "create buzz in the publishing world."

By Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Chang Iou-chung, Korean Publishers Association
icchang@korea.kr