Anton Hur () (born 7 April 1981) is a Korean writer and translator of

Korean literature Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classica ...

into English. He has translated the works of

Kyung-Sook Shin 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 ...

Hwang Sok-yong Hwang Sok-yong (born January 4, 1943) is a South Korean novelist. Life Hwang was born in Hsinking (today Changchun), Manchukuo, during the period of Japanese rule. His family returned to Korea after liberation in 1945. He later obtained ...

, and Sang Young Park, whose ''Love in the Big City'' was longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, and

Bora Chung Bora Chung (born 1976) is a South Korean writer and translator. Her collection of short stories, ''Cursed Bunny'', was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize. Life and career Bora Chung was born in 1976, in Seoul. Her parents ...

, whose collection of short stories ''Cursed Bunny'' was shortlisted for the same prize. Hur was also the only translator that year to have been longlisted for two translations. Hur was awarded a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for his translation of ''Cursed Bunny''. Hur was awarded a PEN Translates grant to translate ''The Underground Village'' by

Kang Kyeong-ae Kang Kyŏng-ae (; 20 April 1906 – 26 April 1944) was a Korean writer, novelist and poet involved with the Feminist movement. She is also known by her penname Kang Gama. Life Kang Kyŏng-ae was born in Songhwa County, Hwanghae Province, ...

Biography

Hur, a Korean citizen, was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 7 April 1981. His father worked for KOTRA, a state-funded trade and investment promotion organization of the South Korean government, and he was raised in various countries including Hong Kong, Ethiopia, and Thailand before settling in Korea. As his family did not initially support him studying literature, he studied law and psychology at

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

and French at Korea National Open University before pursuing a master's degree in English literature at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. He began working as a translator full-time in 2018, beginning with Kyung-Sook Shin's ''The Court Dancer''. He manages the literary translation group Smoking Tigers. In addition to translating Korean literature into English, Hur is also the translator of the forthcoming Korean edition of Ocean Vuong's ''

Night Sky with Exit Wounds ''Night Sky with Exit Wounds'' is a 2016 collection of poetry by Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese American poet and essayist Ocean Vuong. The book won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2017. Content Vuong and his family immigrated to the United States fr ...

''. His writing has been published in outlets such as ''

Astra Magazine Astra may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet (hypothetical), fifth planet that be ...

'', Words Without Borders,

Lithub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conten ...

, '' Asymptote'', and many others. In 2022, he was a recipient of the 13th Hong Jin-Ki Creator Award, created in honour of the founder of the newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, that honours "Koreans who made crucial contributions to society, science and technology, as well as culture and arts". Hur is openly

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

and has written about sexuality, the history of diverse sexuality in Korean literature beginning with

Yi Kwang-su Yi Gwangsu (; 1892–1950) was a Korean writer and poet, and a notable Korean independence and nationalist activist until his later turn towards collaboration with the Japanese. His pen names were Chunwon and Goju. Yi is best known for his nove ...

's 1909 short story ''Is It Love'', and misery as an enduring theme in queer Korean literature''.'' He and his husband divide their time between Seoul and Songdo in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

. Hur uses he/they pronouns.

Selected translations

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Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hur, Anton Living people 1981 births Korean–English translators Literary translators Seoul National University alumni 21st-century translators