Bruce Fulton

Bruce Fulton is an American professor of Korean Literature and a noted translator of contemporary Korean fiction with an extensive list of publications. He has lived in the United States, Canada, and South Korea, and is married to fellow translator Ju-Chan Fulton.

Life

Fulton received his B.A. in philosophy from Bowdoin College in 1970, his M.A. in Korea Regional Studies from the University of Washington in 1983, and his Ph.D. in Modern Korean Literature from Seoul National University.

Fulton and his wife, Ju-Chan, met at Seoul National University in 1978, while Fulton was volunteering in the Peace Corps. They married in 1979 and eventually realized that together they were "the ideal translation team," as Bruce was a native speaker of English who knew Korean, and Ju-Chan was a native speaker of Korean who knew English.

Fulton is the inaugural holder of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation in the Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia. Fulton has also won several awards, including Korea's Daesan Foundation's translation prize and the 2018 Manhae Literature Grand Prize.

Career

Fulton has translated a variety of works, including novels (such as Cho Se-hui’s ''The Dwarf'') and anthologies (such as ''Land of Exile'', ''The Red Room'', ''Lost Souls: Stories by Hwang Sunwon.'') Fulton almost always works in partnership with his wife, Ju-Chan Fulton, in translating works from Korean to English.

One of Fulton's more recent translation is ''River of Fire and Other Stories'' by O Chonghui which contains nine stories, written from 1968 to 1994, describing family dysfunction, the decline of tradition, and lost love from a woman's perspective. Recently, he has translated ''The Future of Silence'', which uses some stories by older writers and stories by newer writers such as Kim Sagwa, Han Yujoo, Kim Ae-ran, and Cheon Un-yeong. His most recent translation is ''The Human Jungle'' by Cho Chongnae.

As a professor, Fulton works in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches modern Korean literature and researches modern Korean fiction and its translation.

Translations

''(with Ju-Chan Fulton unless otherwise indicated)''
* ''One Left'' by Kim Sum (University of Washington Press, 2020)
* ''The Catcher in the Loft'' by Cheon Unyeong ( Codhill Press, 2020)
* ''Mina'' by Kim Sagwa (Two Lines Press, 2018)
* ''Sunset: A Ch'ae Manshik Reader'' (works by Chae Man-sik) (Columbia University Press, 2017)
* ''Moss'' by Yoon Tae-ho
* ''The Human Jungle'' by Jo Jeong-rae (Chin Music Press, 2016)
* ''The Moving Fortress'' by Hwang Sun-won (MerwinAsia, 2016)
* ''Juvesenility'' by Chae Man-sik (ASIA Publishers, 2015)
* ''Leaves of Grass'' by Yi Hyoseok (ASIA Publishers, 2015)
* ''An Idiot's Delight'' by Yi Taejun (ASIA Publishers, 2015) - with Kim Chong-un
* ''Mama and the Boarder'' by Ju Yoseop (ASIA Publishers, 2015) - with Kim Chong-un
* ''Another Man's City'' by Choe Inho (Dalkey Archive Press, 2014)

''And Then the Festival''
by Yi Hyegyeong (ASIA Publishers, 2014)
* ''In the Trunk'' by Jeong Yi-hyeon (ASIA Publishers, 2013)
* ''River of Fire and Other Stories'' by O Jeonghui (Columbia University Press, 2012)
* ''How in Heaven's Name'' by Jo Jeong-rae (MerwinAsia, 2012)
* ''The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes'' by Yun Heunggil (ASIA Publishers, 2012)
* ''The Last of Hanak'o'' by Choe Yun (ASIA Publishers, 2012)
* ''Chinatown'' by O Jeonghui (ASIA Publishers, 2012)
* ''Human Decency'' by Gong Jiyeong (ASIA Publishers, 2012)
* ''Lost Souls: Stories'' by Hwang Sun-won (Columbia University Press, 2009)
* ''There a Petal Silently Falls: Three Stories'' by Choe Yun (Columbia University Press, 2008) - tr. "Whisper Yet" with Kim Kichung
* ''The Dwarf'' by Jo Sehui ( University of Hawai’i Press, 2005)
* ''Trees on a Slope'' by Hwang Sun-won ( University of Hawai’i Press, 2005)
* ''The Last of Hanak'o'' by Choe Yun
Jimoondang
2003)
* ''Chinatown'' by O Jeonghui
Jimoondang
2003)
* ''A Man'' by Hwang Sun-won
Jimoondang
2003)
* ''Deep Blue Night'' by Choe Inho
Jimoondang
2002)
* ''Crows'' by Yi Tae-jun, in ''Reunion So Far Away: A Collection of Contemporary Korean Fiction'' ( Korean National Commission for Unesco, 1994), pp. 5-21
* ''Mother: A Play'' by Jang Jeongil, in Korea Journal, October 1989, pp. 56-62
* ''The Moving Castle'' by Hwang Sun-won (Si-sa-yong-o-sa, 1985)
* ''Debasement and Other Stories'' by Song Ki-jo ( Fremont Publishers, 1983)

Edited Volumes

* ''Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology'', with Kwon Youngmin (Columbia University Press, 2005)
* ''Waxen Wings: The Acta Koreana Anthology of Short Fiction From Korea'' (Koryo Press, 2011)
* ''The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women'' (Zephyr Press, 2016)
* ''The Red Room: Stories of Trauma in Contemporary Korea'' ( University of Hawai’i Press, 2009)
* ''Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction'', revised and expanded edition (M. E. Sharpe, 2007) - with Marshall R. Pihl
* ''A Ready-Made Life: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction'' ( University of Hawai’i Press, 1998) - with Kim Chong-un
* ''Wayfarer: New Fiction by Korean Women'' (Women in Translation, 1997)
* ''Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction'' (M. E. Sharpe, 1993) - with Marshall R. Pihl
* ''Words of Farewell: Stories by Korean Women Writers'' (Seal Press, 1989)

Textbook

* ''What Is Korean Literature?'' with Kwon Youngmin (Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 2020)

References

10. ^ "An Interview with Ju-Chan and Bruce Fulton, for the translation of Kim Tae-yong’s “Pig on Grass” selected for publication in the Massachusetts Review and then for winning the 4th Annual Chametzky Prize for Translation!" April 7, 2015, https://www.massreview.org/node/437

External links

Interview

Audio interview with Bruce Fulton (transcript included)

An interview with Bruce Fulton
on ''Notebook on Cities and Culture''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, Bruce
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American literary theorists
American translators
Korean–English translators
University of Washington alumni
Bowdoin College alumni