Suh Ji-moon

Ji-Moon Suh (; ; born on March 28, 1948) is a South Korean literary scholar, translator, columnist, and professor of English literature.

Suh has devoted her life to introducing Korean literature to international readers by translating more than 20 Korean short stories into English, most of which are set against the backdrop of Post-war Korea. Her most well-known translations include The Rainy Spell and Other Stories, The Golden Phoenix: Seven Contemporary Korean Short Stories (1999), and House with a Sunken Courtyard (2013).

She has received numerous awards such as the PEN Literary Prize in the Category of Translation, The Republic of Korea Literary Award in the Category of Translation, and the LTI Korea Translation Award for her contribution to literary translation.

Suh has also worked as a columnist for various sources including The Chosun Ilbo, expressing her opinions on political and social issues. Suh's columns provide information about renowned books interlinked with her commentary on various issues such as Gapjil (갑질, power tripping), violence against women, accepting refugees, international politics, and South Korea's relations with North Korea.

She is currently a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Korea University.

Personal life Ji-Moon Suh was born in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea on March 28, 1948. as the youngest of three sisters. For her schooling Suh attended Kyunggi Girls' Middle School, Kyunggi Girls' High School, and then enrolled in Ewha Womans University in 1965. When she was in college, she met Kathleen J. Crane, a missionary and professor teaching English Language and Literature. Suh learned English composition and creative writing from Crane and created an English newspaper with Crane in her senior year. According to Suh, Crane gave her the courage to do something meaningful for society. From 1968 to 1969, Suh worked for The Korean Herald, an English-language newspaper in Korea.

After working for The Korean Herald, Suh left for the United States to study English literature.

Suh completed her Ph.D. program in 1978. Afterward, she re-engaged herself in journalism and contributed columns to The Korea Times every week, for two years. Several of her columns were later published in the book Faces in the Well in 1988. and then at Stanford University from 1999 to 2001. She is currently a Professor Emeritus at Korea University and a member of Seoul National University's college board. The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories has been used as course material for teaching Korean literature in several American universities. stated that he used Suh's translation of The Rainy Spell as material for teaching American students about the Korean War. He stated that the text successfully conveyed the realities of the war to students who were unfamiliar with the topic, "better than any other text or film available at the time and certainly better than any of my classroom lectures." West also mentioned that discovering The Rainy Spell also prompted him to start the project, "America's Wars in Asia: A Cultural Approach." The project aims to incorporate Asian perspectives in research about the wars in the Asia Pacific, Korea, and Vietnam. Suh's translations have helped international audiences learn about the trauma caused by the Korean War and the varying perspectives of individual soldiers who experienced it.

The works translated, or co-translated by Ji-moon Suh include:

Brother Enemy: Poems of the Korean War (2002) (Original Work: 한국전쟁 시선집) The Golden Phoenix: Seven Contemporary Korean Short Stories (1999) (Original Work: 금시조: 한국현대중편소설선) The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories (1983) (Original Work: 한국중단편소설선) The Descendants of Cain (1997) (Original Work: 카인의 후예 (1954) by 황순원 (Hwang Sun-won)) An Appointment with My Brother (2002) (Original Work: 아우와의 만남 (2001) by 이문열 (Yi Munyeol)) House with a Sunken Courtyard (2013) (Original Work: 마당 깊은 집 (1997) by 김원일 (Kim Won-il))

When it comes to translation, Suh values readers' understanding not only of what the text means on its surface level but also of the culture and tradition that profoundly influence the text.

In an interview, Suh stated:

Also, Suh adds that she would like to provide foreign readers with a proper translation of Korean literature based on her knowledge and understanding of Korea, under the belief that a good translation only derives from a deep understanding of the source material. In another interview, Suh stated: and her contribution to the book was met with positive reviews. In a review published in Acta Koreana, David McCann, director of the Korean Institute at Harvard University, stated that "the second [chapter] by Suh Ji-moon, introduces a number of Korean poems about the Korean War, a good sampling, with helpful comments about recurrent themes and images." Jeffrey Miller, a senior teacher and level coordinator of the Institute of Language Research & Education at Yonsei University, stated that "Suh Ji-moon's insightful and poignant essays on these poets and writers explore how Koreans felt about the war with its devastation, horrors, pain, and suffering…her analysis of these works, delves into the very essence of the fratricidal nature of the war and how the writers and poets responded.

Suh also contributed to making Korean literature more accessible to an international audience by creating English articles about Korean writers. Her online English Britannica article about the Korean writer Yi Munyol, who is one of Korea's most prominent novelists, was uploaded in 2010. In her article, she details Yi Munyol's personal life, his most notable works, award history, and his contribution to Korean literature. Suh also provides cultural and historical context for Yi Munyol's major works, such as Son of Man (사람의 아들, 1979), The Age of Heroes (영웅시대, 1984), and You Can't Go Home Again (그대 다시는 고향에 가지 못하리, 1980).

Award History In 1984, Suh received The Republic of Korea Literary Award in the Category of Translation from the Korean Culture and Arts Foundation. This award is given to those who have contributed to the Korean literary field.

In 2000, she got the PEN Literary Prize in the Category of Translation for The Golden Phoenix (금시조: 한국현대중편소설선, 1999), the translation of a collection of stories that vividly capture Korean life in the 1940s to the 1990s. The PEN Literary Prize was awarded by PEN Korea, which joined PEN International in the annual PEN International Congress in 1955.

In 2014, she won the LTI Korea Translation Award from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. The Literature Translation Institute of Korea aims to recognize Korean translators who promote Korea's literary works and media content worldwide. Suh won the award for translating Kim Won-il's House with a Sunken Courtyard (마당 깊은 집, 2013) into English. and "fiery and some saying it is venomous when she rebukes contradictions in our society." An article in The Hankyoreh also criticized Suh for being a fearmonger against the Moon administration, which followed the impeachment of President Park. The article censured Suh's column's speculation that the North Korean flag would be seen in Seoul's skies as exaggerated.

Concerning the criticism that her columns are too right-leaning, Suh stated: