For All Ye Korean Folk

[akujunkan]

On Ye Olde Flist.

Here I am in Seoul. I have a relatively unlimited amount of time here (don't have to leave the country until the 26th). Can anyone point me in the direction of bookstores selling manhwa (either original Korean or translations of Japanese manga). I am going to pick some up and practice reading with it.

And, even more of a long shot, but anyone know of any good Korean language authors?

That will be all.

Comments

[fragilistikal.livejournal.com]

You're such a jetsetter. :envy:

I had a blast going to a bookstore near Dongdaemun, I think. I'm pretty sure it was called Jong-lo Sujum (but pronounced more like Jong-no if you're gonna be asking anyone). Oh, and Jong with a long 'o' sound. Sorry, I'm crap at Korean romanization. This chek-bang was...huge. Dear lord, it was pure happiness.

As an alternative to pure Korean authors, maybe try a translation of a Japanese book? That way you can read it in Korean but easily check on a language you know if you're stuck.

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, well, you aren't going to envy the amount of money I //won't// have by the time my jobless ass gets home.

Thanks for the heads up on the bookstore--I'll see if I can get anyone at the hostel to help me out on that.

As an alternative to pure Korean authors, maybe try a translation of a Japanese book?

That's what my Japanese translations of Goong are for--I mean, I'm already planning on getting Yoshimoto Banana in Korean, but I'd still like to try my hand on an original or two.

[fragilistikal.livejournal.com]

Well if you find a fun Korean novelist, do me a favor and give me a heads up. I've been having crap luck finding a balance between light-hearted and mature. (Some of it is like the worst fanfic ever...but in Korean, with little smilies ^_^;; inserted into the text. o.0 Mo-ya, iige?!)

I'm so frustrated by the official Korean romanization system. It's so...ugly. And un-intuitive, and doesn't convey the true sound at all and.... AKA, Spring hasn't been arsed to really learn it. You could probably come up with something better.

Hope everything's going great with your travels, and that you're meeting cute Asian boys!

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Okay, I gave up on the novelist search after I'd shipped $40 worth of manhwa back home and still had another box of textbooks and such to go. (Also, being drunk does not increase one's chances of remember the names of recommended authors. 'Park' someone just ain't gonna cut it.)

Re: romanization. I refuse to navigate by it, because it will get me and cab drivers and nice helpful people on the street horridly, horridly confused. Because it doesn't sound or look like ANYTHING. I thought it would have been tough to do worse than Wade-Giles or M-R, but there you have it. Guess every language has to have one.

[greywandering.livejournal.com]

ah ha ha, i loved the book stores so much in korea....

one that i went to a lot (and even by myself by the subway+bus) was Gyobumungo. You can recognize it by its signiture green bird/chicky thing logo. It's located underground...so if you take the subway to the right station you just walk up a bit or so and there it is. It's like a conglomeration of a very large bookstore, restaurants, stationary stores, fashion/beauty shops, and an ART SUPPLY store (sigh....i love that place).

Sorry i can't remember quite where it is, but it is very easy to get to, and i know it must be in Seoul

good luck! and by lots of stuff (and don't eat bbundaegee XP)

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

I love them too! I've already picked up three kids' books and $50 worth of manga. Didn't find Gyobumungo, but I stumbled on the one fragilistikal was talking about and another little shop in the underground shopping area near my metro station. I still have several books from a few series left to collect, but it's going to be expensive to ship home the ones I have now. What to do!?

Also, any series you recommend?

[greywandering.livejournal.com]

Well, what I remember very well from all my manga reading in korea (it's like, god's gift to the korea, those places you can rent manga...XD) I came across a very good shoujo. I usually go for more the shounen type (because...a lot of the time...shoujo is an excuse for...lots of heterosexual intercourse...) but this series was rather good with plot. It's called Red River in America, Japanese name being Sora wa Akai Kawa No Hotori, and Haneul ee Boolgun Gangka in korean (gah, korean is so much harder to romanize). It's originally Japanese, but unlike in America, it's been finished for a very long time in Korea. ^_^ (very crappy summary: Yuri is a regular Japanese girl who for some reason, get's pulled back in time to the old world civilization of Anatolia. Well, of course the reason why she was pulled back was because of an evil queens desire to curse all the other princes (using yuri's blood) so her son can ascend the throne.....and well, yea, as you know that doesn't happen (it's shoujo for gods sake) So Yuri meets prince Kail, one of the other princes. And of course they fall in love, but then there's yuri's thing about wanting to go home but loving the prince and becoming a national hero figure......so with your fair share of angst, pretty art, and attempted rapes on the heroine the story unfolds and is surprisingly engaging....the art...although somewhat "old fashioned" maybe, is very pretty anyway...okay end summary)

hmm...korean manwha...I tend to stay away from Korean manwha because the aesthetic sense of it just doesn't appeal to me as much as the Japanese styles. However, the series Full House is originally korean, and although the art style is a bit awkward-like at first it kinda grows on you (well, it did on me). That manga spawned a 16 epiosode Kdrama (that you should see, because, although it is very different from the manga, it's good all on its own..lol...and because Bi (the singer) is a good actor) I haven't got to finish it, although in a korean bookstore in Flushing, New York, i picked something up cause the art was unusually attractive for a korean work and guess what it was... Full House II....so it seems there is a sequel..with evolved art..or something

You've probably heard of Boy Princess right? Korean (currently soft-core) Shounen-ai. I only had a chance to read the first volume (in english no less..in a KOREAN BOOKSTORE IN NEW YORK...seriously...they only stocked the translation...weird)It's ongoing but from the little i saw i think it's good enough to check out. Also, you've probably heard of this already too but theres Demon Diary/(Mawang Ilgee). I only got to read the translation....and i think it would have been a lot funnier to see the original korean. THe art is very nice...and its very light/hinted shounen-ai (although it is so obviously canon anyway XP)....and there's a bishounen with really long black hair so...:P

The best bet really though, is to go to the manga renting places and rent lots and lots of random stuff cuz its SOOO cheap...(sigh...that's one of the things i love most about visiting korea).

Happy shopping. Hope you find lots of good stuff...and get a discount on your shipping. ^O^