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.