Behind the scenes supporters helped novelist Han Kang reach beyond a Korean audience. Without them, she would not have clinched the coveted Man Booker International Prize.
Joseph Lee, president of Korean Literary (KL) Management who liaised between the author and international publishers, is one of them. Lee’s Seoul-based literary agency exports Korean literature to the world. Many Korean novels, including Shin Kyung-sook’s million-seller “Please Look After Mom” and Kim Young-ha’s “I Have the Right to Destroy Myself,” have passed through Lee’s hands before spreading abroad. “I always read books, looking for the right one. I check new books from authors who work with my agency or sometimes purchase other books that interest me. That is the first step of everything,” Lee said at a recent interview with The Korea Times.
