Author Talks: Lee Chang-dong

Thursday, February 27, 2025 - “Lee Chang-dong is a master storyteller of any form. This collection of his early works gives a deep, stark look at human stories from a Korea not too long ago. A gift to read.” —Steven Yeun, Academy Award nominee for Best Actor

Lee Chang-dong is one of South Korea’s most celebrated and influential directors. Known internationally for his films Burning, Secret Sunshine, and Poetry, Lee’s work is characterized by his meticulous eye for detail and his exploration of social issues and complex characters. Before turning to screenwriting and directing, Lee began his career as a writer of short fiction and novels. SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES, translated into English for the first time by Yoosup Chang and Heinz Insu Fenkl, is a brilliant and unsettling collection that investigates themes of love, injustice, betrayal, and terror—on both an intimate and national scale.

Originally published in Korea in the 1980s, and drawn from the author’s own experiences, the stories in SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES are haunting and deeply moving. As he does in his films, Lee dives deep into the mundane and the quiet, revealing our collective underlying pain, loneliness, and profound longing. In stunning prose, Lee moves swiftly between explorations of conflicts between family and memory, the powerful and the vulnerable, the rich and the poor, and conformists and rebels. The stories are visceral, contemplative, and thought-provoking. How is family memory preserved? How does danger and violence reverberate across generations?

In this episode of Author Talks, Lee Chang-dong discusses the English translation of his short stories.

https://www.koreasociety.org/arts-cul...