Season 4 Episode 7: Anton Hur, Literary Translator

Image source: Columbia University School of the Arts website

Anton Hur first popped on my radar thanks to Flora, a dear friend who also happens to be an excellent bookseller. She told me about this fantastic short story collection that she was reading, called Cursed Bunny, written by Bora Chung and translated by Anton. I then picked up Violets by Kyung-Sook Shin, at Yu and Me Books in New York last October. And wow, this beautiful book and Anton’s skilful translation moved me so much.

Two of Anton’s translations were long listed for the 2022 International Booker Prize: Love in the Big City by Sang-Young Park and the afore-mentioned Cursed Bunny , which went on to be shortlisted for the same prize. 

I loved talking to Anton! Honestly, it was particularly challenging for me to edit this podcast because I didn’t want to cut anything out. He is a passionate reader with the utmost respect for his writers. He is not just an incredible translator, he is also a great advocate for other translators in terms of knowledge sharing and visibility. His opinions are considered but unfiltered, which makes for a great discussion. He spoke to me from Incheon, Korea, about a whole range of things: how he became a literary translator, the challenges that come with the job,  patriarchal Korean society, upcoming projects and  some top-line thoughts on queering translation.

Show notes:

Follow Anton on Instagram
Follow Anton on Twitter
Read more of Anton via his website

Further listening:
Anton on the Kirkus Reviews podcast
Anton on the Books & Boba podcast

Anton’s Korean to English translation:
Night Sky With Exit Wounds

Anton’s book recommendation:
Idol, Burning (Rin Usami)

Anton’s books: