Bruce Fulton

Translator Bruce Fulton Outside in Seoul.
Bruce Fulton.

Bruce Fulton is an American professor of Korean Literature and a noted translator of contemporary Korean fiction with an extensive list of publications. He has lived in the United States, Canada, and South Korea, and is married to fellow translator Ju-Chan Fulton.

Life

Fulton received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Bowdoin College in 1970, his Master of Arts in Korea Regional Studies from the University of Washington in 1983, and his Ph.D. in Modern Korean Literature from Seoul National University.[1]

Fulton and his wife, Ju-Chan, met at Seoul National University in 1978, while Fulton was volunteering in the Peace Corps. They married in 1979 and eventually realized that together they were "the ideal translation team," as Bruce was a native speaker of English who knew [Korean, and Ju-Chan was a native speaker of Korean who knew English.[2] He also won The Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards three times, in 1985, 1987, and 1989.[3]

Fulton is the inaugural holder of the Young-Bin Min Chair in Korean Literature and Literary Translation in the Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia.[4] Fulton has also won several awards, including Korea's Daesan Foundation's translation prize and the 2018 Manhae Literature Grand Prize.[5]

Career

Fulton has translated a variety of works, including novels (such as Cho Se-hui’s The Dwarf) and anthologies (such as Land of Exile, The Red Room, Lost Souls: Stories by Hwang Sunwon.)[6][7] Fulton almost always works in partnership with his wife, Ju-Chan Fulton, in translating works from Korean to English.[8]

One of Fulton's more recent translation is River of Fire and Other Stories by O Chonghui which contains nine stories, written from 1968 to 1994, describing family dysfunction, the decline of tradition, and lost love from a woman's perspective.[5] Recently, he has translated The Future of Silence, which uses some stories by older writers and stories by newer writers such as Kim Sagwa, Han Yujoo, Kim Ae-ran, and Cheon Un-yeong. His most recent translation is The Human Jungle by Cho Chongnae.

As a professor, Fulton works in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches modern Korean literature and researches modern Korean fiction and its translation.[9]

Translations

(with Ju-Chan Fulton unless otherwise indicated)

Edited Volumes

  • The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories (Penguin UK, 2023)
  • Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology, with Kwon Youngmin (Columbia University Press, 2005)
  • Waxen Wings: The Acta Koreana Anthology of Short Fiction From Korea (Koryo Press, 2011)
  • The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women (Zephyr Press, 2016)
  • The Red Room: Stories of Trauma in Contemporary Korea (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2009)
  • Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction, revised and expanded edition (M. E. Sharpe, 2007) - with Marshall R. Pihl
  • A Ready-Made Life: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1998) - with Kim Chong-un
  • Wayfarer: New Fiction by Korean Women (Women in Translation, 1997)
  • Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction (M. E. Sharpe, 1993) - with Marshall R. Pihl
  • Words of Farewell: Stories by Korean Women Writers (Seal Press, 1989)

Textbook

References

  1. ^ KTLIT Fulton CV Page
  2. ^ "Books - Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton bring Korean literature to the English-speaking world - Seattle Times Newspaper". O.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Translation Awards". The Korea Times. The Korea Times. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton | the Red Room | Changing Hands Bookstore". Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  5. ^ a b "NW Books: A new J.A. Jance mystery, Channeled Scabland guide". Seattletimes.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  6. ^ "My Interview with Professor and Translator Bruce Fulton". Ktlit.com. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Korean Literature in Translation : Lost Souls - Korea Literature Translation Institute". eng.klti.or.kr. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Interview with Bruce Fulton: Podcast AND Transcript". Ktlit.com. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Bruce Fulton - Department of Asian Studies". Asia.ubc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 3 February 2018. 
 10. ^ "An Interview with Ju-Chan and Bruce Fulton, for the translation of Kim Tae-yong’s “Pig on Grass” selected for publication in the Massachusetts Review and then for winning the 4th Annual Chametzky Prize for Translation!" April 7, 2015, https://www.massreview.org/node/437