I chose Asiate, the five-star restaurant on the 35th floor of the Time Warner building, overlooking Central Park. My Korean agent, Joseph Lee, agreed to act as an interpreter. Also, I don’t speak Korean and she doesn’t speak much English. What restaurant was special enough for her? I had to pay respect and honour her properly. We had agreed to meet for dinner and soon the panic set in. Two years had passed since first writing to her and Please Look After Mother had sold around the world. Now I would have to deliver on what I had promised.īy the time we first met in person, it was 2011 and she was in New York for her US publication. When Kyung-sook turned down all the major New York agencies and chose me, I was overjoyed, but also nervous. I sent her a long and detailed letter outlining my plan for her book and how I could help it become a global sensation with translations in every language. This has earned her a huge, loyal readership among women, as well as men, all captivated by her poetry and emotional depth.Īt the time, nobody outside Korea had heard of Kyung-sook Shin or Korean literature but, in my heart and mind, I knew the value of it. Kyung-sook’s novels often concentrate on the marginalisation of women, giving a voice to those otherwise ignored.
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