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.
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. He also won [The Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Translation Awards three times, in 1985, 1987, and 1989.
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. Fulton has also won several awards, including Korea's Daesan Foundation's translation prize and the 2018 Manhae Literature Grand Prize.

Career

Fulton has translated a variety of works, including novels and anthologies Fulton almost always works in partnership with his wife, Ju-Chan Fulton, in translating works from Korean to English.
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. 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.

Translations


  • From Stepping Stones to Stories: 120 Years of Korean Americans
  • Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
  • Togani by Gong Ji-young
  • One Left by Kim Sum
  • The Catcher in the Loft by Cheon Unyeong
  • Mina by Kim Sagwa
  • Sunset: A Ch'ae Manshik Reader
  • Moss by Yoon Tae-ho
  • The Human Jungle by Jo Jeong-rae
  • The Moving Fortress by Hwang Sun-won
  • Juvesenility by Chae Man-sik
  • Leaves of Grass by Yi Hyoseok
  • An Idiot's Delight by Yi Taejun - with Kim Chong-un
  • Mama and the Boarder by Ju Yoseop - with Kim Chong-un
  • Another Man's City by Choe Inho
  • by Yi Hyegyeong
  • In the Trunk by Jeong Yi-hyeon
  • River of Fire and Other Stories by O Jeonghui
  • How in Heaven's Name by Jo Jeong-rae
  • The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes by Yun Heunggil
  • The Last of Hanak'o by Choe Yun
  • Chinatown by O Jeonghui
  • Human Decency by Gong Jiyeong
  • Lost Souls: Stories by Hwang Sun-won
  • There a Petal Silently Falls: Three Stories by Choe Yun - tr. "Whisper Yet" with Kim Kichung
  • The Dwarf by Jo Sehui
  • Trees on a Slope by Hwang Sun-won
  • The Last of Hanak'o by Choe Yun
  • Chinatown by O Jeonghui
  • A Man by Hwang Sun-won
  • Deep Blue Night by Choe Inho
  • Crows by Yi Tae-jun, in Reunion So Far Away: A Collection of Contemporary Korean Fiction, pp. 5–21
  • Mother: A Play by Jang Jeongil, in Korea Journal, October 1989, pp. 56–62
  • The Moving Castle by Hwang Sun-won
  • Debasement and Other Stories by Song Ki-jo

    Edited volumes

  • The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories
  • Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology, with Kwon Youngmin
  • Waxen Wings: The Acta Koreana Anthology of Short Fiction From Korea
  • The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women
  • The Red Room: Stories of Trauma in Contemporary Korea
  • Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction, revised and expanded edition - with Marshall R. Pihl
  • A Ready-Made Life: Early Masters of Modern Korean Fiction - with Kim Chong-un
  • Wayfarer: New Fiction by Korean Women
  • Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction - with Marshall R. Pihl
  • ''Words of Farewell: Stories by Korean Women Writers''

    Textbook

  • What Is Korean Literature? with Kwon Youngmin