Oct. 12, 2020 — Pieces on Literature and Memory of WWII (Various)

Japan Times: “Nothing makes for a sales hook like an anniversary. And as this year marks 75 years since the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the English books market responded with nearly a dozen histories, treatises, explorations and poetic renditions of the atomic bombings in 2020.”

Dong-a Ilbo: “The publication of Japanese books, which has been rare lately due to the “No Japan” movement in response to Japan’s export controls in July last year, is beginning to resume. Japanese novels that have been put on hold for months due to the worsening relations between South Korea and Japan are being released.”

Kyodo News: “The Japanese translation of a South Korean graphic novel based on the diary of a couple engaged in the wartime movement for Korean independence from Japan was published recently, shedding light on a history largely unknown to Japanese readers amid frosty bilateral relations.”

Kyodo News: “An English translation of Kim Soom’s 2016 novel “Han myong” (one person), the first South Korean novel centered on so-called comfort women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels, has been released this month as the issue continues to cast a shadow on bilateral relations.”