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Contributor

Shirley Lee

Contributor

Shirley Lee

Shirley Lee was born in South Korea. She is editor of the leading Web site about North Korea by North Koreans in exile, New Focus International. She is also the translator and editor of the memoir and poems of exiled North Korean state poet Jang Jin-sung.

Articles by Shirley Lee

Reclaiming North Korean Literature
By Shirley Lee
Engaging with ancient literature has its difficulties. Even if we put aside the unfamiliar details of cultural context, there remain factors such as genre, function, and form that can be daunting for…
Introduction
By Shirley Lee
Two days ago, I stood at the DMZ with one of the authors in this issue, Jang Jin-sung. We looked across toward North Korea together from a guardpost on the South Korean side. Only a barbed wire fence…
The Poet Who Asked for Forgiveness
By Gwak Moon-an
He came to accept that art had no value unless it was used as a tool of propaganda.
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
Pillow
By Jang Jin-sung
Both the seller And the buyer Have nothing to offer but themselves In Pyongyang’s marketplace The filters of cigarette butts Provided cotton for this blanket on display “Face-wash for sale!”…
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
A Rice Story
By Kim Sung-min
1 As harvest season begins, the field slowly reveals its bare body. The thousand-year-old promise is that you reap what you sow. The land of promise stretches out behind the footprints of man. Winds blow.…
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
After the Gunshot
By Lee Ji Myung
You can’t drink when you have the money on you.
Translated from Korean by Shirley Lee
Multilingual
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