The Moon Reflected in a Thousand River

-Dr. Thorsten Traulsen (Ruhr Universität Bochum)

Special Lecture Series on Classical Korean Literature: Research and Translations

The special lecture series „Classical Korean Literature: Research and Translations“ brings to the wider audience new insights into Korean literary heritage and current trends in presenting Classical Korean literature to the international audience. Individual lectures of the series will be held by distinguished scholars within the field of Korean literature of Koryŏ (918–1392) and Chosŏn times (1392–1910), who will introduce their recent publications. Thorsten Traulsen’s translation of Buddha’s biography written in Korean alphabet, Barbara Wall’s analyses of Korean perception of a legendary Chinese monkey, Dennis Wuerthner’s rendition of Koryŏ literati stories and poetry or Elena Kondratyeva’s work on memoirs of Korean queen show a fascinating richness of Korean literary heritage and at the same time indicate recent trends in introducing, translating and marketing this cultural commodity. Talks and following discussions present a rare opportunity to see Korean literature research and translation „in making“; in the course of lectures will be discussed problems presented by the multiscriptual nature of the literary canon written both in Literary Sinitic and Korean alphabet, difficulties of reading the original documents, role of the English as a medium in Korean Studies or strategies to secure funding for such projects and publications.

Thorsten Traulsen will present his English translation of one of the Korean Buddhist classics Wŏrin ch’ŏngang chi kok 月印千江之曲 (The Moon Reflected in a Thousand Rivers) published by King Sejong in 1449.

About the lecturer:

Within the scope of his PhD studies, Thorsten Traulsen concentrated on the phonology and lexicology of Middle Korean. His disseration "Die lexikologischen und phonologischen Grundlagen der inneren Rekonstruktion im Mittelkoreanischen" (The lexicological and phonological basis for internal reconstruction in Middle Korean) was supervised by Professor Dr. Alexander Vovin (Hawai'i) and awarded in Hamburg, 2008. He has been teaching Middle Korean for several years and is in charge of Korean collection in the faculty library. Besides, he has worked on educational history in Chosŏn. He is also editor of the Korean section of the Hefte für ostasiatische Literatur (iudicium, since issue 2/2005).

Please join the event by following the link: https://fu-berlin.webex.com/meet/glomb007