Hak, Seo Jung and Megan Sungyoon 2024
Blue Hour Reading Series with Seo Jung Hak (서정학), translation by Megan Sungyoon, and Edgar Kunz
Haymarket House
They said they thought Earth was a planet composed only of water. Because their paper-box-like spaceship that lacked even basic waterproofing had always sunk into the deep abyss within minutes of landing on the sea. Shaking even with the blanket over the shoulders, one of them insisted that they were the first, or second, alien who had properly landed here.
– Seo Jung Hak, translated from Korean by Megan Sungyoon, from “Hot Love”
Watch Megan Sungyoon and Seo Jung Hak’s 2024 reading with Edgar Kunz at the Chicago Poetry Center:
Megan Sungyoon and Seo Jung Hak begin at 2:26 minutes.
The heart was about to explode when the pipe was raised, still bleeding. The length of happiness was inversely proportional to fear, that bold solidity. Disgusting laughter echoed around. I, too, almost cried. Quickly checked the surroundings. Oxygen and glucose suddenly reached the state of saturation. The body gradually shrank and the gulped-down Big Mac froze in the huge stomach.
– Seo Jung Hak, translated from Korean by Megan Sungyoon, from “Adrenaline”
Watch this event on translating Korean poetry with Megan Sungyoon:
