The Literature Translation Institute of Korea announced the winners of the 2023 Korea Translation Award on Wednesday, with four translators clinching the grand prizes this year.

This year’s grand prizes were awarded to Kim Hye-gyeong and Jean-Claude de Crescenzo for their French translation of Lee Seung-u’s “Cantant”; Oh Young-a for her Japanese translation of Cho Hae-jin’s “Simple Sincerity”; and Lia Iovenitti for her Italian translation of Kim Hye-jin’s “Concerning My Daughter.”

"Receiving an award for the excellent work of the writer Lee Seung-u is a great honor. I've been studying Lee for a long time, but I must say that the writer's writing style is not easy,” said Crescenzo during a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday.

Kim is a professor of Korean studies at Aix-Marseille University in France and her husband, Crescenzo, is also a Korean scholar. Since 2008, they have been introducing Korean literature to France.

“The reality is that literature is declining everywhere, including France," Kim said. "Even in such a situation, our hope has been to teach Korean studies and introduce Korean literature to French readers.”

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