Grants for the Translation of World Classics

HISTORY

2008
Grants for the Translation of World Classics was established to encourage better reception to outstanding works of foreign literature by introducing high-quality classics and modern works from other countries. The goal of the grants aims to improve the quality of literary works translated into Korean, expanding the exchange between Korean literature and world literature.
In 2008, following the results of the first round of selection for the Daesan World Literature Series, the awarding of new grants was temporarily halted, and plans for the second round of selections were initiated. The second round focused on firmly establishing the Daesan World Literature Series as a prestigious series worthy enough to represent Korea; while possessing traits that are uniquely Korean, the series aims to create a list of works that exhibit literary value in addition to embodying the quintessence of each respective country's literature. Therefore, members of a new planning committee were appointed, and they established a new mission statement for the literature series and formed a new list among other things; in addition, they made adjustments to the overall direction of the series, standardizing the evaluation process and review standards and updating the prize money among other tasks. The newly implanted grant process, which adheres to the second round of planning, will begin with an official notification in May 2009.
In 2008, ten books (twelve books when including books divided into two parts) that received funding were published by Moonji Publishing Company under the name the Daesan World Literature Series including The Master and Margarita.