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Chi-Young Kim

Biography

Chi-Young Kim

Chi-Young is an award-winning literary translator and editor based in Los Angeles. A recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize (2011), she has translated works by You-jeong Jeong, Sun-mi Hwang, Young-ha Kim, Kyung Ran Jo, J.M. Lee and Kyung-sook Shin, among others.

Chi-Young Kim

Books by Chi-Young Kim

written by Ae-ran Kim, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction

Areum lives life to its fullest, vicariously through the stories of his parents, conversations with Little Grandpa Jang --- his 60-year-old neighbor and best friend --- and through the books he reads to visit the places he otherwise would never see. For several months, Areum has been working on a manuscript, piecing together his parents’ often embellished stories about his family and childhood. He hopes to present it on his birthday, as a final gift to his mom and dad --- their own falling-in-love story. Through it all, Areum and his family will have you laughing and crying, for all the right reasons.

written by You-Jeong Jeong, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

When a young girl is found dead in Seryong Lake, the police immediately begin their investigation. At the same time, three men --- Yongje, the girl's father, and two security guards at the nearby dam, each of whom has something to hide about the night of her death --- find themselves in an elaborate game of cat and mouse as they race to uncover what happened to her. After a final showdown at the dam results in a mass tragedy, one of the guards is convicted of murder and sent to prison. For seven years, his son, Sowon, lives in the shadow of his father's shocking and inexplicable crime. When he receives a package that promises to reveal at last what really happened at Seryong Lake, Sowon must confront a present danger he never knew existed.

written by You-Jeong Jeong, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Early one morning, 26-year-old Yu-jin wakes up to a strange metallic smell, and a phone call from his brother asking if everything's all right at home --- he missed a call from their mother in the middle of the night. Yu-jin soon discovers her murdered body, lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs of their stylish Seoul duplex. He can't remember much about the night before; having suffered from seizures for most of his life, Yu-jin often has trouble with his memory. All he has is a faint impression of his mother calling his name. But was she calling for help? Or begging for her life?

written by J.M. Lee, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction

An unidentified body is discovered in New York City, with numbers and symbols written in blood near the corpse. Gilmo, a North Korean national who interprets the world through numbers, formulas and mathematical theories, is arrested on the spot. He used to have a quiet life back in Pyongyang. But when his father, a preeminent doctor, is discovered to be a secret Christian, he is subsequently incarcerated in a political prison overseen by a harsh, cruel warden. There, Gilmo meets the spirited Yeong-ae, who becomes his only friend. When Yeong-ae manages to escape, Gilmo flees to track her down. He uses his peculiar gifts to navigate betrayal and the criminal underworld of east Asia --- a world wholly alien to everything he's ever known.

written by Haemin Sunim, illustrated by Youngcheol Lee, translated by Chi-Young Kim and Haemin Sunim - Nonfiction, Spiritual Growth, Spirituality

By offering guideposts to well-being and happiness in eight areas --- including relationships, love and spirituality --- Haemin Sunim emphasizes the importance of forging a deeper connection with others and being compassionate and forgiving toward ourselves. The more than 20 full-color illustrations that accompany his teachings serve as calming visual interludes, encouraging us to notice that when you slow down, the world slows down with you.

written by Jung-Myung Lee, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

Fukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered. Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is tasked with finding the killer. The victim, Sugiyama --- also a guard --- was feared and despised throughout the prison, and investigations have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses. But Watanabe is unconvinced; and as he interrogates both the suspect and Yun Dong-ju, a talented Korean poet, he begins to realize that the fearsome guard was not all he appeared to be.

written by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction

When 69-year-old So-nyo is separated from her husband among the crowds of the Seoul subway station, her family begins a desperate search to find her. Yet as long-held secrets and private sorrows begin to reveal themselves, they are forced to wonder: how well did they actually know the woman they called Mom?

written by Young-ha Kim, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction, Spy Fiction

Gi-yeong is a North Korean spy who has been living among his enemies for 21 years. Suddenly he receives a mysterious email, a directive seemingly from the home office. He has one day to return to headquarters, but he hasn’t heard from anyone in over 10 years. Why is he being called back now? Is he returning to receive new orders or to be executed for a lack of diligence? Has someone in the South discovered his secret identity? Is this a trap?

 

written by Kyung-Ran Jo, translated by Chi-Young Kim - Fiction

When her boyfriend of seven years leaves her for another woman, the celebrated young chef Jung Ji-won shuts down the cooking school she ran from their home and sinks into deep depression. Returning to the kitchen of the Italian restaurant where her career first began, she slowly rebuilds her life, rediscovering her appreciation of food, both as nourishment and as sensual pleasure. She also starts to devise a plan for a final, vengeful act of culinary seduction.