I had a short segment on the very cool Monocle Radio a couple of weeks ago. You can listen to me talking about Young-Hee & the Pullocho, Korea, children’s stories and stuff like that.
Many thanks to Jason Strother for making the interview happen!
Month: October 2015
After weeks of the clearest fall skies I can remember in Korea, the smog finally rolled in last week, turning everything all throat-scratchy and post-apocalyptic. But last night it rained and cleared everything out, at least for a little while. Plus the leaves are finally turning colors (it’s been pretty warm all October), so everything in Korea is pretty lovely at the moment.
Is it my imagination or have we had some of the clearest fall skies in years in Seoul this year? Lots of blue — sometimes clear, sometimes great clouds.
As happy as great weather makes me, good reviews for Young-Hee & the Pullocho make me even happier (segue!). Jo Ann Hakola, The Book Faerie, gave the book a nice write-up. And Erik over at This Kid Reviews Books said:
This was a good book. Young-hee is a marvelous main character. You can really see how her character changes throughout the book, but it is subtle until the end then you realize the growth of the character. The book is a nice solid story with an interesting plot … The story was compelling and the world created by Mr. Russell was exciting and described vividly. This was a cool multi-cultural story that many kids would enjoy.
EDIT: Oh, and one more photo, from this evening’s sunset.
Young-hee and the Pullocho
Young-hee stumbles into a magical world, where the fairy stories of her childhood are real and all the frustrations of her everyday life fade away — until her little brother is kidnapped by a goblin. The only way Young-hee can save him is by finding a magical plant called a pullocho, but little does she realize the fate of a whole world hangs in the balance.
On sale now at:
Amazon
Pop Goes Korea
Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music and Internet Culture (2nd edition) is the only English-language book to examine the whole of Korea's entertainment industry and how it became such a powerhouse over the past 20 years. With profiles of many of Korea's top stars (including Lee Byung-hun and Rain), Pop Goes Korea features chapters on movies, music, television, comic books, the Internet, and more.
On sale now at:
Amazon.com
Kobo eBooks
And hopefully more ebooks stores very soon.
The original edition of Pop Goes Korea is now out of print.
K-Pop Now!
K-Pop Now! takes a fun look at Korea’s high-energy pop music, and is written for its growing legions of fans. It features all the famous groups and singers, and takes an insider’s look at how they have made it to the top.
You can buy at:
Amazon.com
Chapters Indigo
Tuttle (my publisher)
Kyobo Books (in Korea)
Goodreads (not for buying, but still a good link)