The Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa presents:

Book Talk: English Publication of Togani (도가니) and the Expanding World of Translation by Gong Ji-young, Bruce Fulton, and Juchang Fulton.

• When: Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 3:00pm-4:30pm
• Where: Center for Korean Studies Auditorium (1881 East-West Road, Honolulu)

Atmospheric and fast-paced, this novel of manners set in a provincial South Korean city leads readers through the silent corridors of a school for hearing-impaired children and the city’s foggy back streets to a stirring courtroom climax. Gong Ji-young’s Togani (The Crucible), published in Korean in 2009, is based on a historic case of child sexual abuse at a state-run institution.

The novel went on to sell nearly a million copies and, along with a 2011 film adaptation, prompted South Korea to pass the “Togani Laws” to provide greater legal protections for children and vulnerable adults. At a time when Korean popular culture drives cultural production worldwide, Togani reminds us of the power of fiction to effect meaningful societal change.

Gong Ji-young is South Korea's renowned author of over thirty books. Ju-Chan Fulton & Bruce Fulton are literary scholars and pioneering translators of numerous Korean fiction.

Center for Korean Studies events are free and open to all. For further information, including information regarding disability access, telephone the Center for Korean Studies at 808-956-7041. This event is in part supported by the Academy of Korean Studies Strategic Research Institute Program (AKS-2020-SRI-2200001). The University of Hawai‘i is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.