KOREA FOUNDATION

My name is Seya Fadullon, and I am a KF Fellow currently studying queer literature at the Inter-University Center for Korean Language Studies (IUC) at Sungkyunkwan University. I was born in Philadelphia and lived briefly in Florida, then near Philly, before returning to my hometown as a junior high school student. I lived there until I graduated from high school, going on to major in international relations and Chinese language and literature at Boston University. I first arrived in Korea in 2018. Working as an English language teacher in Daegu for three years, I learned Korean through a language exchange program. I studied by reading Korean fiction and developed an interest in Korean literature. Having enjoyed reading since childhood, I gained a growing interest in languages as I studied Chinese and Korean. My love of reading and interest in languages opened up a new path for me: literary translation. I decided to become a translator of literature.

To attain a deeper understanding of Korean literature and enhance my Korean language abilities, I applied for the KF-IUC program. I chose to research queer literature due to my personal interest in the subject, reflecting my experience as a child of gay parents and the three years I spent in Daegu, where an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community exists despite a generally conservative public. Korea’s LBTQ (lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer) movement is only a few decades old, and the terms “queer” and “queer literature” are comparatively new. Even as queer literature grows steadily as a genre, literary scholars are still agonizing over how to define the term. At a time when Korean writers like Han Kang are attracting global attention to the world of Korean literature, and sexual minorities are continuing their struggle for equality, I am monitoring the concept of queer literature and how it will develop in the near future with great anticipation.

KF-IUC is a unique program that grants students the opportunity to study subjects of their choice in close cooperation with professors. The curriculum enables students to conduct their own research while learning Korean history and culture in depth by attending diverse classes. The most outstanding aspect of the KF-IUC program is its flexible curriculum and the freedom it grants to students to choose what and how they will study. I strongly recommend this program to those who have keen interest in specific topics and want to upgrade their Korean language skills.

Seya Fadullon
KF Fellow at the Inter-University Center for Korean Language Studies
Sungkyunkwan University

Seya FadullonKF-IUC FellowKorean literaturesqueer literature