Azalea is about Korean literature and literary culture, and therefore about writing, publishing, translating, and reading. The writing has already happened, the translation too, but now for the reading! We have looked at original works, wondering who might best translate a gem. Or we have discovered a strong translation and asked, 'Can we publish it?' And how might artwork of various kinds, or perhaps photographs of Korea contemporaneous with the literary works, be added to the mix? The occasional hortatory note, such as my own in this issue about the 1953 short story 'Cranes' by Hwang Sunwon, may add another edge, perhaps, to the reader's framing and reframing of the piece. --from the Editor's Note

Contributors: Heinz Insu Fenkl, Ha Seong-nan, Mickey Hong, Huh Su-gyung, Hwang In-sook, Hwang Jiwoo, Hwang Sunwon, Kim Aeran, Kim Chiha, Kim Hyesoon, Kim Jung-Hyuk, Kim Seung-Hui, Kim Young-ha, Ko Un, Lee Changdong, Lee Hye-kyung, Lee Moon-jae, Lee Si-Young, Chonggi Mah, David R. McCann, Orhan Pamuk, Park Min-gyu, Robert Pinsky, Song Ch'an-ho, Ronald Suleski, Sung Suk-je, Yoon Sung-Hee, Yun Dae Nyeong, Dafna Zur.