Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Jae-Young Park (Department of English Education, College of Education) has translated and published, for the first time in Korea, the novel 116th Street (original title: The Street) by Ann Petry (ANN PETRY, 1908–1997), the first Black female author in the United States to become a million-seller.

Professor Park previously introduced notable foreign novels to Korean readers for the first time in the country, including Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun in 2019, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Ellen Glasgow’s Attraction in 2020, and Wilkie Collins’s Isabel’s Daughter in 2021. This year he has once again translated and published a distinguished work.

The novel 116th Street, which tells the realistic story of a Black single mother with striking beauty, is set in a Black residential neighborhood in northern Manhattan, New York, in the 1940s. Through the life of the protagonist Lutie, who strives to escape poverty and racial discrimination to pursue her dreams, the book reveals the raw realities of a turbulent American society at that time.

Lutie’s reality in the work is not limited to Harlem, New York. The situation in Korea is not fundamentally different. Buying a home with one’s own money is difficult, yet young people here also dream as Lutie did. Moreover, young mothers raising children alone, like Lutie, must endure social prejudice and discrimination. As our society moves toward becoming more multicultural, we too often hold exclusionary preconceptions or biases against other ethnic groups.

The novel was first published in the United States in 1946 and is Ann Petry’s debut work. At the time of publication it sold more than one million copies, making Petry the first Black female author to achieve million-seller status.

The Korean translation is based on the 1947 Michael Joseph Ltd. edition of The Street. While translating the original into Korean, Professor Park aimed to ensure that the Korean reads naturally even if there are slight gaps from the original text. He also made a concerted effort to follow Korean spacing conventions as closely as possible.

Professor Park stated, “Consideration and attention to genders that have long been treated unfairly in male-centered cultures, and the healing of justice, are occurring in our society. I hope that, within this social trend, readers will find this work an opportunity to broaden their perspectives.”

Professor Jae-Young Park completed his undergraduate and integrated M.A./Ph.D. studies at Arizona State University in the United States and holds a Ph.D. in English literature. He is currently a professor in the Department of English Education at JBNU. He has written more than 30 papers on literature and film and participated in the authorship of elementary and high school English textbooks. His awards include the Marvin Fisher Book Award, the Wilfred Perel Fund Award, the JBNU Lifetime Mentor Award, and the Online Best Teacher Award. His translations include Charlotte Dacre’s Zofloya, Jessie Redmon Fauset’s Plum Bun, Ellen Glasgow’s Attraction (Volumes 1 and 2), and Wilkie Collins’s Isabel’s Daughter.