Stephen Epstein

Stephen J. Epstein is an associate professor in the School of Languages and Cultures at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, where he has been the recipient of a Teaching Excellence Award and a Research Excellence Award. His translations of Korean and Indonesian fiction include the novels Who Ate Up All The Shinga? by Park Wan-suh, The Long Road by Kim In-suk and Telegram by Putu Wijaya. He has also translated Intan Paramaditha’s Apple and Knife, The Wandering and Night of a Thousand Hells, which has been longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Translated Literature. His work has also been recognised with a PEN/Heim Translation Award and a Korea Times translation prize. His scholarship focuses on contemporary Korean society and popular culture; recent books include the co-edited volumes The Korean Wave: A Sourcebook and Popular Culture and the Transformation of Japan-Korea Relations. He has also co-produced two documentaries on the Korean underground music scene and is a former president of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society.