Life
Anthony Graham Teague was born in 1942 in Cornwall, UK, to Thomas Leslie Teague (February 2, 1914 – March 26, 1985) and Nan Albina Green (July 24, 1911 – February 3, 1991). He studied Medieval and Modern languages at Oxford and in 1969 he joined the Taizé Community in France, a monastic order composed of men from the Protestant, Anglican and Catholic traditions dedicated to spreading the message of trust and reconciliation.
After three years' service in a Philippine slum, in May 1980, Brother Anthony joined other brothers in Korea, invited by the late Archbishop of Seoul, Cardinal Kim Sou-Hwan. He taught English literature at Sogang University, Seoul, for nearly three decades, while translating works of modern Korean literature and also writing books and articles about literature and translation.
Brother Anthony began to translate modern Korean literature in 1988, and since then has published a wide variety of works from such classic Korean authors as Ku Sang, Ko Un, Ch'on Sang-Pyong, So Chong-Ju, Kim Su-Yong, Shin Kyong-Nim, Yi Si-Young, Kim Kwang-Kyu, Ynhui Park, and Yi Mun-yol. In 1991 he won a Modern Korean Literature Translation Award from The Korea Times for his translation of "Headmaster Abe" by Ko Un, and he began serving as one of the contest judges in 1996, with his last year in the role being 2023. In 1994, Brother Anthony became a naturalized Korean citizen, taking on the Korean name An Sonjae, Sonjae being the Korean form of Sudhana, the 'little pilgrim' of the Buddhist scripture The Gandavyuha Sutra.
From January 2011 to December 2020 he served as president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch, tied for the longest term for an RAS Korea president. He was awarded the Korean government's Order of Cultural Merit, Jade Crown class, in October 2008 for his work in promoting knowledge of Korean literature in the world. He reached retirement age at the start of 2007 and is currently a professor emeritus of Sogang University and a chair-professor of Dankook University. In 2015 he received an MBE. He currently lives in Seoul.
