Han Kang says her historic novels had been a literary resistance in opposition to violence

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GWANGJU — To seize people in works of literature is a pledge in opposition to violence, in accordance with award-winning author Han Kang.

Han, who lately received the Prix Medicis for international literature in France and was the primary Korean to take action, delivered a keynote speech on Wednesday on the ninth Worldwide Congress of Writers Writing in Korean.

The occasion, organized by the PEN Korean Heart, a member of PEN Worldwide, a worldwide affiliation of writers based in London in 1921, came about on the Kim Dae Jung Conference Heart in Gwangju.

In her tackle, the 53-year-old creator mentioned her two historic novels, “Human Acts” (2014) and “I Do Not Bid Farewell” (2021).

The 2 books, which the creator herself considers “a pair,” every delves into the tragic occasions of Korean trendy historical past, taking the Gwangju Democratization Motion in 1980 and the Jeju April 3 Incident in 1948-49 as their respective motifs.

Reflecting on the depiction of historic occasions in literature, Han stated, “Inspecting the historical past of violence is a questioning of human nature. Even when violent scenes are portrayed, it’s not for the sake of violence. It’s an try to face on the opposite aspect.”

Born in Gwangju in 1970, Han, though she didn’t expertise the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Rebellion firsthand as she had moved to Seoul earlier than it occurred, stated it was one thing she needed to “confront” earlier than shifting on, in a press convention in Seoul on Wednesday.

“I had considered writing ‘shiny’ tales, however as these did not work out effectively, I delved into the explanations inside me. I spotted the recollections of Gwangju and my oblique expertise with tragedy held me again. I felt that I could not transfer ahead with out confronting it.”

Han stated she learn over 1,000 pages of supplies, together with the testimonies of bereaved households and victims, on daily basis for a month, earlier than writing “Human Acts.”

“I wasn’t current at the moment, however I felt a way of experiencing historical past along with them,” she stated.

Han made her literary debut as a poet in 1993 with the publication of 5 poems together with “Winter in Seoul” within the quarterly Literature and Society. The next 12 months, she received the Seoul Shinmun New Author’s Contest for her quick story “Purple Anchor.”

On Wednesday, talking on the theme of “Writing Poetry, Quick Tales and Novels,” the author defined how such works are internally interconnected inside her literary world.

“(I don’t suppose I’m explicitly writing poetic sentences), however poetry resides in every scene I’m portraying. It’s current in each novels and quick tales alike.”

Novelist Kim Hong-shin, the creator of Korea’s first million-selling novel, “Human Market” (1981), and Purevjav Battsetseg, a professor from Huree College of Data and Neighborhood Know-how in Mongolia, additionally delivered speeches on the occasion.

The four-day congress continues by means of Friday, that includes literary discussions in varied areas of Gwangju.



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