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| The winners of the Daesan Literary Awards are, from left, translator Joo Ha-sun for her Spanish translation of the book "Kim Ji-young, Nacida en 1982"; novelist Kim Hye-jin for "Worker No. 9"; poet Kim Haeng-sook for her poetry book "Are Your Running Errands"; and literature critic Yoo Sung-ho for his book "Art of Lyricism" at the Gwanghwamun Kyobo Building in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
The Daesan Foundation announced the winners of the 28th Daesan Literary Awards Tuesday, which gives awards in the categories of poetry, novel, critical literary work and translation.
The winners were poet Kim Haeng-sook for her poem collection "Are Your Running Errands"; novelist Kim Hye-jin for "Worker No. 9" (translated title); literature critic Yoo Sung-ho for his book "Art of Lyricism" (translated title); and translator Joo Ha-sun for her Spanish translation of the book "Kim Ji-young, Nacida en 1982."
The foundation wrote in a press release that "Are Your Running Errands" spoke of ordinary lives with fresh images while showing original future-oriented expressions with citations from Kafka's works. "Worker No. 9" dealt with employment, one of the most important issues in society, from a new perspective and exhibited excellent storytelling without losing tension.
The "Art of Lyricism" showed the entire map of the poetry scene by portraying how poems are understood from an insider's perspective and connecting the field to conventional literature. "Kim Ji-young, Nacida en 1982" was broadly accepted by readers with an excellent translation that delivered the intention of the original text.
"I started to think that poetry will be trapped in a post-2020 timeframe … The year 2020 will not be erased from people's memory and it will create something in the future … Post times have been created turbulence within the history of the world and Korea, but the lives of individuals also have a post period … What I would like to do is to get closer to poetic moments and reveal the present of poetry with sincerity," Kim Haeng-sook said.
"People misunderstand the meaning of writing. So I oftentimes feel meaningless about my job while thinking it is very important … But what I know about this job is that my world becomes larger and deeper through it. Also, I realize my limitations and bottom-line, and the fact that I am interdependent on something, which brings me peace as it gives a sense of belief that I am standing on the ground and relating to this world," novelist Kim Hye-jin said.
"I think a critique is a derivative from creative literature. So, it is about giving precise, affluent and creative feedback. But the more I wrote critiques, the more I had the urge to express them in original sentences, which reflect the experience of the critic and his tastes. It is more like a conversation between the author and the critic. I thank all authors for having such happy conversations and I kept in mind that criticism was born out of the barren land of modern literature and the accumulated works of authors," Yoo Sung-ho said.
"It was the first time for me to take a literature translation job … When I read the book 'Kim Ji Young, Born 1982,' I found that I had a lot in common with the author. So I put an emphasis on delivering the agony that women of the same generation suffered in reader-friendly expressions," Joo Ha-sun said.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Gwanghwamun Kyobo Building, Nov. 26. The winners will receive 50 million won ($44,057) each in prize money.
