Novelist denies plagiarism accusations

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Thu, April 19, 2018 | 22:54

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Novelist denies plagiarism accusations

Posted : 2015-06-17 16:41

Updated : 2015-06-17 20:58

Shin Kyung-sook

By Baek Byung-yeul

Renowned novelist Shin Kyung-sook, best known for her globally celebrated novel "Please Look After Mom," has been accused of plagiarism.

Novelist and poet Lee Eung-jun accused Shin of plagiarizing passages of her 1996 short story "Legend" from Japanese author Yukio Mishima's "Patriotism," in an article Lee posted on the Huffington Post online news outlet, Tuesday.

In Lee's article titled "Darkness of idol, corruption of literature: Shin Kyung-sook plagiarized Yukio Mishima," Lee insisted a passage from Shin's short story starting with a sentence "Both were possessed of healthy body. Their relationship was passionate," is completely plagiarized from a passage in Mishima's short story starting with a sentence, "As both were possessed of young, vigorous bodies their relationship was passionate."

After citing passages from two stories, Lee wrote, "This is a clear case of plagiarism, a dishonest act of a literary work which cannot be acceptable to any professional literature writer."

The star novelist could not be reached for comment by The Korea Times. She instead denied the accusation through a statement released by the Changbi Publishers, a local publishing house which published Shin's short story "Legend," saying she has never heard of that story by the Japanese author.

"Among the works of the Japanese author, I've only read The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. I feel sorry to let my readers undergo such a commotion," Shin said through the publisher, Wednesday.

"As I have weathered hardships (together with my fans), I want my fans to believe me," she continued, adding she will not take any action over the accusation.

According to the Changbi Publisher, Shin has been away from Seoul in order to work on her new book. The publisher also denied the accusation saying there was no similarity between the two works.

Lee wrote that he raised the plagiarism accusations against arguably Korea's most popular author bearing the risk that he might be terminally outcast from Korean literary circles.

"The article that I am writing was not intended to damage the author's reputation. If so, there would be no reason for me to write this kind of article putting up with the pain of being cut off from the country's literary circles," he wrote. "What Shin committed … the pain she inflicted on the Korean literary circle is far more damaging than any other regret she will ever have."

Lee also insisted that the majority of the Korean writers are living a hard and humble life. "Despite that, we take pride in being writers because we have pride and faith in our literary works and are committed to our job with dignity and truth."

This was not the first time for Shin to get embroiled in a plagiarism scandal.

Shin's short story collection "The Strawberry Field" and novel "The Train Departs at 7" were also the subject of plagiarism allegations in around 2000, but Shin denied those accusations.

Born in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province in 1963, Shin made her debut as a writer in 1985. Her commercial success came in 1993 with her short story "The Place Where the Harmonium Was." She has since received various awards for her work, including Korea's top literary awards such as the Manhae Literature Prize (1996), Dong-in Literature Prize (1997) and Yi Sang Literary Prize (2001). She also won the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize for her 2009 hit novel "Please Look After Mom."

baekby@ktimes.com