Book event to feature novelist Hwang Sun-mi
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Hwang Sun-mi
Hwang Sun-mi’s “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly”
By Kim Young-jin
Hwang Sun-mi, author of the popular book “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly,” has been a household name here since it was published in 2000. But she’s poised for wider recognition because she will be featured in April as part of the London Book Fair’s “market focus” on Korea.
Her entrance into the international literary scene began with the English-language publication of “Hen” by Penguin last year. The book is much loved here, and its film adaptation is the country’s highest-grossing animated film ever.
Book-lovers can get to know the novelist on Saturday, when she is the guest of the 10 Magazine Book Club, an event organized by expat bookworm Barry Welsh. Welsh, host of the “The Bookend” on TBS eFM (101.3), will interview the author onstage. The event is accessible in English and Korean.
“It’s a world-class piece of fiction,” Welsh says of “Hen.” “I think it’s poised to crossover and be Korea’s next big literary success.
“This is a big year for Korean literature in terms of raising international awareness, and the event on Saturday will be a way to raise awareness among international residents in Seoul and give fans of Korean literature a chance to meet an icon.”
In addition to Hwang, authors including Yi Mun-yol and Hwang Sok-yong will be featured as part of the London Book Fair. The market focus intends to “put the spotlight on publishing trade links with the country or region that is showcased,” according to the fair’s website.
Since debuting in 1995, Hwang has published dozens of books read by both children and adults. She is said to have been unable to attend her local middle school due to poverty, but she was able to read books there thanks to the help of a teacher. She eventually enrolled in high school and went on to study creative writing at the Seoul Institute of the Arts.
“Hen” focuses on Sprout, a hen trapped on an industrial farm who yearns for freedom, and to hatch her own chick. When she escapes, she encounters a rigid hierarchy of animals that shuns her in her sickly state. She strikes up a friendship with a non-conformist duck who straggles behind the flock; the two team up against enemies such as a weasel looking for a midnight meal. Sprout fixes her attention on an abandoned egg she one day stumbles upon and cares for it, despite judgment against her from the community.
The event will be held at Haechi Hall in Seoul starting at 2:00 p.m. It will be preceded by a screening of the film adaptation of “Hen” at 11 a.m. For more information, visit the Facebook page of 10 Magazine Book Club.