Is Korean language a “disadvantage” to get a Nobel literature prize?

“When the day of unification comes, I will then leave Korea and want to forget about my ‘Korean-ness’ for a while. I have had enough of this (division of the two Koreas),” said Ko Un, one of the most well-known poets in Korea.

“I hope the division ends soon,” said Ko, who had been nominated for the Nobel pirize in literauture multiple times.

The 77-yer-old poet made the remarks in the city of Gunsan, Chunbuk province, which premiered the opera “Maninbo” (Ten Thousand Lives), adopted from his 30-volume epic poem series. This year marks the 25th years since he first began publishing the monumental work.

Ko, who was again nominated for the Nobel this year but didn’t get the prize, doesn’t believe linguistical issues are a critical barrier that prevents the Nobel committee from adequately appreciating his literary pieces.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” he said in the report. “I don’t think (the reaon I didn’t get the prize) was because I write in Korean.”

He yet recognized that it would be a challenging task for his pieces to be translated into English without going through a compromise in the cultural elements embedded in them. “This may be a factor,” he said.

For example, Ko’s remarks, carried by Yonhap News Agency Saturday, was widely seen in Korea as a sign of how earnestly the poet wants the reunication of the Koreas, which has been divided since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Yet for Western audience, the remarks can be interpreted as an expression of his disillusion with Korea, when in fact things are the other way around.

Some say this “Korean way” of saying one thing while meaning another can be difficult to be appreciated by Western literature critics who have different cultures.