NK-born writers to establish own PEN center

By Do Je-hae

A key outcome of the 78th International PEN Congress underway in Gyeongju is the establishment of a PEN center for writers who have defected from North Korea.

A group of writers who have fled North Korea are expected to set up their own center under PEN International, a writers’ association that was founded originally in London to promote freedom of expression. A vote will be held during the congress among the heads of PEN centers worldwide Friday to approve the new center for North Korean defectors.

Ahead of the vote, a group of North Korean defector writers spoke at a literature forum in Gyeongju, Tuesday, recounting their experiences of oppression and calling on support for freedom of speech in North Korea.

“I wanted to write works of truth. I published poems that I knew would get me in trouble with the authorities,” said Doh Myung-hak said. He was arrested in 2004 and sent to the mountains for writing reactionary work.

“In North Korea, loyalty to the state is the only way to survive. There is no freedom of expression for writers.”

Jang Hae-sung, a former writer for North Korea’s state broadcaster Korean Central Television (KCTV), is expected to lead the PEN center for North Korean writers.

“By establishing the center, we hope to let the world know how much writers in North Korea are suffering,” Jang said.

When established, it will become the 144th center of PEN International.

The PEN Congress will close Saturday.

Under the theme of “Literature, Media, and Human Rights,” the congress will host forums, lectures and recitation of poems.

Since the establishment of PEN International in 1921, it has promoted literature, defended the freedom of expression and developed a community of writers worldwide. There are 143 centers in 102 countries. Korean PEN was set up in 1954, immediately after the 1950-1953 Korean War.