Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Novelist shares hardships of immigrant families

By Do Je-hae Korean-American author An Na has published several novels focusing on the hardships of immigrant families. The lives of 1.5 generation youths like herself have been the subject of her key works, “A Step from Heaven” and “The Fold.” Both works are available in Korean. The 2002 Michael L. Printz Award winner was in Korea this week to give lectures and talk about her work. The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes excellence in books written for teens. An is the first Korean-American to receive the award. This was her first visit to her country of birth in almost 35 years. She was born in Korea and moved to San Diego, California, when she was five years old. Like most authors, she was a fervent reader as a child. She eventually became a middle school English and history teacher. She turned to writing novels after taking a young adult literature class at Vermont College. An’s debut as a novelist was through the 2002 “A Step From Heaven.” The Korean translation has become popular among young loc

Sep 21, 2012By Do Je-hae

Recent books

Flesh By Martin Harnicek; translated into Korean by Bora Chung; Happy Reading; 224 pp., 10,000 won A local publisher Happy Reading has just released a Korean translation of a Czech political horror novel “Maso” (Flesh) by Martin Harnicek, who has been based in Germany since 1983. The novel was written in the late 1970s during communist rule and — due to its highly controversial and political content — was then published only in exile, by the Czech publishing house “68 Publishers” based in Toronto. Soon, it was also translated into German, French and Polish, but Czech readers could only enjoy it after the Velvet revolution, a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from Nov. 17 to Dec. 29, 1989. Dominated by students who held popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, it saw the collapse of the party’s control of the country, and the subsequent conversion from Czech socialism to a parliamentary republic. — Do Je-hae The Civil Servant’s Notebook By Wang Xiaofang; translat

Sep 21, 2012By Do Je-hae

Group of writers from N. Korea joins PEN International

A group of writers who defected from North Korea gained membership on Friday to PEN International, a London-based worldwide association of writers pursuing freedom of expression, the group said. PEN International approved the establishment of a PEN center for writers who fled North Korea during the 78th PEN International Congress held in the South Korean tourist city of Gyeongju, southeast of Seoul. It became the 144th center of PEN International. "We will make efforts to encourage more writing critical of the North Korean regime and teach novice writers," Jang Hae-sung, head of the PEN center for North Korean writers, said. "We also want to let the world know that writers are heavily restricted in their freedom of expression in North Korea," said Jang who worked as a writer for North Korea's state broadcaster Korean Central Television (KCTV) before defection to South Korea. The congress was to wrap up its weeklong schedule Saturday after adopting a declaration calling for the proper use of languages in the digital environment. About 700 authors, including two forme

Sep 15, 2012

recent books

Thought and Culture of New Korean Religions Written by Park Kwang-soo; Jipmoon Publications: 646 pp., 33,000 won From the late Joseon Kingdom until the peak of Japanese imperialism, numerous new religious movements and spiritual cultural movements emerged in devastated Korea. Unlike established religions in the past that focused on propagating to the ruling classes, these new movements catered to the wider Korean populace and were known as “Korean New Religions.” Park Kwang-soo, professor of Won-Buddhism at Wonkwang University and the director of the Research Center of Religions recently published the book, “Thought and Culture of New Korean Religions.” The author carefully covers the historical and religious culture of the four major Korean new religions: Cheondogyo (Donghak), Jungsangyo, Daejonggyo, and Won-Buddhism. Professor Park elucidates the thoughts and religious culture of new Korean religions, highlighting the religious pioneers that emerged in Korea during this specific time period and explains how these new movements successfully diagnosed and treated the s

Sep 14, 2012

N. Korean-born writers join PEN Int’l

By Rachel Lee A PEN center for North Korean writers was approved to join PEN International on Friday, a writers’ association promoting freedom of speech. The decision was made at the 78th International PEN Congress in Gyeongju. “We hope to let the world know how much writers in North Korea are suffering,” said Jang Hae-sung, a former writer for North Korea’s state broadcaster Korean Central Television (KCTV) who now lives in the South. Jang will lead the new branch. A group of 29 writers who defected from North Korea will set up the center to promote freedom of expression. A vote was held during the congress among the heads of PEN centers worldwide Friday to approve the new one for North Korean defectors. Ahead of the vote, a group of North Korean defector writers spoke at a literature forum in Gyeongju on Tuesday, recounting their experiences of oppression and calling on support for freedom of speech in the Stalinist state. It marks the 144th center of PEN International. Under the theme “Literature, Media, and Human Rights,” the congress hosts forums, lectures and rec

Sep 14, 2012

Renowned travelogue unveils distinct culture of Jeju

By Do Je-hae Yoo Hong-jun's best-selling travelogue has covered various parts of the nation and even North Korea. The latest addition to the six-part series covers one of Korea's most famous tourist destinations ― Jeju Island. The 7th edition of Yoo's “My Survey of Cultural Heritages” series hits stores today. "At first, I wasn't sure if I could do a whole book on Jeju Island. Over the years, I've met many people from Jeju who encouraged me to write about their island," Yoo said at a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. The author writes about not just cultural heritages, but about the people that have lived on the island for generations and how historical events, like the Jeju Uprising in 1948, have affected it and its inhabitants. The uprising was a revolt on Jeju Island off the south coast of the Korean Peninsula, beginning on April 3, 1948. Between 14,000 and 60,000 individuals were killed in fighting or by execution between various factions on the island. The brutal suppression of this rebellion by the South Korean Army resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, t

Sep 14, 2012By Do Je-hae

Literary giants talk about life, literature in Gyeongju

Nobel Literature Prize laureates Wole Soyinka and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio met with South Korean poet Ko Un for a literary forum in Gyeongju, an ancient city southeast of Seoul. Soyinka, Clezio and Ko cited rage, self-satisfaction and condolence, respectively, as the origin of their literary world during the forum held Wednesday as part of the 78th PEN International Congress. The Nigeria-born writer Soyinka opened the talk, saying that writing always makes him happy but entails pain. The pain comes because he is too sensitive to things happening in the society where he belongs. Citing the historical facts that France had conducted nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert in Africa from 1960, Soyinka said he wrote about that, feeling much pressure to do something to combat the wrongdoing at that time, and could eventually prevent another nuclear bomb from detonating in Africa. He recalled that he felt a sense of relief that he at least did something to change the society as a citizen and a writer. On the other hand, Clezio said he writes not for a great cause, others

Sep 13, 2012

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

Sep 11, 2012By Do Je-hae

Making of a Korean maestro

Book recounts life of Chung Myung-whun By Do Je-hae A biography of Korea's foremost conductor Chung Myung-whun was published last week for the first time by Ryu Tae-hyung, a classical music critic who has followed Chung's career for years. Ryu sees hard work and flexible leadership as the key ingredients to Chung's success as a conductor in this new book “Conduct the World With Korean Passion.” Chung is among a handful of Asian conductors who has worked with many major orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. "First of all, Chung is extremely devoted to his craft. He sits at the piano every day, delving at the score," Ryu said. "Also, he is a leader who listens rather than rules, unlike the old masters of the conducting world. He respects his orchestra musicians.” The 360-page book contains personal stories about his childhood ― how his whole family of seven siblings moved to the U.S. for a top musical education in the 1960s and how he gave up piano for his ultimate calling of being a conductor. Having being trained in the U.S. at the Juilliard School, Chung once held

Sep 7, 2012By Do Je-hae

Recent books

Don’t Give Power to the Stupid Michael Schmidt Salomon; translated from German to Korean by Kim Hyun-jung; 222 pp; God’sWin Publisher’s; 12,000 won We act as if human beings are the wisest of all animals. But are we? The author thinks humans are the most stupid species in the world because otherwise they wouldn’t do such things as kill each other for religious reasons or destroy the environment. It’s true that the world is under the control of foolish leaders who, obsessed with their own religion, stage wars against those who have different beliefs. Citing this madness of human beings, the writer says they should be called “Homo demons,” not “Homo sapience.” They grow into “mad men” because they are raised under a system which coerces them into believing a certain religion from childhood. They tend to follow that creed blindly and become hostile toward other religious groups. At the same time, a wrongful education system that puts emphasis on test scores robs students of the chance to grow into wise and ethical citizens. A well-known German scholar and philosopher, th

Sep 7, 2012By Do Je-hae

Books

Books

Novelist shares hardships of immigrant families

Recent books

Group of writers from N. Korea joins PEN International

recent books

N. Korean-born writers join PEN Int’l

Renowned travelogue unveils distinct culture of Jeju

Literary giants talk about life, literature in Gyeongju

NK-born writers to establish own PEN center

Making of a Korean maestro

Recent books

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