The inaugural Korean Literature Festival is slated from Sept. 12-25 at several venues nationwide including the Daehangno (Daehakro) neighborhood of Seoul's Jongno-gu District. Shown is a scene from the Seoul International Book Fair on June 18 at COEX Mall in Seoul's Gangnam-gu District. (Lee Jeongwoo)
By Lee Jihae
The inaugural Korean Literature Festival will be held this month at select venues nationwide.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Sept. 10 announced that in collaboration with the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, Arts Council Korea, National Museum of Korean Literature and Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea, it will host the festival from Sept. 12-25 in the Daehangno (Daehakro) neighborhood of Seoul's Jongno-gu District and other places nationwide.
The event starts on Sept. 12 at the multipurpose cultural space Ground Seoul in the Insa-dong neighborhood of Jongno-gu with a dialogue between author Hyun Ki Young and Chinese writer Yan Lianke. Hyun's 1978 novel "Uncle Suni" brought attention to the 1948-54 massacre in Jeju Island, and Yan has won the Lu Xun Literary Prize of China and Franz Kafka Prize of Austria for his social commentary and satire.
Another 10 authors from eight countries including Victoria Mas (France), Sarah Pinsker (U.S.), Yan and Jonas Hassen Khemiri (Sweden) will interact with their Korean counterparts and attend Q&As with readers.
Domestic and foreign writers will be paired for book talks: Lee Suzy, the first Korean to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and French picture book writer Adrien Parlange; Khemiri, a leading figure in diaspora literature, and Kim Juhea, a Korean American who won the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award of Russia; and Seong Haena, Korean author of the bestselling collection of short stories "Honmono," and Japan's Yumi Fuzuki.
A dialogue is slated for Sept. 13 at the Artist's House in Daehangno between Park Chun-hue, aka Hue Park, creator and lyricist of the hit musical "Maybe Happy Ending" that won six Tony Awards, and poet Kim Hyun on the theme "The art world is more difficult than thought and as happy as thought."
Poet Kim Hyesoon, who won the International Prize for Literature from Germany's Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), on Sept. 19 at ARKO Arts Theater Small Theater will read in its entirety her new poem collection "Synchronized Sea Anemone" with poets Kim Sang-hyeok and Shin Hae-uk.
More information on the festival is on the official websites of the Seoul International Writers' Festival (www.siwf.or.kr) and Literary Week 2025(https://arko.or.kr/content/5445).
Official poster for Korean Literature Festival (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)