Kim Su-young, Jang Yong-hak, Ryu Ju-hyun and Others '100th Birth Anniversary' Literary Festival to be Held

Poet Kim Su-young

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Daesan Foundation announced on the 3rd that it will hold the "2021 Centennial Literary Festival" commemorating literary figures born 100 years ago, in collaboration with the Korean Writers' Association, under the theme "The Birth of Citizens, The Language of Love."

Since 2001, this literary festival has annually reexamined Korean writers who have reached their 100th birth anniversary. This year, eight writers born in 1921 were selected as the featured authors: Kim Gwangsik, Kim Sooyoung, Kim Jongsam, Ryu Juhyun, Park Taejin, Lee Byungjoo, Jang Yonghak, and Jo Byunghwa. The centennial literary festival for these writers will begin with a symposium on the 13th, followed by a literary night and various side events.

Kang Jinho, professor at Sungshin Women's University and chair of the event planning committee, said at a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, "Writers born in 1921, including poet Kim Sooyoung, are masters of modern literature. Their works, shaped through experiences of Japanese colonialism, war, liberation, and military dictatorship, influenced various literary movements in Korea such as modernism."

Literary figures born in 1921 were born as colonized subjects and grew up experiencing the Manchurian Incident, the subsequent Pacific War, and World War II. In their adulthood, they endured the August 15 Liberation and the Korean War firsthand.

Having spent their prime years in turbulent times, their literary activities began later than those of other generations. Most of the 1921-born writers spent long periods studying at universities in Japan. During this time, Jang Yonghak and Lee Byungjoo were conscripted as student soldiers, while Kim Gwangsik and Kim Sooyoung fled to Manchuria to avoid conscription.

After enduring these hardships, they embarked on their literary careers between 1945 and the 1960s. The earliest to debut was Kim Sooyoung, who published the poem "Song of the Graveyard" in the "Art Village" in 1945, and later released a joint poetry collection "New City and the Chorus of Citizens" with Kim Kyungrin and Park Inhwan, establishing his name in the literary world.

Jang Yonghak began his literary activities by serializing "Satire" in the Yonhap Newspaper in 1949, followed by the short story "Geocentric Theory" in 1950, which was recommended by the literary magazine "Literature."

Ryu Juhyun debuted in the literary world by publishing "Disturbance (煩擾)" in "Baekmin" in 1948. Park Taejin started his career by publishing "From the New Land" in the Yonhap Newspaper in 1948, and Jo Byunghwa began his work by releasing the poetry collection "The Heritage I Want to Abandon" in 1949.

During the Korean War, Kim Jongsam published "Gardener (園丁)" and "Stone Wall" while in exile in Daegu. Kim Gwangsik began his activities by publishing the short story "Rhapsody" in "Sasanggae" in 1954, and Lee Byungjoo started with the novel "Alexandria" published in "Sedae" magazine in 1965.

Their postwar literature, spanning the 1950s and 1960s, explored themes such as war and division, national issues, the construction of civil society, and capitalist modernization.

The war abruptly uprooted their lives, creating a state of mental anomie, causing writers to lose the language to view subjects and objects, society and individuals.

The April 19 Revolution became a moment of reflection and rebirth, confronting the tragedies of history stemming from student soldier experiences and the Korean War. Through the awakening of free consciousness and the conditions for forming civil society enabled by April 19, they escaped the shackles of guilt and established themselves as subjects with historical responsibility. This manifested in two main ways: "the birth of citizens" and "the birth of new literary forms." Accordingly, the theme of this year's literary festival was set as "The Birth of Citizens, The Language of Love."

To reexamine their literary worlds and discuss the future of Korean literature, a symposium will be held at 10 a.m. on the 13th at the 23rd-floor convention hall of the Kyobo Building in Gwanghwamun. Starting with an overview by Professor Kang Jinho of Sungshin Women's University, literary critics including Park Suyeon, Kim Jonghun, Choi Hyunsik, Hong Yonghee, Hong Gidon, Yeon Namkyung, Jeong Howoong, and Jeong Eungyeong will present works of the featured authors.

On the 14th at 7 p.m., a stage reading of the featured writers' works will take place at the second-floor performance hall "Ulrimteo" of the Jeon Taeil Memorial Hall. Young writers will also participate, and the event will be live-streamed on YouTube.

Side events include ▲Kim Sooyoung Centennial Poetry Exhibition ▲Centennial Poets Academic Conference (June 26 at Korea University) ▲Academic Conference "Reexamining the Literature of Jang Yonghak, Lee Byungjoo, Ryu Juhyun, and Kim Gwangsik" (November 27 at Seoul National University), with author-specific events planned throughout the year.

Additionally, the families of Ryu Juhyun, Jang Yonghak, and Jo Byunghwa will share recollections of the writers as fathers in the quarterly magazine "Daesan Culture" 2021 Summer issue under the title "My Father."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.