MBC PD Kwon Seok Wins Nexus Writer Award... "A Novel Dedicated to Thorny Adolescents"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] "It's okay. Everything will be fine."

This is the words of writer Kwon Seok, who won the Grand Prize at the 2nd Nexus Novella Writer Award. Also the CEO of MBC AMERICA, he received the grand prize for his novella "Speed" at the award ceremony held on the 18th at the Nexus headquarters building in Paju. He said, "'Speed' was rejected seven times in contests. I persevered through many failures," and added, "Winning this award is like a miracle to me." He also shared, "I had an unusually long adolescence from 6th grade in elementary school to 2nd year in university," and said, "I want to tell the younger me, who was curled up with thorns raised, 'It's okay.' I wrote this work to tell the same to teenagers."

From the left in the photo: photographer Kwon Seok, photographer Kwon Jehun, photographer Han Yona, and Nexus CEO Lim Sangjin. Photo by Nexus

"Speed" deals with the story of the protagonist Uk, who transfers from Seoul to Sokcho and joins the swimming club "Speed" at Badago High School. It unfolds the secret about his father, who was a swimmer but ended his career after failing a doping test.

The judges commented, "The captivating readability of the sentences, the ability to handle and lead a relatively specialized subject, and the sophisticated handling of a hopeful message gave a strong sense of reliability," and added, "We expect that a space of love and understanding beyond the harsh logic of competition will unfold, approaching us as a model of a coming-of-age novel." The main prize judging panel included novelists Park Sang-ryul and Cheon Woon-young, and literary critic Yoo Sung-ho.

The 2nd Nexus Novella Writer Award was conducted 100% online. From the beginning of the year until March, about 300 works were submitted, and three were selected. Besides the grand prize winner "Speed," Kwon Je-hoon's "Proper Attitude for Preparing for College Entrance Exams" and Han Yona's "The False Report Does Not Apologize" were honored with excellence awards. The grand prize winner received a prize of 30 million KRW, and the excellence award winners received 5 million KRW each.

Lim Sang-jin, CEO of Nexus, said, "We will strive for the success and revival of our literary market," and added, "Through the spirit of Nexus, I will dedicate myself to breathing together with you so that Korean literature can become deeper and broader."

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