‘Park Kyung-ri Literary Award Winner’ Amin Maalouf "The Importance of Literature in a Society Feeling Hostility is Great"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] "With technological advances, we have come to know people on the other side of the globe, but we live in an era of prejudice. Literature is what can solve such problems."

On the 12th, Amin Maalouf, a French writer of Lebanese origin and the recipient of the 11th Park Kyung-ri Literary Award, emphasized at a press conference held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, that literature is a tool for peace and that this is the duty of literature. Referring to the war in Ukraine, he said, "Living in an era of technological advancement is a privilege, but we are in a situation where mutual hostility exists, and this is the problem we face today. Literature, which allows us to understand others more deeply, is more important than ever."

Maalouf has diagnosed the problems of modern civilization and proposed alternatives through literature. His representative work, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, presented a balanced perspective on the clash between the Western and Arab worlds, and with Rock of Tanios, which won the 1993 French Prix Goncourt, he illuminated the suffering history and sorrows of the Lebanese people.

This literary perspective was influenced by his upbringing. Maalouf was born in 1949 in Beirut, Lebanon, and grew up in an unstable social atmosphere. He explained, "Lebanon, where I was born and raised, was on the path to democratization in the 1950s and 60s, but the following decade deteriorated terribly and failed to overcome difficulties." Referring again to the war in Ukraine, he added, "Humans tend to be satisfied with short-term solutions and do not seek long-term solutions. Because they cannot see the long term, such problems arise."

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