Monthly Magazine 'Ppaeatgin Gohyang' Launched to Honor Daegu-born Novelist Hyeon Jin-geon

The cover of the inaugural issue of the monthly magazine "Ppaeatgin Gohyang," honoring novelist Hyeon Jin-geon from Daegu.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] A monthly magazine titled "Ppaeatgin Gohyang" (Stolen Hometown), honoring Bingheo Hyun Jin-geon (1900?1943), a novelist and independence activist from Daegu, has been launched, with the inaugural issue set to be published on January 1 next year.

On the 28th at 3 p.m., the launch ceremony of the "Ppaeatgin Gohyang" editorial committee was held at Hyun Jin-geon School in Namsan-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, attended by Editor-in-Chief Kim Mi-kyung, and editorial committee members Oh Kyu-chan, Cha Woo-mi, Bae Jeong-ok, and Jeong Eung-taek.

Editor-in-Chief Kim Mi-kyung stated, "Hyun Jin-geon is a pioneer of modern and contemporary Korean literature and an independence activist who led the incident of erasing the Japanese imperial flag. However, it is regrettable that the citizens of Daegu do not even know that he was from Daegu. Therefore, as part of a commemorative project, we decided to publish a monthly magazine."

"Ppaeatgin Gohyang" will feature one of Hyun Jin-geon’s novels each month, annotated with explanations for unfamiliar vocabulary, and will include translated versions of the work in Chinese and English. This is part of a plan to publish a tentative "Hyun Jin-geon Chinese Novel Collection" at the end of the year and send it abroad.

The inaugural issue focuses on Hyun Jin-geon’s first published novel, "Heesaenghwa" (Sacrificial Flower), which is also the subtitle. It will also feature serialized works such as "Mountain and I" by Jeong Gi-sook, Professor Emeritus at Keimyung University, as well as poems by Park Ji-geuk, Lee Moon-bok, Kim Gyu-won, and essays by Seo Yong-deok, Lee Won-ho, and Chu Yeon-chang.

The title "Ppaeatgin Gohyang" is derived from the imagery in poet Lee Sang-hwa’s "Does Spring Come to the Stolen Fields?" and Hyun Jin-geon’s "Hometown." For this reason, the editorial committee has announced that "Ppaeatgin Gohyang" will consistently publish articles addressing national issues such as the Imjin War, the independence movement, and reunification.

They also plan to hold events commemorating figures related to the national movement. On the 30th at 6 p.m., a "90th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony for Independence Activist Hyun Jeong-geon" will be held at The China in the Innovation City, Dong-gu, Daegu. Hyun Jeong-geon, the third elder brother of Hyun Jin-geon, was an independence activist who was imprisoned for 4 years and 3 months in a Japanese colonial prison, tortured, and ultimately passed away.

Novelist Jeong Man-jin, who is serializing the novel "Uhyeon Seoru" in "Ppaeatgin Gohyang," expressed, "Commemorating an outstanding national literary figure monthly through a book is a first in our country’s literary history and is very meaningful. Therefore, I have conceived a novel that can introduce the Lee Sang-hwa family and Daegu independence activists broadly."

Hyun Jin-geon was born in Daegu and worked as a reporter for the Dong-A Ilbo. In 1936, he was imprisoned for one year due to the incident of erasing the Japanese imperial flag. He left behind numerous works including "Bincheo" (The Poor House) and "A Society That Encourages Drinking."

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