Roundup Newswires

Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network

K-pop, K-movies, a Nobel prize … and now K-poetry: book of wise words adds to Korea’s cultural glory

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Admin

After Han Kang’s Nobel award and South Korean cinema hits, Penguin publishes new English edition of maxims by Lee Seong-bok in wake of US success

A collection of wise maxims written by a 72-year old poet, calmly setting out illuminating advice to other poets, is the latest and perhaps most unlikely book to benefit from a surge in demand for South Korean literature.

“Kick against words like you would kick back on a swing. You’ve got to feel as if the soles of your feet are touching the sky,” suggests Lee Seong-bok in his hit title Indeterminate Inflorescence.

South Korean author Han Kang wins the 2024 Nobel prize in literature

Posted on October 10, 2024 by Admin

Han, whose works include The Vegetarian, was praised for her ‘intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life’

The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to 53-year-old South Korean novelist Han Kang for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”. Her works include The Vegetarian, The White Book, Human Acts and Greek Lessons.

“I was able to talk to Han Kang on the phone,” said Swedish Academy permanent secretary Mats Malm after announcing the winner. “She was having an ordinary day it seemed – had just finished supper with her son. She wasn’t really prepared for this, but we have begun to discuss preparations for December” – when Han will be presented with the Nobel prize.