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Book for You
[Book for You] I Still Miss My Father.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello!Providing comfort through the medium of books,I’m Sohn Jeong-seung, the book prescriber!
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for you] I’ve Received Two Proposals.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello! Providing comfort through the medium of books,I’m Sohn Jeong-seung, the book prescriber!
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] Over two years, I still can't get over him.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello everyone! We’re the book prescribers, providing comfort in your time of need through the medium of books.I’m SohnJeong-seung !
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] Is it a problem that I’m asexual?
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): We are book prescribers, providing comfort in your time of need through the medium of books. I’m Sohn Jeong-seung. Kim Sanghyuk(Kim): And I’m Kim Sanghyuk. Sohn: Today’s letter is from someone who was faced with rejection from others due to her asexuality, a sexual orientation that hasn’t received a lot of societal attention to date.Kim: This letter comes to us from Egypt, written by UGLY DUCK.
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] I'd like to learn how to love myself before I try loving anyone else.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello, viewers of KLN’s Book for You! This is Sohn Jeong-seung, sending warm messages of comfort through the medium of books!Sohn: This year I’m joined by a new book prescriber to double the warmth of that comfort, and here he is!
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] What should I do to increase my courage and confidence?
You Hee-kyoung(You): Hello. This is Book for You from KLN. I’m your host, Yoo Hee-kyoung, a poet. Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): I’m Sohn Jeong-seung, director of Thanks Books. You: Do people tell you you seem confident? Sohn: Yes, sometimes. You: Wow. Sohn: I’m the type to come forward, not on my own but when someone urges me to. You: A confident answer. Why suddenly this talk about confidence? Sohn: That’s the topic of today’s letter. Will you tell us about it? You: Yes, I’ll read the letter for you. Mayang’s letter addressed to ‘Book for You’ I am an introvert with the inhibitions and fear of socializing or public speaking. While dreaming of being a teacher sharing knowledge with students, I don’t have the confidence to be in front of them. What should I do to increase my courage and confidence? You: Confidence is something I also lack. I should leave all the talking to you, the one full of confidence. Sohn: Oh, no. You: First, let me prescribe a book to Mayang. It’s a poetry collection titled Inglorious Black Blood. It was first published in 1995, out of print for a while but back in publication in 2014. One of the major poetry collections from Minumsa, the publisher well known to you for Kim Ji-young, Born 1982. Heo Yeon, the poet, used to want to be a priest, but gave up that dream and became a poet. He had a long career as a newspaper reporter. This is the first of his total of five poetry collections. What I can do to you is not living in this world Not living in this country Not living this era If I had been rainwater to you Would you be alive Alive in the river’s swell Salutations to all that flows without forgetting Even so, the thought that I am butterfly in sunset From "Thought That I Am Butterfly" (translated by Hoyoung Moon) You: The poet was deeply in love with ‘you’ but broke up. The only thing the poet can do for ‘you’ is to be gone, but that’s impossible. What remains is ‘me,’ or ‘hope.’ What Mayang must have, and does have, is hope. Mayang exists as a human being in this world and must be self-protective no matter what happens. There’s a chance this poetry collection will find Mayang. In fact, it is being translated and will be published in English. Hopefully, Mayang will read it someday and have hope. The one thing we can never let go, the thing that makes anything possible, even the butterfly in the sunset, is ‘hope.’ Sohn: As for my impression from the letter, Mayang may not be a teacher yet,but struck me as one. Mayang already has the right mindset and makes me envy her future students. Here is a book that will give Mayang courage: Listen, I’m Speaking, a novel by Jeong Yong-joon. Sohn: The title says it all. “Listen, I’m Speaking!” Might as well have an exclamation mark. You: As in “Attention!” Sohn: Exactly. This book is about Muyeon, a 14-year-old patient of ‘Spring Speech Clinic.’ But Muyeon is not his real name. This clinic’s patients are assigned names after the words they cannot pronounce. You: So, Muyeon can’t pronounce ‘Muyeon’? Sohn: Right. ‘Muyeon’ is the name of his middle school. This clinic has other patients, including a doctor who is called ‘prescription’ because that’s the word he cannot pronounce. Their speech disorders are due to psychological reasons. They try, fail, run away from the curriculum, try again, only to fail again... This is repeated throughout the story. A spoiler alert. Muyeon suddenly becomes... a fluent speaker...is not how the story ends. You: Too bad. Sohn: But hope remains. The story won’t leave you sad at all. You: Even though Muyeon can’t pronounce that word, what remains is hope so it won’t make you sad in the end. Sohn: That’s right. To be fair, public speaking is scary and difficult to anyone. You: It is. Sohn: Let me read some related passages. Normal people stutter, too. They aren’t good speakers, either. Nor do they say everything they want to. Everyone is a stutterer to a certain extent. We’re simply a little worse than others. You will see once you stop stuttering. From Listen, I’m Speaking Sohn: Here is my message for Mayang: She is already fully qualified to be a teacher and all she needs is a little more courage. Teenagers seem to have a special radar. They recognize adults who empathize with them. You: They do! Like a magic eye! Sohn: Exactly. Mayang already has that empathy. I believe that’s enough to be a good teacher. You: We’re all humans, good at something and bad at something else. What matters is whether we do what we can do right now, see where we stand and what more to prepare. Sohn: This was another happy episode of sharing our stories through books. You: We promise to come backwith other books to comfort us. Sohn: Book for You You: Book for You You&Sohn: Bye~
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] I hope to find courage to achieve my dream.
You Hee-kyoung(You) : Hello! This is Book for You from KLN. I am your host, You Hee-kyoung, a poet.
Today, we have a special new book prescriber. Please introduce yourself.
Sohn Jeong-seung(Sohn): Hello. I am Sohn Jeong-seung, your new book prescriber and the director of Thanks Books.
You: How are you doing these days?
Sohn: It’s New Year. I am setting new goals and plans, preparing for a new beginning.
You: Today’s episode, based on a letter from the Philippines, is also about the future and resolutions.
Sohn: That’s right.
You: Will you read the letter for us?
Lyka’s letter addressed to Book for You
I am looking for a job as a certified librarian, a dream come true. But my real dream is to open a coffee shop with a small library in it, where customers could relax while browsing my collection. This is an exciting dream, but I wonder, not even having a job yet, when I will have enough money saved to make it come true. I hope to find courage through your book prescription.
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] Can you recommend books about adventure, travel or journey?
Jeong Ji Hye(Jeong) : Hello. This is Book for You from KLN.
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] Any Korean books to help me become a best parent?
You Hee-kyoung(You) : Hello.
This is ‘Book for You’ from KLN.
I am your host, You Hee-kyoung, a poet.
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Book for You] I'm not sure if I will be living long term in Korea
Jeong Ji Hye(Jeong): Hello. I am Jeong Ji Hye, and I will be giving book prescriptions under Book for You, KLN’s online program.
by Korean Literature Now
Book for You
[Delve: Answers to Readers’ Queries]
Copyright ⓒ BY.NONAME DELVE to examine in detail In this section, members of our editorial board answer questions about Korean literature culled from an open survey from our readers. Touching upon recent trends, historical antecedents, and literary devices, we hope you enjoy examining some deeper aspects of thoughts readers have had about Korean literature.—Ed. [Delve] How do Korean authors come up with character names? http://www.kln.or.kr/strings/columnsView.do?bbsIdx=719&searchCategory=QA [Delve] Why does Korean lit have a serious and heavy image? http://www.kln.or.kr/strings/columnsView.do?bbsIdx=723&searchCategory=QA [Delve] How do you interpret the growing demand for genre literature? http://www.kln.or.kr/strings/columnsView.do?bbsIdx=724&searchCategory=QA [Delve] Is the “villain” of classical literature really evil? http://www.kln.or.kr/strings/columnsView.do?bbsIdx=725&searchCategory=QA
by Kang Young-sook et al.
Book for You
[Delve] Is the “villain” of classical literature really evil?
In this section, members of our editorial board answer questions about Korean literature culled from an open survey from our readers. Touching upon recent trends, historical antecedents, and literary devices, we hope you enjoy examining some deeper aspects of thoughts readers have had about Korean literature.—Ed. Is the “villain” of classical literature really evil? The plots of the classic novels follow a narrative scheme very similar to that of fairy tales, where scholar Vladimir Propp showed the existence of a common structure to all the cultures of the world. According to this structure there is a “sender” and a “recipient,” a “subject” and an “object,” a “helper” and an “enemy.” This also applies to political and religious ideologies: in Christianity the sender is God and the recipient is humankind. The subject is Jesus Christ and the object is Heaven. The helper is the Church and the enemy is the devil. In Marxism, the sender is History, the receiver is humankind. The subject is the working class, the object is a classless society. The helper is the working class itself; the enemy is the bourgeoisie. A “bad character” (real or imaginary), therefore, is necessary (despite the true nature of the character himself) in order to have a complete plot. In this way, we could say that, in the Tale of Chunhyang (õðúÅîî), the sender is the King, the receiver is Korean society. The subject is Chunhyang, the object is the fulfillment of her love and a free marriage. The helper is Mongryong (Ù”×£) and the enemy is the evil Governor Byeon Hakto (ܦùÊ‘³). Whether Byeon Hakto (if he really existed) was actually evil or not does not matter. The evil character is necessary in order to better bring out the virtues of the protagonist. To give a sensational example, in some versions of the novel Hong Gildong-jeon (ûóÑΑÛîî), where the protagonist even challenges the very state (and therefore the King), the quoted King (i.e., Hong Gildong’s opponent) is Sejong (á¦ðó), even if history evaluates Sejong to be an excellent king. Maurizio Riotto Philologist, KLN Editorial Board Member
by Maurizio Riotto