Coinciding with the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, the Korean Cultural Center in Cairo (KCC) organized Wednesday an event titled “Korean Literature Evening” at the Pyramisa Suites Hotel in Dokki.
The event drew a large audience of all ages and aimed to explore the aesthetics of Korean literature, the role of translation in conveying it to various cultures around the world, and issues preoccupying the literary scene in South Korea.
The celebration underscored that literature will remain a bridge connecting people across time, space, and cultures, and that Korean literature, both classical and contemporary, offers profound insights into the Korean spirit, values, and experiences, touching on many common human issues.
The event featured the participation of Dr. Mahmoud Abd Elghaffar, Professor of Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, and translator of the novel “The Vegetarian” by Han Kang, the winner of last year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.
In his speech, Abd Elghaffar underscored “The Seduction of Narratives Distorts the Ugliness of Reality: A Reading of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” and Suhair Al-Masadafa’s “Miss Egypt.”
The evening also saw the participation of the acclaimed novelist Baek Min Suk, one of South Korea’s most prominent contemporary writers who has a rich literary career, having authored six short story collections and ten novels.
In his remarks, the novelist addressed art and literature in South Korea during the 1990s, as well as the stages of development of Korean novel writing.
At the end of the event, an open discussion was held with the audience, where Dr. Abdel Ghaffar and Baek answered all participants’ questions.
The KCC also presented the participants with a number of Korean books and novels translated into Arabic.
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