Until the announcement of the Han River Nobel Prize in Literature, 'closed'...How was it born in the historical moment? [Y Record]

■ Hosted by: Lee Hyun-woong, anchor
■ Telephone connection: Chung Myung-kyo, honorary professor of Korean at Yonsei University

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN Newswide] when quoting.

◇Anchor> This time, Chinese writers Chan Xue and Haruki Murakami were considered prominent, but some say that it was an unusual award that overturned expectations, and what do you think was the main factor in determining this award?

◆Jeongmyeonggyo> I think there are a number of factors. There was a big change in the Nobel Prize judging committee in the late 2010s. Since then, a new system has been in the process of being established, and I think that's why I did an unconventional experiment there. This is a guess.

◇Anchor> Did you mean that a relatively young, active writer received it?

◆ Jeongmyeonggyo> That's right.

◇Anchor> The Booker Prize and the Medici Prize announce candidates separately before the winner is selected, but the Nobel Prize for Literature does not specify candidate selection or work. Many people are curious about how to judge and select winners when there are no nominees.

◆Jeong Myung-kyo> It was covered in detail by a reporter who was a literary reporter in 2007. We receive recommendations from all sides until May, and then there are 18 judges. Judges read intensively from May to September, followed by weekly review from September to early October, and then a final vote one day in October. The final vote will be in the morning and the announcement will be made in the afternoon.

◇Anchor> In a way, it can be seen as the winner from several people who are not specific judges, and it is the first Korean and first Asian woman to win the award. It seems that it will have a significant impact on literature as well as on the history of Korean literature, what do you predict?

◆ Jeongmyeonggyo> It's a very important case. Korean literature has been known to the world since the 1990s, but until now, individual writers have been known mainly by major writers, but Korean literature has not been known together. However, the Nobel Prize is so big, and since Han Kang is a woman representing Asia and the first winner of Korean literature, I hope that Korean literature will finally enter the trajectory of world literature.

Excerpted from
: Lee Mi-young, editor of the digital news team

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