ACERCA DEL LIBRO El Huésped - Reseña Fue publicado en Corea en el 2001, siendo un bestseller en su país de origen. En
El huésped —como llaman a la viruela en la tradición coreana—, el autor compara dos ideologías occidentales: catolicismo y marxismo, con una plaga mortal, causa de muchos conflictos. Por primera vez en muchos años, el misionero Liu Yosop, que vive en Brooklyn, Nueva york, está a punto de regresar a su patria, Corea del Norte. Días antes de su partida su hermano Liu Yohan muere en su departamento de Nueva Jersey, y empieza a sufrir alucinaciones y pesadillas. Cuando sube al avión hacia Pyong-yang con un pedazo de hueso rescatado de los restos de su hermano incinerado, el fantasma de éste aparece, entra en su cuerpo y los dos se dirigen a su pueblo natal. Allá Yosop recuerda los 45 días terribles de 1950 en que los civiles de Sincheon fueron violentamente masacrados por el ala derecha cristiana, de la que su propio hermano formaba parte. Es una jornada hacia la redención espiritual y liberación de los sufrimientos del mundo.
ACERCA DEL AUTOR Hwang Sok-yong -
Biografía 
Desde la publicación de su primer cuento en 1962, cuando aún era un estudiante de secundaria, Hwang Sok-yong (1943) ha vivido como escritor, en contacto directo conla vida, siendo testigo de primera mano de los tumultuosos eventos de la historia moderna de Corea, y extrayendo inspiración artística de su propia experiencia como obrero vagabundo, activista estudiantil, veterano de la guerra de Vietnam, vocal de mineros y trabajadores textiles, y disidente político. En 1989, Hwang visitó Corea del Norte, violando directamente la Ley de Seguridad Nacional. Durante los siguientes cuatro años, vivió como artista residente en Berlín y Nueva York, y a su retorno a Corea fue arrestado y sentenciado a siete años de cárcel. Fue liberado en 1998, e inmediatamente retomó la escritura, publicando
El Viejo Jardín en el periódico
Dong-a Daily (1984)
Con cuentos como
Crónica de un hombre llamado Han y
El camino a Sampo, y una saga de varios volúmenes titulada
Jang Gilsan, Hwang ha producido trabajos con una singular energía verbal e incomparable sagacidad, que entretienen e instruyen a los lectores. Otros de sus títulos que destacan son:
Far from home (1971), The shadow of arms (1983-1987),
The river that does not flow (1990) y
Simcheong (2003). Hwang ha recibido tres premios de literatura: el
Manhae (1989), y el Danjae (2000 y 2001).
TRADUCCIÓN DE: CHONG Gu Sok y Francisco J. Carranza Romero (Co-traductor)
Comentario (1 comentario)
January 2, 2008
To novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, your home country depends on your mother tongue, not your place of birth. That holds true for global itinerants like Le Clezio.
Born of a French mother based in Nice, France and an English father based in Mauritius, off the southeast coast of Africa, Le Clezio, 67, has traveled through various countries, including Mexico, Nigeria and the United States. His latest destination is Korea ― he teaches French language and literature at Ewha Womans University.
After he finished his first semester here, which ended last month, Le Clezio decided to stay longer. “My life in Korea has been satisfactory, so I decided to stay another year,” Le Clezio said in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo. He said that he can “write better in Korea than in Paris.”
But why Korea? He said Europe was so stable that it’s almost inactive. “Korea is a mixture of the traditional, the modern, nature and the urban. That’s why I like this country,” he said.
Le Clezio is also known for his love of Korean literature, which he describes as dynamic and multicolored. “To the French, Korea has this rigid image that comes from the history of the Korean War, but when I read the work of young Korean writers, I can see that this is a stereotype,” he said, citing Han Gang and Kim Ae-ran as examples.
Le Clezio said that he is a big fan of the late poet Yoon Dong-ju and the novelist Hwang Sok-yong, who calls Le Clezio his “brother” and “comrade.”
Le Clezio was a Nobel literature prize candidates in 2007, and reporters camped outside his house in Seoul on Oct. 11, the day the winner was announced. Asked if he knew reporters were waiting for him, he laughed. “I was out that day, riding the subway,” he said. The award went to Doris Lessing.
Le Clezio has received many literary awards, including the Renaudot for his debut novel “The Deposition,” which deals with the fragility of humanity when confronted by rampant materialism. He was the first recipient of the Paul Morand prize, which is given out by the French Academy, prize for his 1980 novel, “Desert.”
Content with his life in Korea, Le Clezio reads Korean, and Kim Geon-hui, 27, one of his Ewha students, said that she was touched by the novelist’s efforts to speak the language. “He once sent us text messages in Korean saying ‘Good luck,’” Kim said.
His Korean is good enough to order street food like bungeoppang (fish-shaped bread with red bean filling) and dishes like seolleongtang (hot beef broth). But he’s not fully Korean ― he doesn’t drink soju on a regular basis.
Le Clezio describes his students as hard working and smart. “I wasn’t a very generous professor in the United States, but I am determined to give good grades to most of the students here,” he said.
He returns to Seoul next month after trips to the U.S., China and Sweden, ready for more literary explorations here.
By Lee Esther JoongAng Ilbo [sujiney@joongang.co.kr]
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