Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Korean literature in English #9

The Library of Korean Literature series is a collection of ten Korean novels published in English in the U.S. last year. (photo courtesy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea)
The Library of Korean Literature series is a collection of ten Korean novels published in English in the U.S. last year. (photo courtesy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea)

The ninth volume of the ten-part Library of Korean Literature is Park Wan-suh’s (1931-2011) “Lonesome You.”

This work was published in 2000 and is a collection of ten short stories, including “Withered Flower,” “Psychedelic Butterfly” and “That Girl’s House.”

“Psychedelic Butterfly” tells the story of an elderly woman who has endured all kinds of suffering as a widow and as a mother of three children. The gray-haired woman feels uneasy staying at either her son’s or daughter’s house. She ends up being diagnosed with dementia, which, sadly, brings her more peace and freedom than being with her children, as the disease clears up all the memories of her ordeal.

“Withered Flower” presents a love affair that sparked between a widow, who soon turns 60, and a middle-aged man while traveling on a bus.

The seventh story in the collection, “Thorn Inside Petals,” is told in the first person. The narrator subtly denounces the indifference and ignorance of the daughter-in-law toward her older sister. She also reminisces about an elderly French immigrant who worked as a dress maker. She later found out that what the French woman was really making for a living was burial clothes for upscale clients.

In these stories, the writer is believed to have tried to bring to light the later-life of the elderly and, also, immigrants, full of loneliness.


“Lonesome You” penned by Park Wan-suh was published in English last year.
“Lonesome You” penned by Park Wan-suh was published in English last year.

The title story, “Lonesome You,” too, is centered on an elderly couple. The husband’s shabby looks, which have given in to the irresistible forces of time, are straightforwardly shown as seen in the wife’s eyes.

The “you” who is described as being lonesome in the title is none other than the husband sitting next to the wife. The last scene shows the wife rubbing her husband’s shins, covered with the stains of age, disclosing her “acceptance at growing old” and the “sympathy” that has stirred up inside her for her husband.

The following is what the writer says in the preface of the collection, which she published at the age of 67:

“Don’t pity the elderly, as they feel that the world is still worth living in. I didn’t write this to make you feel that way, but that is true because I, one of them, still feel like I enjoy my life.

I don’t think that life is always sweet. It can be bitter sometimes. It is only the wisdom of age that can tell the taste of bitterness, and I accept getting old. That is what I cannot hide, no matter how hard I try…”


Writer Park Wan-suh (photo courtesy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea)
Writer Park Wan-suh (photo courtesy of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea)
Park Wan-suh was born in 1931 in Gaepung-gun, Gyeonggi-do, currently in North Korea. Park entered Seoul National University in 1950, but the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53) cut her studies short. In 1970, at the age of 40, the writer made her relatively late literary debut with “The Naked Tree,” her first full-length novel about the Korean War and the tragic division of the country.

She continued to create numerous works that have long been considered a new chapter in Korean literature. They are usually themed on the division of Korea or on women who try to shape their identity.

Her works include the novels “Warm Was The Winter That Year” and “Mother’s Garden,” as well as novels that portray the materialism prevalent among the middle-class, such as “A Reeling Afternoon” and “Identical Apartments.”

Park’s work also targets the difficulties facing women, as told in “The Woman Standing” and “The Dreaming Incubator.”

Source:Korea.net 

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

대우건설 대학생홍보대사 11기 모집

 
 
 
 
 

Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) 2014

Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) 2014 to Study in any field including Engineering, Medical, Arts and Others in South Korea.

Do apply in here. See the procedure and how to apply by opening and downloading the files on the links given below

There are two ways to go for it:-

  1) University Selection.
  2) Embassy Selection

For University selection, they will select in March and recommend you to NIIED in April, Therefore, see the universities openings for March
 
About Embassy procedure, you can read in documents

http://www.studyinkorea.go.kr/en/main.do

(Open the first or second link in notice section of the page opened)

OR

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B12bxk__lvHJTlRiR0x3aVlLZkE&usp=drive_web

Sunday, 2 February 2014

Yes, Its me exploring the different aspects of Korean Culture in a much more meaningful way.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

President holds series of talks in India




President Park Geun-hye, now on her four-day state visit to India, held a series of talks with the Lok Sabha’s, the lower house of parliament’s, Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on January 16.

They exchanged their in-depth opinions on how to enhance bilateral cooperation and deal with a wide range of issues on the Korean Peninsula and worldwide.

The meetings came just after President Park had a summit with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and signed an array of agreements with her counterpart.

Korean President Park Geun-hye (left, center) holds talks with the lower house of parliament’s Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj (right) during Park’s state visit to India on January 16. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
President Park Geun-hye (second from left) holds talks with the lower house of parliament’s Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj (right) during Park’s state visit to India on January 16. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)

During the talks with Sushma Swaraj, President Park said, “Here, I saw, in person, how far India has come. This country has strong potential for economic growth.” Stressing that Korea’s strong point is its manufacturing industry while India’s is in IT services, the president emphasized that the two economies have complementary economic structures and that therein lies high potential for a further expansion of bilateral cooperation across many fields.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader said that she was deeply impressed by Park’s visit to her nation, pointing out that this visit takes place less than one year after the president took office.

Swaraj also said, “I have strong confidence that her diplomatic efforts with India are sure to succeed during her term, with still another four years to go.”

“Even if my Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party) comes into power in the next election, we would respect every single word from those many agreements signed by the Korean and Indian governments at this time,” she stressed.

Korean President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with the lower house of parliament’s Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj during the January 16 talks in India. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with the lower house of parliament’s Opposition Leader Sushma Swaraj during the January 16 talks in India. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)

President Park expressed her deepest gratitude to the Indian government for its swift action of releasing a statement and sending stern messages condemning North Korea’s long-range missile tests in 2012 and its nuclear test in February 2013. She called for India’s continuous support and cooperation for her government’s policies on the North.

The president went on to say that the North’s highly developed nuclear weapons are posing a huge threat to world peace, as well as to the peninsula. In response, the Indian opposition leader sympathized with Koreans for their pain and worries caused by ceaseless provocative actions by the North.

Following the meeting, President Park also had talks with Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari. She told the Indian vice president that she is so happy to see that many Indians have a keen interest in Korean culture and K-pop, adding, “It is, eventually, ‘culture’ that bridges the hearts of people from different cultures.”

Korean President Park Geun-hye (left, center) holds talks with Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari (right, center). (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
President Park Geun-hye (fourth from left) holds talks with Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari (right, center). (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)

“Few countries worldwide have their own movie industry that keeps on going so well. In that sense, both Korea and India have been quite good at it. India’s high-quality movies, food and even yoga have been growing in popularity in Korea,” she added.

In addition, the Korean president called for the world to shift to a new paradigm so as to tackle problems underlying the world economy, such as low growth, high unemployment and income inequality.

As she explained Korea’s strategy for developing the creative industries, the president said that there is quite a lot of room for cooperation between the two nations to develop such creative industries. Her call for the new paradigm was met with strong support from the Indian vice president.

Korean President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari during the January 16 talks in India. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
President Park Geun-hye (left) shakes hands with Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari during the January 16 talks in India. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
 
source:korea.net

Culture ties Korea, India together


“Korea and India have many things in common in terms of history and culture and even both countries’ Independence Day falls on the same day, August 15. Let’s expand cultural exchanges and further solidify the cultural ties between our two countries.”

So said President Park Geun-hye as she inaugurated the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort, a fortified former palace located in the center of Delhi, India, on January 17 during her four-day state visit to India.

There, the president voiced the importance of “communication through culture.”

President Park Geun-hye (center) participates in a tape-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
President Park Geun-hye (center) participates in a tape-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

The Red Fort, a 254 acre palace founded in 1648 by the 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1657), is one of India’s most important cultural treasures and was even designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, President Park visited the Indian historical site, also known as a symbol of the nation’s independence from British rule in 1947, to pay her respects to and to show her interest in Indian culture. It was a step to enhance the two countries’ cultural ties as well.

Held in the Quarter Guard Gallery in the Red Fort, the handicraft exhibition showcased 49 art works by 22 Korean traditional and modern craftsmen. Korea’s artistic crafts were shared with the Indian visitors, including Kim Jeong-ok’s moon-shaped white porcelain jars, Kwon Young-jin’s lacquered boxes inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Han Seong-jae’s birch-made speakers and An Min-sik’s silver pots.

President Park Geun-hye (third from right) appreciates craftwork by macramé artist Noh Mi-ja (left) at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
President Park Geun-hye (third from right) appreciates craftwork by macramé artist Noh Mi-ja (left) at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

Tara Gandhi (center), the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, puts a handcrafted bracelet around the wrist of President Park Geun-hye (right) at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
Tara Gandhi (center), the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, puts a handcrafted bracelet around the wrist of President Park Geun-hye (right) at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

The show was attended by more than 40 people representing the culture and arts field from both Korea and India. Among the participants included Tara Gandhi, the president of the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) director general Pravin Srivastava, the Indian vice minister of culture and famous Korean craft artist Seo Young-hee.

Participating knotting and macramé artist Noh Mi-ja presented Tara Gandhi with a handcrafted bracelet while demonstrating how to do macramé, a form of textile-making using knots.

Noh said that her hope is that the already existing friendship between Korea and India will further be tied together like the knots of her handicrafts. In response, Gandhi said in Korean, “It’s so beautiful,” and put another one of her bracelets around President Park’s wrist.

President Park Geun-hye (right) admires an array of works by Korean craftsmen at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
President Park Geun-hye (right) admires an array of works by Korean craftsmen at the Korean Handicraft Exhibition at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

Meanwhile, the first-ever Korean language audio guide for the Red Fort was inaugurated on the very day of Park’s visit.

“I’ve heard that there are a growing number of Korean tourists visiting this site. This audio service will definitely help them get a better understanding about Indian culture,” President Park hoped.

President Park Geun-hye is led to the Diwan-i-Am, the Hall of Audience, at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
President Park Geun-hye is led to the Diwan-i-Am, the Hall of Audience, at the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

President Park Geun-hye (second from right) listens to the guide’s explanation as she admires the red sandstone pillars inside the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)
President Park Geun-hye (second from right) listens to the guide’s explanation as she admires the red sandstone pillars inside the Red Fort in Delhi, India, on January 17. (Photo: Jeon Han)

source:korea.net

कोरियाई प्रायद्वीप का बदलता भू-राजनीतिक परिदृश्य

 कोरियाई प्रायद्वीप पर उत्तर और दक्षिण कोरिया के संबंधों की वर्तमान स्थिति एक नए युग की भू-राजनीतिक प्रतिस्पर्धा का प्रतीक है। यह बदलाव वैश्...