The 78th PEN International Congress to feature North Korean writers, human rights issues


Three Nobel Prize winners in literature will be in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next month to discuss human rights, literature and media at the upcoming 78th PEN International Congress.

Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio will give lectures about their literary works along with renowned local poet Ko Un, PEN International Korean Center announced on Wednesday. No previous edition of the annual event has ever featured three Nobel Prize winners at once, according to the organization. 

“It’s very rare to see three Nobel Prize winners in literature all at once and we are very excited,” said Lee Gil-won, president of International PEN Korea Center during a press conference in Seoul.

“This year’s theme has been selected as ‘Literature, Media and Human Rights,’ as there have been a lot of pro-democracy movements around the world in recent years. And we think the media is deeply linked to these movements, as well as the issues of human rights.”

A London-based international association of writers, International PEN has been hosting the congress, which consists of networking and literary events and lectures, in different cities around the world. The event has been held in Korea twice before ― in 1970 and 1988. Both the 1970 and 1988 editions were held in Seoul, and it is the first time for Gyeongju to host the congress.

During the upcoming congress, a group of writers who have defected from North Korea are expected to join PEN International and open their own PEN center, said president of International PEN Korea Center Lee Gil-won. There are currently 143 PEN centers around the world in 114 different countries.

“PEN International is very much interested in the works of defected writers because we as an organization value freedom of expression,” said Lee.

“Some of these writers live in Korea, while some live in other countries in the U.K. I think they’ll have a lot to offer concerning improving human rights conditions in North Korea.”

Among the North Korean-born writers, Kim Young-soon, who escaped from Yodok concentration camp in North Korea’s South Hamgyong Province, will give a speech on the importance of human rights and freedom of speech during the congress.

Homegrown musical “Yodok Story,” which also features the life of the prisoners in the notorious political prison camp, will be performed during the upcoming event in Gyeongju as well.

Some 250 foreign authors from 90 countries, as well as some 500 local writers, will attend the event. Other notable guests include Professor David R. McCann of Harvard University’s Korean studies program, local author Yi Mun-yol, and Korean-Japanese writer Yu Miri.

Aside from lectures and forums, there will be a book-signing event, recitation of poems, cultural exhibitions and tour of Gyeongju.

The congress kicks off on Sept. 9 and runs until Sept. 15.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)