Poet shares thought-provoking backstory

Award-winning poet Kim Yi-deum speaks at the 51st Korea Times Modern Korean Literature Awards held at the Press Center in central Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The atmosphere of the 51st Korea Times Modern Korean Literary Translation Awards held on Thursday was very different from that of previous events.

It was entertaining and, at the same time, thought-provoking, mainly because of the special guest ― the award-winning poet Kim Yi-deum.

Kim, whose poetry book "Hysteria," was translated into English and won the 2020 U.S. National Translation Award and the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Award, dominated the stage when she read out her poem "Country Whore" for the attendees.

Ironically, it was a sad event, too, because what the poet said in her introduction before she read her favorite poem reminded all the attendees of the grim reality that poets and novelists are facing in the digital era. Visually provocative content requiring only a short attention span has pushed lengthy, meticulously crafted literary works out of favor and people in literary circles are feeling the pinch.

Kim emerged as a star in the Korean literary world after "Hysteria" won the two renowned prizes in October.

Despite the overseas recognition, she said, she has not seen much change in her life after the awards. She said she gained nothing financially, as the two prizes aim to recognize talented, dedicated translators, so the prize money went to three translators ― Jake Levine, Seo So-eun and Choi Hedgie.

Kim disclosed a story about the prize money. After winning the awards, Levine, a professor of creative writing at Daegu-based Keimyung University, phoned her and said that he and two other translators were willing to generously share the prize money with her.

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According to Kim, Levine suggested all four ― the three translators and the author ― split the prize money equally between the four of them, instead of it being divided by three translators.

"I thought about his kind offer for 10 seconds. Then I politely turned it down," Kim said. "I did it because I knew the two other translators (Seo and Choi) are studying in the United States and would find it tough to make ends meet there. Maybe they find it financially tough to buy meals. So I thought it would be fair to let the three share it without me."

Her surprisingly straightforward remarks drew laughter from the audience.

But I know she meant it. I know many novelists and poets are struggling to make ends meet and that monetary issues remain a hurdle for them to fully focus on creating stories.

The Thursday event was thought-provoking because it prompted some attendees, including myself, to realize the need for a safety net for content creators like Kim.

I talked with an official from the Literary Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), who sat next to me at the same table, about the possible role of government to help novelists and poets focus on writing without worries about their financial status.

According to her, there is one more group in the literary world who live with job insecurity ― literary translators.

She said there are many talented translators who are eager to translate Korean literary works into foreign languages, and many of them are foreign nationals. She went on to say that they have difficulty leading decent lives because their jobs are contract-based and unstable, revealing her hope that the government would consider providing them with medical insurance.

There was some positive news revealed at The Korea Times award ceremony.

It served as an opportunity for Kim to describe her pleasure to be able to read her poem after she had suffered negative experiences because of her work.

Sharing the traumatic experience she went through years ago at the PEN International conference held in the historic southeastern city of Gyeongju, she said she chose to recite the same poem to see the reactions from the audience. An English translation was also read by Kim Soo-min, Miss Korea 2018.

During the PEN International conference, she was supposed to read three poems out. Her first choice was "Country Whore." The attendees became restless as she read it out. An unnamed Korean poet complained about her poem, yelling at her. Kim was pulled off the stage against her will and was unable to finish the poem or get to the two other poems she was scheduled to read.

Contrary to the PEN International conference, "Country Whore" was well-received at the Thursday event. Some said they were touched by her work, saying tears welled up in their eyes by the time the poet reached the end of it.

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