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March literature night: At Dusk, by Hwang Sok-yong

The Korean Literature Night is a monthly discussion group that explores various themes and topics relating to that month’s chosen book. The second literature night of 2019 looks at Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Hwang Sok-yong’s latest:

Hwang Sok-yong: At Dusk

Hwang Sok-yong: At Dusk27 March, 19.00-21.00 @KCCUK
Entrance Free – Booking Essential
Apply to [email protected] or call 020 7004 2600 with your name and contact details by Tuesday 12th March.
The booking system utilises a lottery based programme that picks names at random, once the final selection has been drawn we will send you an e-mail regarding the result of the selection.
Available Seats: 15
You can pick up a copy of the book from the Korean Cultural Centre UK, once you have received your confirmation e-mail.

About the Book

Park Minwoo is, by every measure, a success story. Born into poverty in a miserable neighbourhood of Seoul, he has ridden the wave of development in a rapidly modernising society. Now the director of a large architectural firm, his hard work and ambition have brought him triumph and satisfaction. But when his company is investigated for corruption, he’s forced to reconsider his role in the transformation of his country.
At the same time, he receives an unexpected message from an old friend, Cha Soona, a woman that he had once loved, and then betrayed. As memories return unbidden, Minwoo recalls a world he thought had been left behind ― a world he now understands that he has helped to destroy.

In At Dusk, one of Korea’s most renowned and respected authors continues his gentle yet urgent project of evaluating Korea’s past, and examining the things, and the people, that have been given up in a never-ending quest to move forward.

About the Author

Hwang Sok-yong was born in 1943 and is arguably Korea’s most renowned author. In 1993, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for an unauthorised trip to the North to promote exchange between artists in the two Koreas. Five years later, he was released on a special pardon by the new president. The recipient of Korea’s highest literary prizes, he has been shortlisted for the Prix Femina Etranger and was awarded the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature for his book At Dusk. His novels and short stories are published in North and South Korea, Japan, China, France, Germany, and the United States. Previous novels include The Ancient Garden, The Story of Mister Han, The Guest, and The Shadow of Arms.

(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.