Seoul International Forum for Literature 2011

The Seoul International Forum for Literature, first held in 2000, invites outstanding writers from around the world to discuss the theme of 'The Globalizing World and the Human Community' from 24-26 May 2011. The Seoul International Forum for Literature brings together in Seoul some of the biggest names in world literature. French author and professor, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, the 2008 Nobel Prize laureate and Chinese-born novelist, playwright and stage director Gao Xingjian, who became the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2000, will each deliver an hour-long lecture on May 24 and May 25, respectively. The forum will also host English poet Andrew Motion, German author Ingo Schulze, French literary scholar Antoine Compagnon and Japanese-born writer Yoko Tawada. Also on the list of Korean poets, novelist and critics are Kim U-chang, Kim Seong-kon, Yi Mun-yol, Gong Ji-young, Bok Geo-il, Eun Hee-kyung and Sung Suk-je. Many of the foreign authors coming here write in more than two languages. Japanese writer Tawada, for instance, writes in both Japanese and German, according to Kim Seong-kon, vice-chair of the Seoul International Forum. Recent works by leading authors indicate that modern literature has now become a language that transcends nationality, Kim said. “I believe that the forum will build a bridge between Korean literature and the global scene,” he added. Keynote speeches and discussions will focus on writing in the era of globalization, with discussions arranged into five themes: The Self and the Other in the Age of Multiculturalism; Writing in the Globalizing World; Literature in the Age of Post-Ideology; Writing for the World Market and the Multimedia Environment; and Literature and Eco-Criticism. All addresses and discussions are open to the public with simultaneous translations into Korean, English and French. Read more about the Forum in SEOUL Weekly and The Korea Herald