Novelist Kim Bong-gon Faces Controversy Over Quoting Private Conversations in 'Summer, Speed'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Novelist Kim Bong-gon has been confirmed to have quoted private conversation content in his short story 'Summer, Speed' as well.

A man who claimed to have been harmed by the private conversation content being quoted in 'Summer, Speed' posted on his Twitter on the 17th, asserting that 'Young-woo' appearing in 'Summer, Speed' is himself. He claimed that the message content he had sent to Kim Bong-gon in the past was quoted in the introduction of the novel "with the same content and context" without his consent.

The controversial 'Summer, Speed' was published in 2018 as a collection of short stories with the same title by the publisher Munhakdongne. Munhakdongne announced that Kim Bong-gon admitted to the man's exposure of the facts, and that they would stop selling the collection of short stories with the same title that included the controversial short story. They also "humbly apologized" to the man who suffered damages.

The man who suffered damages claimed that acquaintances around him could infer that 'Young-woo' in the novel was himself by observing the character's appearance and behavior, and said he felt "embarrassment, anger, and humiliation." He also uploaded a screenshot of the 'Facebook Messenger message' content he said he had sent to Kim Bong-gon in the past.

Kim Bong-gon was previously embroiled in controversy for quoting sexual conversation content privately exchanged with a female acquaintance in his novel 'Such a Life' without consent. The woman who claimed to have been harmed stated that the lines of 'C Nuna' in the novel were "copied exactly" from her actual statements in the messenger conversation with Kim Bong-gon.

'Such a Life' was first published in the summer issue of the quarterly magazine 'Literature and Society' last year, and Kim Bong-gon received the Young Writers Award from Munhakdongne for this work. 'Such a Life' was also included in Kim Bong-gon's short story collection 'Seasons and Moods,' published by Changbi in April this year.

The man who claimed to have been harmed by 'Summer, Speed' said he was encouraged to come forward after seeing a woman who claimed to be the real person behind 'C Nuna' recently expose that 'KakaoTalk' conversation content was quoted without permission in the novel.

Munhakdongne decided yesterday to exchange 70,000 copies of the 5th printing, which had not been revised for the controversial parts among the 11th Young Writers Award winning works sold so far, with revised editions. Changbi also issued an apology to the "person who raised the issue," readers, and authors, and announced that they would exchange the uncorrected edition of Kim Bong-gon's short story collection 'Seasons and Moods,' which includes the novel 'Such a Life,' for a revised edition.

Kim Bong-gon, who has openly identified as a 'gay writer,' has written autobiographical novels on the theme of homosexuality since his debut in 2016. The short story 'Summer, Speed' is a queer story in which the protagonist receives a Facebook message from 'Young-woo,' who had confessed love but did not respond, leading to a reunion.