The 1st Bucheon Diaspora Literary Award Ceremony on the 23rd... Author Hajin's "Free Life"

Professor Wang Eun-cheol of Jeonbuk National University Receives Award Together

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Bucheon City, Gyeonggi Province, will hold the award ceremony for the "1st Bucheon Diaspora Literary Award" on the 23rd at Bucheon Art Bunker B39.

The literary award targets full-length novels on the theme of diaspora, written by living authors and published in either Korean or English. Awards will be given separately to authors and translators, including plaques and prize money.

The first recipient of the literary award is the work "A Free Life" (2007) by author Ha Jin, published in the United States. In Korea, it was translated as "Jayuro-un Salm" (A Free Life) by Professor Wang Euncheol of Jeonbuk National University and published by Sigongsa in 2014.

The plaques awarded to the author and translator are designed with the identity of the literary award, the "dandelion seed," as the key motif. The main material of the plaque is wood, symbolizing the diaspora spreading like seeds, settling in different social soils, taking root, and growing.

Additionally, the 12 dandelion seeds are represented by trees native to various parts of the world, combined into a single plaque to signify migration and settlement, as well as the fusion and integration of cultures. The dandelion seed piercing through the 12 wooden panels symbolizes the will to firmly take root by overcoming other social customs.

Meanwhile, author Ha Jin, who is visiting Korea for the award ceremony, will participate in the "Diaspora Award-winning Author Lecture" on the 24th at Jeonbuk National University, where Professor Wang Euncheol is employed. On the 25th, Ha Jin will attend and lecture at the "2021 Dialogue with World Writers," co-hosted by the Daesan Foundation and Kyobo Bookstore.

In addition, various events such as the cultural and artistic campaigns "We Are All Diaspora" and "Messages to the Author" will be held to commemorate the literary award ceremony.

The Bucheon Diaspora Literary Award is an international literary prize promoted by Bucheon City in collaboration with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Literature, aiming to create a world of solidarity, hospitality, and cooperation through literature.

The core theme of the literary award, "diaspora," broadly refers to "human activities ranging from forced expulsion to voluntary wandering, transcending ethnic and regional identities, leaving the places where people lived, and taking root anywhere to expand their living grounds."