“Nobel Laureate Han Kang, Blacklist During Park Geun-hye Administration”…Democratic Party Lawmaker Kang Yoo-jung Points Out

Kang Yoo-jung Mentions Park Geun-hye Government Blacklist Case
Han Kang Excluded from Government Support for Writing Novel on May 18 Incident

Novelist Han Kang. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Novelist Han Kang has become the first Korean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Kang Yoo-jung, a literary critic turned member of the Democratic Party of Korea, mentioned that Han Kang was once a victim of the cultural blacklist incident under the Park Geun-hye administration.

On the 10th, Rep. Kang posted on her Facebook, "During the national audit, news of Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature was delivered. Both ruling and opposition parties applauded and rejoiced," offering congratulations, but she also said, "I have something important to say."

She explained, "Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature today, was classified as a writer on the cultural blacklist in 2016." She continued, "After writing 'The Boy Who Escaped,' a story about a boy who tragically lost his life during the May 18 Democratic Uprising, Han Kang was blatantly excluded from all kinds of support and placed on the blacklist. Culture is an area where administration and politics should not intervene recklessly," emphasizing this point. Furthermore, she stated, "Our music, films, and literature are gaining global recognition. Politics should do its part in its place by providing support without interference."

The cultural blacklist incident refers to the case during the Park Geun-hye administration when the Blue House compiled a list of specific cultural figures and groups who supported opposition politicians or made public statements related to the Sewol ferry disaster, and instructed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to exclude them from government support. Han Kang was excluded from overseas cultural exchange event support funded by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea due to her novel 'The Boy Who Escaped,' which deals with the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.

During the special investigation into the Park Geun-hye administration's state affairs manipulation, testimonies from Ministry of Culture officials revealed that after Han Kang won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for 'The Vegetarian,' the Blue House refused the Ministry's request to send a congratulatory message to Han Kang. Additionally, in 2014, 'The Boy Who Escaped' was eliminated in the final third round of the Sejong Book support project, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and organized by the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency, due to concerns over 'ideological bias.'