Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon shared an anecdote about reading Han Kang's novel The Vegetarian and discussing it with university students while serving as the president of Ajou University in 2016.
On the 13th, Governor Kim posted on his social media (SNS), "When I heard that during my time as university president, we read Han Kang's The Vegetarian with students through the 'President's Book Club,' many people asked me to share other books we read back then."
He continued, "The President's Book Club was a program where I read and discussed books with students every month. I selected books that deeply impressed me and gave them to the students in advance. I remember giving two copies of The Vegetarian, one in Korean and one in English translation, right after it won the Booker Prize," he added.
Earlier, on the 10th, Governor Kim posted a congratulatory message on his SNS following the announcement of Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature win, and on the following day, the 11th, he released a video of his response during a June session of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly's administrative inquiry.
In the video, when asked about the recommendation to discard Han Kang's The Vegetarian from the student library, Governor Kim said, "I was very surprised to learn that such a book was restricted from being read (in Gyeonggi Province)," but also highly praised the book, stating, "I believe the awareness of social customs and systems raised in The Vegetarian is very sound."
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