Curator / Researcher
The 3rd Asian Literature Festival
Moon of Asia
: 100 Years of Asian Literature
– Myths and Women
29.10.2020-1.11.2020
Co-Curated by the Organizing Committee and ACC
Authors
(International)
★Bảo Ninh (Việt Nam)
Bejan Matur (Türkiye)
Chi Zijian (China)
Chu T'ien-wen (Taiwan)
Ed Bok Lee (Korea-USA)
L.Ulziitugs (Mongolia)
Meena Kandasamy (India)
★Shaheen Akhtar (Bangladesh)
Ulug’bek Hamdamov (Uzbekistan)
Uzma Aslam Khan (Pakistan)
Authors
(Korean)
★Han Kang
Jeong IHyeon
Kim Hyun
Kim Kyung-Yun
Kim Young Kook
Kong, Sun-Ok
Lee Sang Guk
Lee Won
Lim Cheol Woo
Lim Ji Hyeong
Oh Eun
Paik Yeong-Ok
Park Du Gyu
Park Kwan Seo
Seon An Yeong
Son Bo Mi
Song Eun Il
Tak In Seoul
Yun Jeong Mo
Chairperson of the Committee
Han Seung-won
Vice-Chairpersons
Park Tae-young, Bang Hyun-seok
Executive Chairperson
Lee Hwa-kyung
Organizing Committee Members
Kim Nam-il, Kim Jae-yong,
Kwak Hyo-hwan, Cho Jin-tae,
Ko Jae-jong, Kim Wan, Lee Kyung-ja,
Lee Kwang-bok, Lee Dong-il,
Im Won-sik, Choi Chang-geun
Curatorial Statement
Moon 0f Asia
Jisu Yoon, Curator, Researcher
The Asia Literature Festival creates a space for communication and solidarity through diverse literary content and exchange programmes with writers from across Asia. This year’s theme commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, exploring how Asian literature has remembered and recorded historical trials, particularly through the lens of women’s perspectives on life and mythic significance in Asian literature.
Reflecting on a century of Asian literature, it becomes profoundly apparent that literature is not merely a tool for conveying stories but rather a means of exploring the textures of life and the value of humanity. The third Asia Literature Festival goes beyond the framework of a simple literary festival; it provides a platform to survey the journey of Asian literature over the past century and to examine how women and myth have defined Asia within that context.
The theme of 'Myth and Women' highlights the roles and perspectives of women in Asian literature. Asian women's literature transcends merely denouncing social inequalities; it multilayeredly encapsulates the hopes and struggles of those who lived through those times. The women in literature engage in profound conversations not only with themselves but also with the world around them, offering unique interpretations in the process. These interpretations serve as reminders of how their voices ought to resonate, much like historical artefacts that endure through time.
The works of 'Shaheen Akhtar,' the recipient of the Asia Literature Award at this festival, reaffirm that Asian women’s literature is not just a tool for presenting social issues; it is a powerful testimony to the lives we lead today and philosophy in its own right. Her work, "No Country for Women," reveals the pain that has often been overlooked in the currents of history, portraying the violence and trauma that women have endured while intricately expressing the complex emotions that transcend those experiences. Akhtar’s writing goes beyond mere storytelling, confronting the face of our times and capturing the voices of women embedded within those narratives. Literature, in this way, possesses the power to leave traces of humanity, prompting someone along the way to revisit and retell those stories.
Literature acts as a map that reveals the pathways within our inner selves, transcending human experiences. The emotions and insights literature offers reach our minds across time and space. The stories of myth and women within Asian literature represent the dreams of those who sought to overcome oppression and entrapment, simultaneously serving as a journey to uncover the meaning of our existence.
Through the various programmes of the Asia Literature Festival, participants come to realise that literature encapsulates not only their own histories but also serves as a space for reflection and empathy for all of us. Creative works, literary performances, and contemporary reinterpretations of literary expressions provide vivid experiences as if the mythic archetypes of Asia are once again breathing life within us.
As an ordinary person, I feel deeply that ‘story’ is never confined to the lives of individuals. The Asia Literature Festival creates a platform where the voices of Asian people, imbued with their spirits, come together to share their experiences of pain, the processes of healing, and the ideals of peace.
Our stories continue to unfold. In this space where writers from across Asia discuss peace and solidarity while remembering the pain of the Gwangju Uprising, the future of Asian literature remains bright, and its path opens to new possibilities.
Opening Remarks
Seung-Won Han
Chair of the Organising Committee for the 3rd Asian Literature Festival 2020.
3rd Asian Literature Festival is unfolding here in Gwangju, a sacred site for democracy. It was here that military dictators imprisoned democrats and brutally suppressed protesting citizens with guns and swords. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising on May 18, 1980.
Greek novelist Nikos Kazantzakis once remarked to writers, “Poor soul, you do not buy bread, wine, or meat with money, but instead write ‘bread, wine, meat’ on a blank page and consume it.” This was not to highlight literature’s powerlessness but to underscore its sacred purpose, awakening humanity’s highest moral ideals among those blinded by reality. Literature, like the moonlight in the night, resurrects those who resisted and sacrificed for democracy and peace under the violent storms of persecution. Even in the darkest night, when the moon is absent, it appears as a glow from fireflies, instilling dreams of a new rainbow-coloured world worth living in. We gather here today to celebrate this fragrance.
Unfortunately, our festival is being held remotely online due to the global threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many Asian nations share a history of invasion by powerful countries and long periods of colonial rule. The literature of Asian nations has documented resistance to the bloody violence of colonial domination and the hope for freedom and peace in lives as dark as the depths of winter. We have looked at how Asian literature has strived to find light amid these darkest hours. The region that Europeans labelled as the “Orient” was, to them, a place to secure colonies and plunder treasures, a journey they called “orientation.” We unthinkingly use this word in our daily lives. The history of world literature has been written centring around European literature, where advancing towards it was seen as a virtue. In this festival, we seek to recognise and celebrate authentic literature with Asia at its centre.
The myth may not be truth itself, but it is the womb that gives birth to truth. To humanity, femininity and motherhood are myths themselves. Women are the ones who sustain the thread of human history through the barbarity of wars, violence, and hardship. This literary festival centred around the theme of “Moon of Asia – A Century of Asian Literature: Myth and Women,” aims to serve as a starting point for a new era of world literature from an Asian perspective. The moon is the mythical light that brightens the darkness of night. Just as the oppressed, gazing at the moon, cried out for democracy and peace, and the gypsies living in hardship sang and danced under the moon, we seek to engage in discussions on how the moon and women of Asia dreamt of lives worth living and peace amidst barbaric violence.
The world is facing extreme difficulties due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus, much like an invading colonial force, blocks all peaceful channels of distribution, isolates people, and suppresses freedom. Due to fears of infection and numerous obstacles, we have had to host this festival remotely via video without being able to invite many Asian writers directly. This event resembles the underground resistance events held by the conscious minds of Asia under colonial rule, now supported through online tools. We sincerely thank all poets, novelists, and critics who willingly participated in this literary festival despite many challenges. Special thanks go to Uzma Aslam Khan, Ed Bok Lee, Sang-Gook Lee, and Cheol-Woo Lim, who will lead discussions on post-COVID literature, and Shaheen Akhtar, Chi Zijian, Seon-Ok Kong, and Jung-Mo Yoon, who will discuss myth and women. Further thanks to Ulugbek Hamdamov, Chu Tien-Wen, Ulziitugs, and Hyo-Hwan Kwak for presenting new cultural horizons through literary dialogues, to Eun Oh, Won Lee, and Yong-Mok Shin for their readings and discussions on COVID and literature, and to Hyun Kim, Bo-Mi Son, and Ji-Ae Choi for their readings and dialogues on transition and avant-garde. Special gratitude is also extended to Ji-Hyeong Lim, Ahn-Young Seon, Hwa-Kyung Lee, Yeong-Ok Baek, Ih-Hyun Jung, Ki-Ho Lee, In-Seok Tak, Yong-Kuk Kim, and Doo-Gyu Park, who will discuss myth, women, and peace; Kyoung-Yoon Kim, Kwan-Seo Park, and Jin-Tae Cho, who will speak on Gwangju as the sacred site of democracy; and Minna Kandasamy, Bejan Matur, Kyung-Ja Lee, and Eun-Il Song, who will participate in a literary dialogue that crosses borders, along with special interviewees Han Kang and Hyeong-Cheol Shin. Congratulations are also extended to the winner of the 3rd Asian Literature Award.
Finally, we express deep gratitude to the members of the organising committee who have led this literary festival and last year’s forum on “Asia’s Night,” as well as to the curator and staff at the Asia Culture Centre. May this literary festival, held in the sacred site of democracy, Gwangju, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, be the new genesis of a bright, mythical literature that illuminates the world's darkness.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Sketch
Collaborated Performance
Performance Leader: Eugenio Barba(Italian/Danish)
Curated by Lee Dong-il
Organizing Committee Meeting
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