Yun Heung-gil is one of the best wordsmiths Korea has ever produced. Award winning and inspirational, Yun is known all over the country.

A staple in high school literary classes across the country, Yun`s "The Man Who Was Left as Nine Pairs of Shoes" won the 1977 Korean Literature Writers Award and has written many other works of note such as "The Rainy Spell" and "The Pale Years of Middle-Age."

This living legend treated the Seoul Literary Society to a talk at the residence of the Colombian ambassador where he discussed his childhood, the reason he writes, the reason that he keeps writing and other things recently.



Initially a bit overwhelmed at the presence of so many ambassadors who had come to listen to him talk, Yun quickly found his stride and started regaling the crowd with his story.

"I have never, in my life seen so many ambassadors in one place. It is a great honor to be here with you and I will remember this day for a very long time," Yun said by means of an ice breaker.

In the 1980s, the French newspaper "Liberation" conducted a survey of 400 writers around the world asking them why they wrote. Yun was contacted and had this to say on what he submitted:

"I wanted to answer in a beautiful way, so I thought about it for three days and came up with the answer: to fill up the empty glass of my soul."

It is a beautiful and unique answer to be sure, but when the paper published the results, Yun found that the other authors contacted had answered in much earthlier ways. Answers like, to impress a lover, to be popular, or simply, to earn money.

This shows how devoted Yun is to his craft.

Since he was a young man, he has seen writing as what defines him, even though he later confessed that he has started writing for more practical reasons.

As a child, Yun was unhappy and states that he would often run away from home.

As he grew up he saw writing as a way to run away without actually leaving.

Writing had become Yun`s way of finding solace and happiness.

This talk to the Seoul Literary Society was the first under the new chairman, Alejandro Borda, ambassador of Colombia.

Borda is enthusiastic about his new responsibility. An avid reader himself he relishes the chance to take a greater role within the society.

"Literature has always been very close to my life, I enjoy it very much, particularly novels and short stories. As a diplomat it is also very interesting to get to know local literature because it will always show you a face and details of the country you are accredited that otherwise you would not get to know. It is another way of understanding a country," said Borda.

Borda`s tenure as head of the Seoul Literary Society could be a short one as he may be leaving this post toward the end of the year.

(tomuden4@gmail.com)



By Tom Uden