[Feature] A Change in Subjects and the Candlelight Revolution / Han Ki-wook
The Quarterly Changbi 182, Winter 2018
Abstract
Literary critic and Changbi’s editor-in-chief Han Ki-wook finds the possibility of literature commensurate with the Candlelight Revolution in recent Korean fiction, such as Hwang Jung-eun’s “A Smiling Man,” Jung Mi Kyung’s “A Nail,” and Kim Keum-hee’s Kyung-ae’s Mind. Discussing changes in the existing subjects or the formation of new subjects, Han pays attention to the role of our minds, which can endure the negative elements in the “affect,” which in itself has the power of being both positive and negative, and that can imbue life with new vitality. While exploring love relationships to find what makes people continue such relationships even though they can never repeat the most brilliant moments of their relationships, he presents a new concept of the “mind-centered narrative.”