In The Korea Times Kim Ji-soo has a profile of and Q & A with (The Three Way Tavern, etc. author) Ko Un -- "If there is a national poet, it may well be Ko Un" -- 'I want to awaken poetry in people's heart'.
The piece concludes with a 'List of literary awards' Ko has received -- a not so subtle hint that, alas, is explored at greater length in a companion piece, also by Kim, as the Korean obsession with the Nobel rears its foolish head again: Ko Un still young, the headline promises; "At 81, national poet mulls chance of winning Nobel Prize", the lead-in promises.
Fortunately, Ko at least knows better, sensibly admitting:
The piece concludes with a 'List of literary awards' Ko has received -- a not so subtle hint that, alas, is explored at greater length in a companion piece, also by Kim, as the Korean obsession with the Nobel rears its foolish head again: Ko Un still young, the headline promises; "At 81, national poet mulls chance of winning Nobel Prize", the lead-in promises.
Fortunately, Ko at least knows better, sensibly admitting:
That I do not know about, so there is nothing I can say,(Eighty-one is, by the way, advanced age for Nobel consideration ... but then Alice Munro was almost exactly the same age (she's just two years older) when she took last year's prize .....)