The Bulgarian Book Association, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the “East-West” Publishing House presented the book "Korean Stories.

Anthology XX Century". The event was held in Marble Lounge at the National Palace of Culture as part of the Spring Book Fair.

The guests were greeted by H. E. Mr. Shin Boonam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea in Bulgaria. After his speech, the publisher Lyuben Kozarev presented the book. The Anthology contains works of Korean writers from the 20th Century with bright and strong messages; the Korean realities of that time are portrayed in the destinies of their heroes. The literary critic Mitko Novkov emphasised that most of the authors were young at the time of the creation of the works, but their prose was still very mature. Evidence for his words was also the extract from a story that the actress Yoanna Bukovska-Davidova read. The book "Korean Stories. Anthology XX Century " was published in Bulgarian with the support of the Korean Translation Institute. The translations are done by Assoc. Prof. So Yong Kim and Associate Professor Yanitsa Ivanova.

A pleasant surprise for the audience between the two parts of the literary event was the traditional Korean music performed by the specially-invited composition "So Yong SamulNori". The sounds of the Korean drums attracted many audiences who enjoyed the rare opportunity to see and hear them. Traditional Korean dances were equally impressive. Young Bulgarians also performed modern dances.

Later the evening was dedicated to the poetic genre "Shijo" of the Korean classical literature. It was presented by Prof. Alexander Fedotov, Director of the Center for Oriental Languages ​​and Cultures at the Sofia University "St. KlimentOhridski ". Three selected poems from this genre were read by I. Mikion, a Korean school teacher, and by the actress Yoanna Bukovska-Davidova, in both Korean and Bulgarian.

Photos: "Diplomatic Spectrum"

Top: The Korean Composition "So Yong SamulNori"
Below: H. E. Mr. Shin Boonam, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea in Bulgaria;
The actress Yoanna Bukovska-Davidova reads an excerpt from the book "Korean Stories. Anthology XX century "and the publisher LyubenKozarev; Young Bulgarians performing modern Korean dance; Prof. Alexander Fedotov talks about the poetic genre of “Shijo”.