In a firm and raised voice, he says that veteran writers should revisit the mindset of their youth, start afresh and embrace new works as exciting challenges instead of stopping writing or seeking other ways for a peaceful retirement.
"The concept of late-life art is essentially a reflection of oneself, a return to one's core to explore a new world. This is what makes a great artist. It is also my dream," he says, followed by a thunderous applause.
Hailed as a national treasure, Hwang is arguably the most respected and renowned writer in the Republic of Korea and has won the top literary awards. His novels, such as Familiar Things, Princess Bari, Shim Chung, The Ancient Garden, and The Shadow of Arms, have been translated and published in many countries including China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Sweden, France and the United States.
In 2019, At Dusk was longlisted for the International Booker Prize, winning the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature. This year, his novel Mater 2-10 also entered the list for the International Booker Prize.
Born in 1943 in Changchun in Northeast China, Hwang moved with his parents first to Pyongyang in 1945 after Japan's defeat. He then moved to Seoul, living through different wars between the 1940s and '60s, including fighting on the front lines in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1969.
In 1989, Hwang made a secret visit to Pyongyang, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which led to a five-year exile overseas. During this time, he witnessed the collapse of the Berlin Wall. When he returned to the ROK in 1993, he was sentenced to five years in prison. These experiences have given Hwang a broader perspective and deeper insights into historical and social issues.
The novel At Dusk delicately depicts the fate of the two main characters Park Minwoo and Cha Soo-na amid changing times through a dual narrative, outlining a picture of their hometown submerged by the tide of modernization.
In an introduction to the Chinese translation of At Dusk, published by Beijing Xiron Culture Group, poet and translator Xue Zhou writes that "through personal understanding and knowledge of history, Hwang breathed new life into modern South Korean history, transforming grand narratives into individual narratives, which have become valuable assets in the literary and social history of the country".
