“Princess Bari” Entered the Book Market

According to a reporter from the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), Hwang Sok-yong, in her book “Princess Bari,” recently released with a translation by Afsaneh Ghorbanzadeh, tells the story of a teenage girl named Bari. In the 1990s, the North Korean government, due to misguided planning and isolationist policies, faced a severe famine that led to the death of about two million people; Bari, a teenage girl from a middle-class family, suddenly faces the consequences of the government’s so-called self-reliance policy and soon finds herself in circumstances where she is forced to move from the city with her family, a move that marks the beginning of a difficult and adventurous journey.

Hwang Sok-yong’s works reflect the suffering and harsh trials of contemporary Korean history. He has been a day laborer, a student activist, a soldier in the Vietnam War, a workers’ advocate, and a political dissident, hence his works are inspired by his personal experiences of contemporary events.

After his involuntary experience in the Vietnam War, Hwang wrote the story “The Flying Saucer,” which won the Chosun Ilbo New Year Literary Award. In 1970, he published the novel “The Story of Mr. Han.” Four years later, he wrote the short story collection “Sampo Road,” and subsequently, with the publication of the novel “The Shadow of the Butcher,” based on his bitter experiences in the Vietnam War, he won numerous awards, and his work was translated into English and French.

After traveling to North Korea representing an emerging democratic movement with the aim of promoting exchange between artists of the two Koreas, Hwang was sentenced to seven years in prison.

After five years in prison, he was also released under a general amnesty. In 2000, he published the novel “The Old Garden,” which won the Danjae Award and the Bisang Literary Award.

In a part of the book “Princess Bari,” we read:

The ceiling opens and I float in the darkness. As always, a white path appears. I slide and go to where Chilsong was wagging his tail and waiting for me. I fall towards him. I feel like I am pouring down. I try to wrap my arms around him. But he keeps wagging his tail and moving back. He always keeps this distance between us. -I am so sad that I don’t want to live. Please give me some hope. -I understand. You’ll be fine. You’ll get through these days too. Chilsong goes ahead, and I slide along the same white path, following him…

Ketab Parseh Publications recently released “Princess Bari” in 248 pages.