Kadare wins renowned South Korean Literature Prize

Ismail Kadare is the winner of the renowned South Korean Literature Award, Pac Kionong, in recognition of its social value art, stemming from the historical experience of the Albanian people, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

” Kadare, 83, has been one of the most influential authors in Europe since his first debut in the '60s. In 2005 he became the first writer to receive the Man Booker International Award for all his work. He has often been running for the Nobel Prize in Literature”, writes”Krean Herald”.

He debuted in 1963 with the general of the dead army, while his best works include the Castle, Broken Priest and the Cold Lions of March”, she adds. ” Albania has been one of the most isolated nations in Europe. It was a communist country under the dictatorial regime”, Kadare said in French during a press conference held today at the Guanghunam Press Centre.

Albania was the last country in Europe to experience the fall of the communist regime in the 1990s. Fighting government crackdown, Kadare sought to migrate to Paris shortly before the regime collapsed.

When my books were first published in the Western world, these countries were nations that Albania had labeled enemies”, Kadare said.

” thought human rights were not respected in Albania. Writing novels in such a nation, I found myself in a strange situation. Experiences should be reflected in my works”, he adds.

He is known for using myths and fables to satirate the communist regime. I'm not the only one using my imagination to write. Satira is practiced in Albania and in many other communist countries”, he said, referring to this carpenter as “an elaborate fantasy of history”.

For me and other writers, satira is a way to express our thoughts against the oppression of the powers of communist regimes”, he said. The official ceremony will take place Saturday in Tji Cultural Center in Sonju, in the province of Gangon.

The value of this price is 100 million won (84, 173 dollars). ATSH/