A special exhibition commemorating Han Kang, the first Korean author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is being held at the National Assembly Library 1st floor central hall from the 15th to December 13th./ Reporter Lee Deok-hoon,
, ‘Interest in novelist Han Kang, the first Korean author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, is hot not only in Korea but also overseas. As the ‘Han Kang Syndrome’ sweeps the globe, a theft incident involving Han Kang’s book ‘The Vegetarian’ occurred at the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium.’,
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, ‘According to the Cultural Center on the 15th (local time), the day before, one copy of ‘The Vegetarian’ placed in the 1st-floor library of the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels, Belgium, went missing.’,
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, ‘The Cultural Center expected a surge in interest locally following Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature win, so they set up a separate corner at the library featuring Han Kang’s representative works. They also officially informed this fact through their social media accounts.’,
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, ‘An official from the Cultural Center told Yonhap News, “After the weekend and just soon after the library opened yesterday (14th), we confirmed that a book was missing,” and “Among Han Kang’s various works displayed, the Korean version of ‘The Vegetarian’ was gone, not a translated version.” They continued, “Considering that the staff are aware of the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) and the fact that outsiders can enter the library at any time, it is presumed to be the act of an outsider,” stating, “It is seen as an incident that happened due to the high interest in the Nobel Prize in Literature.”’,
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, ‘Meanwhile, after Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature, shortage incidents are occurring in various places overseas including the UK, France, and the US.’,
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, ‘In particular, at Foyles in Charing Cross, a large bookstore in London, a special corner commemorating Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature win was set up. The bookstore arranged Han Kang’s works in the corner as ‘Korean original books,’ but it was reported that they were sold out almost within a day.’,
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