Lee Geum-yi: It was an honor to become a finalist for Andersen Award

Lee Geum-yi, a South Korean children's literature writer (62), spoke with a wide smile during a book talk held at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy on Monday (local time), following the announcement of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award (writing category) winners. "Just being a finalist made me happy because it helped promote Korean children's and youth literature a little bit,” the writer expressed. “I didn't feel any disappointment about not winning; instead, I felt joy." The book talk was moderated by Kim Seo-jeong, a children's literature critic, and it was attended by around 30 people, including local readers and publishing industry representatives.

The Andersen Award, often dubbed as the "Nobel Prize of Children's Literature," holds the highest authority in children's literature. Two years ago, author Lee Su-ji (50) became the first Korean to win the award in the illustration category. Since then, Lee Geum-yi gained attention as she became a finalist in the writing category. However, the ultimate award went to Austria's Heinz Janisch (64).

Lee Geum-yi, after graduating from high school, focused on writing instead of pursuing higher education and made her debut when her fairy tale "Yeonggurang Heukgurang" was selected for the Saebeot Literature Award in 1984. "The first time I came to the Bologna Children's Book Fair was in 2000. At that time, I couldn't even imagine coming back here as one of the six finalists,” the writer reminisced during the book talk. "I didn't even think about the award after the ceremony because I had to immediately participate in the book talk. It feels like I was selected as a finalist this year because it's the 40th anniversary of my debut, and I worked hard on my writing."

"Other writers in Korea celebrated and congratulated me on becoming a finalist as if it were their own achievement,” Lee also expressed gratitude. “I think I came here not as Lee Geum-yi personally but as a representative of Korean children's and youth literature."


이호재 기자 hoho@donga.com