On Tuesday, October 4, the LFS invited Seh-Lynn Chai, the author of her novel“The Hard Road Out, One Woman’s Escape from North Korea (Deux coréennes),” to our CDI library to meet our secondary students, thanks to the hosting organization, Cercle Franco-Coréen (CFC). The Terminale with LLCE speciality (Language, Literature and foreign culture specialty) wrote and translated in 3 languages their article on the meeting.

We welcome you to read it:

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On October 4th 2022, Seh Lynn Chai, a South Korean author based in England, visited the French School of Seoul to present her novel The Hard Road Out, One Woman’s Escape from North Korea (Deux coréennes) to 6e, 5e, Premiere and Terminale students. 

This thought-provoking and compelling story tells about her encounter with Jihyun Park, a political refugee from North Korea whom she met unexpectedly in England. Although at first glance, Seh Lynn felt mistrust towards this woman, the two eventually decided to share their memories of the conflicted past of their countries. 

Indeed, even though North Korea and South Korea were two separate countries when they grew up, they were able to bond and overcome their differences through the similarities they found in their lives abroad: the Korean language, the fact that they were both women, and the nostalgia they felt for their home country.  In the novel, this bonding was materialized by the first person narrative “I”, that Seh Lynn used to symbolically unify the Koreas through their alternate feminine voices.

The LFS students enjoyed the fact that Seh Lynn Chai decided to share this story in French. In fact, as a student, she was part of the AEFE network, and she later graduated from the University of La Sorbonne. So it was obvious to her to tell this story in the language she was most comfortable with, to deal with themes such as  displacement, justice and identity. 

This touching story will change your perspective on North Korean refugees and the relationship between the two divided countries. The two women managed to help each other be at peace with their identity. Besides, Seh Lynn’s final messages to the students were “Find your place in society” and “Embrace your past”. We hope that the book will help you understand Milan Kundera’s quote that Seh Lynn mentioned in her conference, about “Finding back the home that we all bear within ourselves.”

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Mercredi 4 octobre 2022, Seh Lynn Chai, une écrivaine Sud Coréenne qui vit en Angleterre, est venue au Lycée Français de Séoul pour présenter son roman Deux Coréennes aux classes de 6e, 5e, Première et Terminale.

Cette histoire intrigante et inspirante retrace sa rencontre avec Jihyun Park, une réfugiée politique Nord Coréenne qu’elle a rencontrée en Angleterre. Même si, au début, Seh Lynn se méfiait de cette femme, elles ont finalement décidé de partager les souvenirs qu’elles avaient de leurs pays en conflit.

En effet, si la Corée du Nord et la Corée du Sud étaient deux pays séparés quand elles étaient enfants, elles ont pu créer des liens et surmonter leurs différences grâce aux points communs qu’elles partageaient dans leurs vies à l’étranger: la langue coréenne, leur situation de femmes, et la nostalgie qu’elles ressentaient pour leurs pays d’origine. Dans le roman, ce lien a été matérialisé dans la narration par le pronom personnel “je”, que Seh Lynn Chai utilise pour unifier symboliquement les Corées en alternant sa voix et celle de Jihyun Park.

Les élèves du LFS ont apprécié le fait que Seh Lynn Chai ait décidé de partager cette histoire en français. Plus jeune, elle a fait partie du réseau AEFE et a été diplômée de l’Université de La Sorbonne. Cela lui paraissait donc une évidence de raconter cette histoire dans la langue où elle se sentait le plus à l’aise, pour aborder des thèmes tels que le déracinement, la justice et l’identité.

Cette histoire touchante va changer votre regard sur les réfugiés Nord Coréens et la relation entre les deux pays divisés. Ces deux femmes ont réussi à s’entraider afin d’assumer leur identité.

D’ailleurs, le message final de Seh Lynn aux élèves a été “Trouvez votre place dans la société” et “Acceptez votre passé”. Nous espérons que ce livre vous permettra de comprendre la citation de Milan Kundera que Seh Lynn a mentionnée lors de son intervention : il s’agit de “retrouver la maison que nous portons en nous.”

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2022년 10월 4일, 영국에 사는 “두 한국인”의 작가, 채세린씨가 서울프랑스학교 중고등학생들에게 소설을  소개하러 방문했습니다. 

“두 한국인”은 영국에서 우연히 만난 북한의 탈북인, 박지현 씨와의 만남을 전하는 감명 깊은 이야기입니다. 처음에는 조심스러운 만남을 가졌지만, 끝내 전쟁 중인 두 나라들을 뒤로하고 서로를 이해하며, 그들의 기억을 공유하는 시간을 가졌습니다.

설사 북한과 남한의 전쟁이 두 사람의 사이를 갈라놓을지라도, 같은 언어, 성별과 한국에 대한 향수병을 통해, 공감대 형성을 하며, 어려움을 이겨내면서 우정을 쌓았습니다. 소설에서 두 여성의 유대감을, 일인칭 ‘나’로 묘사하며, 한반도를 상징적으로 통일하기 위해,  두여성들의 이야기를 하나의 목소리로 표현했습니다.

서울프랑스학교 학생들은 채세린 작가님의 이야기가 불어로 출판되었다는 점에 대한 흥미를 보였습니다. 학창 시절 AEFE 네트워크를 통해 프랑스 교육을 받은 후 소르본 대학을 졸업했습니다. 따라서, 그녀는 이주, 정의, 정체성과 같은 주제를 다룰 때 가장 편안한 언어인 불어로 쓰기로 했습니다. 

이 감동적인 이야기가 북한 탈북인들과 갈라진 두 나라 관계의 대한 고정관념을 깰 것 입니다. 두 여성은 각자의 정체성의 평화를 위해 서로를 도왔습니다. 채세린 작가님의 마지막 말씀은 “사회에서 본인의 자리를 찾아라” 와 “과거를 두려워하지 말라” 였습니다. 채세린 작가가 언급한 밀란 쿤데라 소설의 한 말처럼 “무의식 속에 사는 나를 찾아라”, 이 소설이 여러분들에게 도움을 주기를 바랍니다. 

Les élèves de Terminale LLCE 

• JANG Younseo
• JUNG Daniel
• KO Minji
• NTOUTOUME Lisa