1. Introduction Baridegi (Princess Bari, 2007) is a full-length novel written by Hwang Sok-yong. 1) The novel reflects on both the division of Korea and international migration of the neo-liberalism era through the story of a girl who escapes from North Korea for her survival. It showcases possibilities of communication between Korean literature and the world by capturing a mutually shared reality in a form of traditional shamanic mythology. 2. Work 1) Title Baridegi or princess Bari is a character in a folktale. The tale is generally recited during a shaman ceremony performed to soothe the dead’s soul and lead it to the afterlife. According to the story, Baridegi was born as a princess, but abandoned by her parents because she was a girl. One day, her parents who then became fatally ill came to her, and she left to the underworld to get medicine for them. On the way to the underworld, she saved many who were suffering in hell, and finally arrived at her destination. There in the underworld, following the demands of Mujangseung (무장승, Emotionless monk), Baridegi practiced good deeds. She had children with Mujangseung and finally obtained the medicine which would save her parents. After saving them, she became a god who leads the dead to the afterlife. 3) Hwang explains that the name Baridegi has a double meaning. If Bari is interpreted as “to abandon”, the book becomes a story of an abandoned girl. If Bari is understood as a phonetic transcription of a word “Bal”, meaning hope or revive, Baridegi becomes a story of a character who saves other’s lives. 4) 2) Plot Summary The novel Baridegi follows the basic narration of the folk story of Baridegi. The main character “Bari” is born as the seventh daughter in North Korea. Her grandmother tells her the folktale Baridegi to Bari who was once abandoned by her parents for being a girl. With her grandmother’s love, she grows up as a special girl who is able to communicate with spirits and people who can’t speak. One day Bari’s uncle embezzles public money and flees to South Korea, her family is torn apart, and she has to cross a border between North Korea and China alone. She gets her job at a foot-massage shop in China and meets a Chinese friend, Xiang. But they are defrauded by their business partner, and smuggle themselves into London at the risk of their lives. They finally make it to London, but Bari’s life does not get any better. She works at a foot massage shop as an illegal alien and married a Pakistani, Ali. Then 9/11 broke out, and Ali left to Pakistan to find his brother. During his absence, Bari gave birth to a baby girl. But Bari’s daughter dies because Xiang, who comes to borrow money, makes a mistake. Fueled with hatred, Bari goes off to find medicine to revive her daughter. She witnesses all sorts of pain and sins, and forgives Xiang in the end. Later, Ali comes back from a concentration camp in Cuba, and Bari is pregnant with her second child. The novel ends with the London Bombings before them. 5) 3) Main Themes Baridegi is written with ambition to write about the reality that the world is facing in a Korean style, as an extension of Sonnim (손님, The Guest, 2001) and Simcheong, Yeonkkokeui gil (심청, 연꽃의 길, Simcheong, the Road of a Lotus, 2003). Hwang’s main focus on this work is the global migration. 6) He says that imperialistic countries made inroads into their colonies in the past, whereas the third-world countries are emigrating to previously imperial countries at present. An important setting of the novel Baridegi is London, where three quarters of downtown residents are immigrant workers. 7) The U.K. can be a perfect place showing the link between the current neo-liberalistic circumstances and the age of imperialism in the past. Hwang looks at the North Korean defector issue as an example of this global migration. The number of people fleeing from North Korea has rapidly increased because of international isolation and long-lasting famine after the collapse of eastern European countries. But the reality of North Korea has not been fully informed among the international society, or has only been mentioned when accusing the inhumanity of the North Korean regime. Baridegi comes at the division of Korea by showing that escaping from North Korea for survival is basically not so different from labor migration towards imperial countries. 8) And its open ending implies that the hellish reality of emigrants is still ongoing. 9) 4) Style Hwang actively adopted surreal elements to the novel Baridegi. The surreal elements function as metaphors of the contemporary reality in the novel. The description of the situation in the cargo ship on which Bari stows away to London risking her life can be a good example. 10) Hwang recalled that he was inspired by shamanistic experiences that a Nigerian immigrant told him when he was staying in London. Fantasy as a metaphor or distortion of reality can reveal the depths of reality that sometimes logic can’t grasp. 11) It is interesting that the scene of Bari’s smuggling herself into London is written in the form of poetry, not that of a narration. That is an experimental writing style to deliver something more than more than just a language. Baridegi received attention as a work showing the new aspect of Hwang, as he has been known to be faithful to realism. 12) 5) Critical Reception Baridegi is assessed to have shown the potential for Korean literature to be able to communicate with readers around the world by connecting the reality of Korea and globally pe-nding issues. 13) It is also praised for opening the possibility of communication and harmony by describing a character who heals wounds and bands together with others as well as describing the painful reality that immigrants are dealing with. 14) On the other hand, some criticizes that Baridegi romanticizes the solidarity of people from the third world, and nullifies the cultural diversity among them. 15) 3. Adaptation Baridegi was adapted for diverse genres and performed at its publication party. Movie stars, pansori singers, shamans, and folk song singers showed some parts of the novel in different ways: reciting, pansori, rituals, and performance, respectively. 16) 4. Bibliography 1) Editions Hwang Sok-yong, Baridegi, Changbi Publishers (July, 2007) 2) Translations English, Princess Bari, Periscope, 2015, Sora Kim-Russell. 18) English, Princess Bari [Kindle Edition], Garnet Publishing (UK) Ltd, 2015, Sora Kim-Russell. 19) English, Princess Bari, Scribe, 2019, Sora Kim-Russell. 20) French, PRINCESSE BARI, Philippe Picquier, 2013, Choi Mikyung, Jean-Noël Juttet. 21) Spanish, Bari, la princesa abandonada, Alianza Editorial, 2015, Luis Alfredo de los Frailes Álvaro. 22) Italian, BIANCA COME LA LUNA, Einaudi, 2016, Andrea de Benedittis. 23) Greek, Η εγκαταλειμμένη πριγκίπισσα, Εκδόσεις Καστανιώτη, 2017, Αμαλία Τζιώτη. 24) Bulgarian, Принцеса Бари, Colibri Publishers, 2015, Guéorgui Anguélov, Rumiyana Markova. 25) Norwegian, Prinsesse Bari, Font Forlag, 2016, Jarne Byhre. 26) Turkish, Princess Bari, Doğan Egmont, 2017, GOKSEL TURKOZU. 27) Ukrainian, Парідеґі, Комубук, 2019, Андрій Рижков. 28) Russian, Принцесса Пари, Литературная Учеба, 2015, Андрей Рыжков, Хо Сынчол. 29) Japanese, パリデギ, 岩波書店, 2008, 青柳優子. 30) Vietnamese, Công chúa Bari, Nhà Xuất Bản Trẻ, 2014, Dinh Thi Kieu Oanh. 31) Mongolian, Бари гүнж, Soyombo printing LLC, 2013, Ч. Цэрэнхорлоо. 32) Arabic, علي عبد الأمير صالح , 2017 ,الدار العربية للعلوم لبنان ,الاميرة باري. (https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32769) 5. References 1) Hwang, Sok-yong (1943~) is a Korean novelist. He was born in Manchuria, China in 1943. He moved to his maternal grandparents’ house in Pyongyang in 1945, then defected to South Korea in 1947. He visited North Korea in 1989, but was not able to come back home. He settled down in Berlin with his family, then moved to New York in 1991. He came back to South Korea in 1993, but was sentenced to life for his visit to North Korea. He was released by President Kim Dae-jung in 1998, and also made a tour of central Asian countries with President Lee Myung-bak. https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%99%A9%EC%84%9D%EC%98%81 2) Wikipedia https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%94%EB%A6%AC%EA%B3%B5%EC%A3%BC 3) Encyclopedia of Korean Culture https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=2120445&cid=50223&categoryId=51051 4) Choi, Jaebong, , “Baridegi, North Korean Defector Sucked into an Empire”, Hankyoreh, (Dec., 26, 2006) http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/book/180574.html 5) Han, Yunjeong, , “Hwang Sok-yong Published a New Novel Baridegi”, Kyunghyang Shinmun, (July, 11, 2007) http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=200707111738121&code=960205 6) Choi, Jaebong, , “Fascination: Captivating Writing with Reality Melted”. Hankyoreh, (April, 4, 2007) http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/baryprincess/200809.html 7) Choi, Byeongguk, “Hwang Sok-yong, Writer Brings up the Topic of Globalization”, Yonhap Interview, Yonhap News, (March, 18, 2005) https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=103&oid=001&aid=0000946637 8) Choi, Jaebong, “Wanted to Share the Life of the Korean Peninsula with the World”. Hankyoreh, (June, 20, 2007) http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/baryprincess/217186.html 9) Lee, Sangwon, 황석영, “The Miserable Life of Immigrant Workers Witnessed in Europe,” Nocut News, (Aug., 16, 2007) https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/334026 10) Han, Yunjeong, “Hwang Sok-yong Published the New Novel Barideg”i, Kyunghyang Shinmun , 2007.07.11. http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=200707111738121&code=960205 11) ibid 8) http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/baryprincess/217186.html 12) Sim, Jaecheon, “A North Korean Defector’s Tearful Journey, Overlooked Under the Shade of Globalization”, Segye Ilbo, (July, 14, 2007) http://www.segye.com/newsView/20070713001935 13) Yang, Jino, “Korean Literature as a Global Literature: Its Status and Prospect”, Hanminjok Eomunhak, Volume 51, 2007 14) Yu, Gyeongsu, “Diasporic Imagination for Pluralistic Conversation on Hwang Sok-yong’s Baridegi”, Comparative Korean Studies Volume 17, 2009. 15) Kim, Hyeongjung, “Three Ships Crossing the Border”, Munhakdeul, The wWinter versionedition, 2007 16) Sim, Jaecheon, “Pansori, Dance, and Folk Music. Bari, reborn on a ship”, Segyeo Ilbo, (Sept., 10, 2007) http://www.segye.com/newsView/20070909000104 17) Baridegi was published serially in Hankyoreh and later published as a book. The serial story can be read at the following link. http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/baryprincess/home01.html 18) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature Bibliography https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/17487 19) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/17488 20) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/40854 21) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/10114 22) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/18262 23) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/24079 24) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31685 25) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/20448 26) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/32665 27) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/31494 28) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/40850 29) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/19989 30) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/11308 31) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/16801 32) [Literature Translation Institute of Korea] Digital Library of Korean Literature https://library.ltikorea.or.kr/node/11521