Kind Words from Professor Kim Seong-kon, LTI Korea President

Professor Kim Seong-kon

President, LTI Korea

Wikipedia

Professor Kim Seong-kon (SNU) is the man who invited me to give the keynote address at the The 13th International Workshop for Translation and Publication of Korean Literature, a workshop held in conjunction with the Seoul International Book Fair, and since I wasn't sure that my talk had succeeded on the level of humor, wrote to Professor Kim to 'subtly' inquire:

I didn't find the opportunity to thank you for last Friday, so I'll try to do so now.

I very much enjoyed the entire workshop, and I also learned a lot (because I'm very ignorant, as everyone knows by now).

I hope that my presentation was entertaining, as well as possibly informative. I expected more smiles and even laughter, but humor doesn't always cross boundaries well (hence my 'warning' of what was to come).

That was my first experience giving a keynote address, so I was a bit unsure of whether I succeeded or flamed out.

I wish I had as much confidence as the Frenchman who spoke his mind rather than read his paper. That was impressive!

Thanks again for the truly new experience.

Professor Kim wrote back promptly:

And thanks to you, too! Your presence at the Workshop brightened the occasion and your keynote speech was humorous and entertaining, not to mention informative and insightful.

As you know, Koreans are often reclusive and reluctant to express their feelings. Hence, they seldom laugh upon hearing a joke or a humorous anecdote. Instead, they are just amused and smile quietly.

Thank you so much for your excellent keynote address. I was quite humored and learned a lot from it.

Well, that's a relief -- and actually rather pleasant to hear. From now on, all my keynote speeches will be about my ignorance.

It's a vast topic . . .