On September 10, Kyung Hee University (KHU)’s Depertment of Spainsh, Center for Comparative Cultural Studies, and Center for Latin American Studies jointly hosted an invited lecture by Claudia Pineiro, a world-renowned bestselling novelist. The lecture was held for two hours at the KHU Global Campus College of Foreign Languages. Ms.Claudia gave a lecture on how she became a writer, the worldview of her work, and the bestseller book, "Elena Knows". The lecture was attended by 60 people, including representatives from the Argentine Embassy, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, the Center for Comparative Culture Studies, and faculty members.

Claudia Pineiro giving a lecture at Kyung Hee University                                                                                                      

Who is Claudia Pineiro?

Claudia Pineiro, a playwright and novelist, is a crime fiction writer representing Argentina with many works translated and published in many languages around the world, earning great frame. Ms. Claudia’s works deal with political, economic, social issues in Argentina, especially women’s rights, social inequality, and violence. Her notable novels include Elena Knows published in 2005, and she has released several novels such as Widows on Thursdays, and The Women Who Killed God.  Also, Ms. Claudia won the Planeta Prize and the playwright award. In 2022, she was a finalist for the International Booker Prize, establishing herself as a leading crime novelist representing Argentina. Among her works, Elena Knows gained significant popularity, even being adapted into film by Netflix last November. Ms. Claudia was invited as a speaker for the 2024 Seoul International Writers’ Festival and hopes to connect with young readers. Accordingly, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and Center for Comparative Cultural Studies of the university collaborated to introduce her works and invited her to explore common ground between Argentina and Korea.

Details of the Invited Lecture: How It Took Place

Professor Park Jung-won from the Dept. of Spanish, a head of center for Comparative Cultural Studies,  prepared the lecture. The invited lecture centered on two translated works, Elena Knows and The Women Who Killed God, discussing the author's messages and the significance of the crime novel genre. During the lecture, Ms. Claudia read her essay to the students and shared her desire to express thoughts came from a fear of verbal expression. The lecture was conducted in a way that the students asked the questions and Ms. Claudia answered them. Students asked the questions with great interest about the impact of conservative Catholic religion in Argentine society and how young and women’s human rights are being accepted. Ms. Claudia talked about the dual role of religion and also mentioned the recent situation in which abortion has been legalized in Argentine society. Ms. Claudia has been consistently talking about women's human rights and the right to choose since 2005, which has contributed to the legalization of abortion rights in Argentina in 2020. She also emphasized that religion should be wary of being used as a means of becoming power or suppressing others.

The significance of the lecture

Prof. Park stated that it was of great significance as it provided Korean students with the opportunity to understand the meaning of literature and the reason for creating novels from the perspective of Argentina, a geographically distant country. Additionally, Professor Park recommended that students read two of Ms. Claudia's works that was translated into Korean: The Women Who Killed God and Elena Knows, the latter of which was recently adapted into a Netflix film. He emphasized that Elena Knows is particularly significant as it addresses the issues of an aging society and the care of the elderly. By learning how to deal with issues through the writer's crime novels, professor expects students have an opportunity to understand the diversity of the world through literature.

KHU has a deep interest in the values of global civilizations and transitions, and is making continuous efforts to share these with students and society. Prof. Park mentioned that the center for Comparative Cultural Studies aims to contribute to Korean society by exploring the value of care on a global scale, and to create opportunities to enhance the university’s academic standing through exchanges with world-renowned scholars and writers. Ms. Claudia's invited lecture provided an opportunity to gain international literary insights at the University.