Interested in Shteyngart in Korea? Read about author Gary Shteyngart’s Korean trip and the discovery of Seoul…
Gary Shteyngart the author is very popular due to his elaborate satires based on fictitious locations that resemble a real country drawn from all over the world. The American author born in Leningrad in 1972 is noted for his unique style of writing. Many of his articles are regularly published after he visits different countries, which include diverse locales such as Kazakhstan, Cambodia. A work based on Shteyngart’s Korean trip makes for an interesting read.
Early Life of Shteyngart
Although born into a Jewish family, he grew up in a typically Soviet environment where his father was part of the Lomo camera factory-engineering unit and his mother was an amateur pianist. By 1979 the young boy’s family moved to United States of America and he was brought up without a television in a tiny apartment. He finally managed to discard his heavy and noticeable Russian accent in his early teens. He was forbidden to enter Russia after the migration but managed to visit Prague. Eventually he wrote his first novel based on his experience during a visit to that city. It was set in a fictitious city called Prava in Europe.
Education and Publishing of Shteyngart’s Works
After graduating from the New York City based Stuyvesant High School he went on to the Oberlin College in the state of Ohio. After getting his degree in politics he went on to the Hunter College, which is part off the highly acclaimed City University of New York, to earn his degree of an MFA in Creative Writing.
He has been published in The New Yorker, Slate, Granta, Travel and Leisure and The New York Times along with having three novels under his belt.
Shteyngart’s Korean Impressions
When speaking of Korea, Shteyngart is vocal about the bad history and sadness that is present in the Korean region. Writing for the acclaimed publication Travel + Leisure, Shteyngart’s take on Korea is summarized as a quest by the Korean nationals to rush forward into the future. However the author surmises that due to the lack of development, the future for Korea is already in place and things cannot improve much more.
Shteyngart’s Korean Satire
During his visit to Korea, Shteyngart builds a satire around a 16-year old boy from Korea who is set three different situations. He questions whether the teenager is involved in a skirmish behind a local 7/11 store, or spending time with his girlfriend on a Mountain View point or perhaps studying for his exams in a disheveled state with dark circles under the eyes and still dressed in school uniform. Seoul is known for the highly polluted landscape and skyline, which is lifted only during the spring months and makes people happy and optimistic.
The answer to this query basically reflects the cramped and stringent lifestyle of the Korean people where the teenager, unlike his western counterparts, is busy studying. The weekend, instead of involving pleasurable activities, is focused on a visit to church followed by more study by the children. The children seem to be like zombies moving through extra classes even though they sport the funky razor cuts for the men and bangs accompanying the razor cuts for women. The listless youth is bombarded by the different radio stations with music by it hardly rejuvenates their spirits. By being divided into two, the South Korean nation is still suffering as the nation races to maintain its advanced economic development, which is powered by continuous innovation and a seemingly insurmountable workload on individuals.
