Parents' group calls for removal of Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian' from libraries \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

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Parents' group calls for removal of Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian' from libraries m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=384831&fbclid=IwY2xjawGF0i1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHdhLreNwG8S-3oqn6ulnu3p8EMZqjH6xbCCEik7zvAQ_eywN0g0fwD7OcA_aem_BEPRU2YFcahaH0fsFvAeUQ

1723 sats \ 15 comments \ @south_korea_ln 23 Oct BooksAndArticles

A nationwide parent group called for the removal of Nobel Prize laureate Han Kang's "The Vegetarian" from school libraries, arguing that it is harmful to minors.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Confederation of National Parents' Associations said, "A book with extreme and violent content should not be placed in elementary, middle or high school libraries simply because it was written by a Nobel laureate."

I sincerely hope book banning does not become a thing here too.

Do you think the state should decide which books are ok to read my youth and which ones are not. Sincerely asking, as there seems to be a certain level of overlap between bitcoiners, free speech absolutists and conservatives in the US.

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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @jgbtc 23 Oct

Streisand effect incoming... But I do think schools, working with parents, absolutely should set standards on age appropriate material. These decisions should be entirely local. It's ludicrous that something like this would be dictated at a national level.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 23 Oct

Agreed.

144 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 23 Oct

Depends on the context. As a parent, I would not want my kids having unsupervised access to inappropriate content, so I’d support removing such books from school libraries. I would not support removing it from public libraries entirely.

Obviously, people will debate what’s too inappropriate. Ken Arrow proved that democracy will always be hard.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 23 Oct

As a kid, i got attracted by the books i was told were too mature for my age. My sister was given a book at a birthday party where the main character gets sexually abused by her father. My parents hid the book when they found out. Both my sister and i I made sure to find another copy to read what all the fuss was about.

I get your point though. I'd also would like to make sure my son reads age appropriate material. I would just like to assume schools make the right choices without delisting. Because by formalizing this procedure, the louder more conservative voices likely get the upperhand.

Naive, maybe I am :)

91 sats \ 1 reply \ @0xbitcoiner 23 Oct

What a shame! Isn't it enough to simply label the book as not suitable for readers under X years old? Can't each person then make their own decision?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 23 Oct

Exactly 💯

91 sats \ 1 reply \ @clark 23 Oct

The state runs the schools, so all choices are political.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BeeAye 23 Oct

bingo, this the real question

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @itsrealfake 24 Oct

is it about Hitler? he was a vegetarian, wasn't he?

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 24 Oct

From Wikipedia:

The Vegetarian tells the story of Yeong-hye, a home-maker who, one day, suddenly decides to stop eating meat after a series of dreams involving images of animal slaughter. This abstention leads her to become distanced from her family and from society. The story is told in three parts: "The Vegetarian", "Mongolian Mark", and "Flaming Trees". The first section is narrated by Yeong-hye's husband, Mr. Cheong, in the first person. The second section is narrated in third person focusing on Yeong-hye's brother-in-law; and the third section remains in third-person but focuses on her sister, In-hye, while sporadically speaking in the present tense.

I haven't read the book yet.

Not sure if this plot is related to the fact that it is extremely hard to be a vegetarian in Korea. Nearly every meal, social event, etc will involve animal products, in one way or another.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @7e6e393a56 23 Oct

This is a controversial topic, as we are dealing with children and adolescents. I believe that there should be a supervisory body... and to be honest, there has always been repression by the state, whether democratic or dictatorial

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ET_AI21634172398 23 Oct

I think it is already happening. I have heard that they are rewriting some old children's books as well. This is why what we are doing here is so important.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Silent_Hodler 23 Oct

Books, like any other media, can be 18+ and they should be treated as such. Why movies and not books?

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Satosora 23 Oct

A lot of books have been "delisted" from reading catalogues in the USA. Its not just in korea.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln OP 23 Oct

It's not too common here in Korea yet, as far as i know. Or at least, it hasn't been publicized much in the past. Lots of conservative values here, so i would not be too surprised if they did.

But i hope it does become a thing like it seems to be in the US, based on my outsider's perspective.