How ‘Talash’ Has Brought Bangladesh and South Korea a Step Closer

When a research professor at the Kim-Dae-Jung Presidential Library and Museum of Yonsei University in South-Korea, Professor Seung- Hee Jeon, came across Shaheen Akhtar's fiction on the Liberation War, Talash, she realised how similar the two countries were from their historical perspectives. What touched Professor Jeon even more was the way in which the plight of women during Bangladesh's Liberation War narrated in the book is coincidentally so similar to the history of Korean 'comfort women' under Japan's regime. Even though we live in a time where the physical distance between Bangladesh and Korea is as short as five hours by air, however, majority of the nationalities of these two counties are still unaware of how in-sync they are, in both social and cognitive ways.

Thus, to bring these two nations closer and familiarise their past, Professor Jeon has decided to translate Talash into Korean language through the book's English translation, The Search by Ella Dutta. The translation will be available by the end of 2017.

On February 15, 2017, the Department of English and Humanities, BRAC University and the Department of English and Modern Languages, Central Women's University jointly hosted a discussion with Professor and translator Seung-Hee Jeon at the GDLN Conference Centre, BRAC University. During the session, Professor Jeon met Shaheen Akhtar and they both shared their views on their works. Additionally, there were two other presenters; Bashabi Barua from Central Women's University and Anika Saba from BRAC University. They both talked about their research interest on the narratives of melancholy, trauma, and reconciliation.