A Distinguished Man of Letters: Critic Kim Byong-ik   By Kim Dongshik on Oct 19 2014 16:41:29 Vol.18 Winter 2012 Prolific and influential, Kim Byong-ik has made his mark on every aspect of the literary world. Since his retirement, he has remained as engaged as ever reading every day and even staying in touch with changes in pop culture.    Kim Dongshik: What I was the most concerned with as I prepared for this interview was how I should introduce you. You have been engaged in quite a variety of fields, as a journalist, publisher, professor, literary critic, translator, and cultural administrator, among others. I think I should introduce your profile for the readers of _list.  You, Mr. Kim Byong-ik, were born in 1938 in Daejeon, and graduated from the Department of Political Science at Seoul National University. You began to work as a journalist for the Dong-A Ilbo in 1961, participated in the production of 68 Literature, a literary magazine, in 1968, and launched Literature and Intellect, a quarterly journal, with Kim Hyeon in 1970. In 1975 you were dismissed from The Dong-A Ilbo for your leadership in the freedom of press movement, and in the same year, founded Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd. and took up your post as the director. In 1988 you served as the chairman of the board for Korean Publishing Research Institute, a visiting professor at Inha University in 2001, and as the first chairman of Arts Council Korea in 2005. You are a journalist who strove for freedom of press in Korea, a publisher who established Moonji Publishing Co., Ltd., one of the major publishing companies in Korea, a literary critic who has made ceaseless efforts to investigate the field of Korean literature, and a cultural administrator who has worked to promote culture and art in Korea. It’s been several years since your retirement, but you have not ceased in your efforts. Recently, you published Understanding and Sympathy, a book of essays. What else have you been up to?