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Sok-Yong Hwang
Novelist
He was born in Manchuria in 1943. He began his literary career while in high school, receiving New Writer Award from “Sasanggye” for his short story Near the Making Stone.
As young, Hwang worked at many construction sites, hanging out with a construction worker whom he met at a police lockup for taking part in an anti-government demonstration. He also lived as a fisher boat crew and a bakery worker. One time he wanted to be a Buddhist monk and stayed at a temple in a mountain. Then, he went to the Vietnamese War as a marine.
In 1970, Hwang won the Chosun Ilbo annual literary contest for his short story Pagoda, which reflected his experience during the war, and he embarked on a full literary carrier. He emerged as one of the leading contemporary Korean writers with such masterpieces as The Land of Strangers and The Road to Sampo. A multi-volume saga Jang Kilsan, serialized in Hankuk Ilbo for ten years (1974-1984), established him as a “writer of the people.” These works were heralded not only as the finest examples of realism but also as the most outstanding achievement of Korean Literature.
Hwang visited North Korea in 1989, afterwards, he went into exile in Germany and the United States. He returned to South Korea in 1993 and served 5 years in prison for violating the National Security Law. His recent novels include An Old Garden(2000), The Guest(2001), Shim Cheong(2007), Princess Bari(2007), and Hesperus(2008).
Hwang has received numerous literary awards and prizes. For The Shadow of Arms, he received the 1989 Manhae Literature Prize, 2000 Danjae Literature Prize and 2001 Daesan Literature Prize for The Guest. His works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Japanese and Chinese.
As young, Hwang worked at many construction sites, hanging out with a construction worker whom he met at a police lockup for taking part in an anti-government demonstration. He also lived as a fisher boat crew and a bakery worker. One time he wanted to be a Buddhist monk and stayed at a temple in a mountain. Then, he went to the Vietnamese War as a marine.
In 1970, Hwang won the Chosun Ilbo annual literary contest for his short story Pagoda, which reflected his experience during the war, and he embarked on a full literary carrier. He emerged as one of the leading contemporary Korean writers with such masterpieces as The Land of Strangers and The Road to Sampo. A multi-volume saga Jang Kilsan, serialized in Hankuk Ilbo for ten years (1974-1984), established him as a “writer of the people.” These works were heralded not only as the finest examples of realism but also as the most outstanding achievement of Korean Literature.
Hwang visited North Korea in 1989, afterwards, he went into exile in Germany and the United States. He returned to South Korea in 1993 and served 5 years in prison for violating the National Security Law. His recent novels include An Old Garden(2000), The Guest(2001), Shim Cheong(2007), Princess Bari(2007), and Hesperus(2008).
Hwang has received numerous literary awards and prizes. For The Shadow of Arms, he received the 1989 Manhae Literature Prize, 2000 Danjae Literature Prize and 2001 Daesan Literature Prize for The Guest. His works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Japanese and Chinese.
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