Gong Ji-young
| Gong Ji-young | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 1, 1963 |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | South Korea |
| Period | 1963-present |
| Gong Ji-young | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 공지영 |
| Hanja | 孔枝泳 |
| Revised Romanization | Gong Jiyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kong Chiyŏng |
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Gong Ji-young (born 31 January 1963) is a South Korean and one of the most popular of the 'new wave' of female writers who shattered the South Korean literary establishment's glass ceiling in the 1980s and 1990s.[1] As a teen, Gong self-published her own stories and poems, before the student movement in the 1980s gave her a sense of mission that focused her talents.[2] Her short-novel, Rising Dawn, was a direct result of her involvement in the student and labor movements of that era.[3] In 1985 Gong received her B.A. in Literature from Yonsei University.[4] Gong has been married and divorced three times and has three children.[5]
She began to write in 1988. Gong has a always focused tightly on issues surrounding women, laborers, the underprivileged, and those who are discriminated against. [6] In 2009 she published The Crucible which had a substantial impact on Korean society and law with respect to the rights of the handicapped.[7] The book was also made into a movie titled Dogani (도가니; The Crucible) in Korean, and when that movie became a major hit, members of the Korean political party the GNP pressed for an investigation of Gong based on her engagement in "political activities."[8]
Gong was also, along with Korean writers Lee Ki-ho and Ham Min-bok, an early adopter of the internet. When she began to publish The Crucible, she first published it on Korean internet portal Daum on November 7th, 2008, and left the work up for six months.[9] This kind of serial writing is common in Korea, but it is traditionally done in newspapers.
[edit] Work
Gong was interested in literature form an early age, and while still a teenager, self-published her own stories and poems. Gong continued her literary interests by attending graduate school in literature. It was here, in the 1980's that she came into contact with the student movement and it was from this experience that Gong drew her sense of purpose. Her first novel was Daybreak or "Rising Dawn" which was the outcome of her work in the student movement and with the labor movement[10] In 1995, Gong's novel Go Alone Like the Rhinoceros' Horn was made into a feature film.[11] Her novel Maundy Thursday (Our Happy Time) was adapted into a movie (Urideurui haengbokhan sigan)[12] in 2006.
Her novel The Crucible was adapted into a movie The Crucible (Hangul: 도가니; RR: Dogani.)
Gong has received several awards for her work:
2001 - 7th 21 Century Literary Award
2001 - 27th Korean Novel and Literature Award from Korea Novelist Association
2004 - 12th Oh Young-soo Literature Award
2006 - 9th Special Media Award from Amnesty International
[edit] Works in English
Human Decency (Jimoondang)
[edit] Works in Korean
1993 - Go Alone Like a Rhino Horn
1994 - Mackerel
2002 - My Sister Bongsoon
1999 - Crying Existence
2000 - Who We Are, Where We Are From, Where We Are Going? (received 7th 21 Century Literary Award in 2001)
2005 - Films of My Life
2005 - Maundy Thursday ("Our Happy Time")
2006 - I Was Alone Like a Raindrop
2006 - The Unhurt Soul
2009 - People in the Bible for Children 2009 - The Crucible
[edit] Controversy
The member of the Grand National Party Human Rights Commission, Kim Yeon-ho, proposed to investigate Gong for her verbose depiction of her novel, and later movie, Dogani, that over-intimidated citizens.[13] Gong later mocked Kim Yeon-ho's remark by expressing a humorous gratitude "thank you, Grand National Party, for making me internationally famous" on her Twitter account.[14]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/8988095928
- ^ Korean Writers: The Novelists, Minmusa, p 54)
- ^ Korean Writers: The Novelists, Minmusa, p 54)
- ^ http://www.koreanmovie.com/Gong_Ji_young_Creator_of_Bestselling_Novels_news97/
- ^ http://www.koreanmovie.com/Gong_Ji_young_Creator_of_Bestselling_Novels_news97/
- ^ Korean Writers and Novelists. Minumsa Publishing, 2005. p55
- ^ "Book rekindles rage over Inhwa School case". http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110929000867. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ "GNP calls for investigation into The Crucible’author Gong Ji-young". http://www.ktlit.com/korean-literature/gnp-calls-for-investigation-into-‘the-crucible’-author-gong-ji-young. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ "Gong Ji-young Releases New Novel Online". http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/04/142_35621.html. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ^ Korean Writers and Novelists. Minumsa Publishing, 2005. p54
- ^ Korean Writers and Novelists. Minumsa Publishing, 2005. p54
- ^ "Urideul-ui haengbok-han shigan". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870967/combined. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
- ^ Bae (배), Myeong-jae (명재) (2011-10-27). "“도가니 과도한 표현, 공지영 조사하라”" (in Korean). The Kyunghyang Shinmun. http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201110272123305&code=940100. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
- ^ "공지영 “한나라당이 날 세계적인 작가로 만들려 꼼 기획…감사” 꼬집어" (in Korean). The Kyunghyang Shinmun. 2011-10-28. http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201110281117591&code=940100. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
