Park Wan-suh
| Park Wan-suh | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 20, 1931 |
| Died | January 22, 2011 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | Korean |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Ethnicity | Korean |
| Period | 1970–2011 |
| Park Wan-suh | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 박완서 |
| Hanja | 朴婉緖 |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Wan-seo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Wansŏ |
Park Wan-suh (October 20, 1931 – January 22, 2011)[1] was a South Korean writer.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Park Wan-suh (also Park Wan-seo, Park Wan-so, Park Wansuh, Park Kee-pah and Pak Wan-so, Pak Wanso) was born in 1931 in Gaepung-gun, Gyeonggi-do in what is now North Korea.[2] Park entered Seoul National University, the most prestigious in Korea, but dropped out almost immediately after attending classes due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the death of her brother.[3] During the war, Park was separated from her mother and elder brother by the North Korea army, which moved them to North Korea.[4] She lived in the village of Achui, in Guri, outside Seoul until her death.[5]
[edit] Work
Park published her first work, The Naked Tree, in 1970, when she was 40. Her oeuvre quickly grew however and as of 2007 she had written fifteen novels, and 10 short story collections.[6] Her work is “revered” in Korea[7] and she has won many Korean literary awards including, in 1981 the Yi Sang Literary Prize, in 1990 the Korean Literature award,[8] and in 1994 the Dong-in Literary Award. Park’s work centers on families and biting critiques of the middle class.[9] Perhaps the most vivid example of this is in her work The Dreaming Incubator in which a woman is forced to undergo a series of abortions until she can deliver a male child. Her best known works in Korea include 'Bad Luck in the City', 'Swaying Afternoons', 'That Year the Winter was Warm', 'Are you Still Dreaming?'.[10]
Park’s translated novels include “Who Ate up All the Shinga” which sold some 1.5 million copies in Korean [11] and was well-reviewed in English translation. Park is also published in “The Red Room: Stories of Trauma in Contemporary Korea “
Park died on the morning of January 22, 2011, suffering from cancer.[12]
[edit] Partial list of publications
My Very Last Possession: And Other Stories
The Red Room: Stories of Trauma in Contemporary Korea
Sketch of the Fading Sun
Three Days in That Autumn
Weathered Blossom (Modern Korean Short Stories)
Who Ate Up All the Shinga?: An Autobiographical Novel
[edit] Honors
- Order of Cultural Merit, 2011.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ (German) "Südkoreanische Autorin Pak Wanso gestorben": (South Korean Pak Wanso author died), on news.orf.at 22-01-2011
- ^ "Writer, Park Wansuh. List: Books from Korea. KLTI
- ^ Korean Writers: The Novelists. Minmusa Publishing, 2005. (p 213)
- ^ "Writer, Park Wansuh. List: Books from Korea. KLTI
- ^ "Writer, Park Wansuh. List: Books from Korea. KLTI
- ^ Cherished Themes from Park Wan-seo's Literary Life. Korea Focus. Choi Jae-bong
- ^ Colonial Modernity in Korea By Gi-Wook Shin, Michael Edson Robinson p224
- ^ Korean Writers: The Novelists. Minmusa Publishing, 2005. (p 212)
- ^ Cherished Themes from Park Wan-seo's Literary Life. Korea Focus. Choi Jae-bong
- ^ http://park.org/Korea/Pavilions/PublicPavilions/KoreaImage/e-information/culture/pack.html
- ^ "Writer, Park Wansuh. List: Books from Korea. KLTI
- ^ http://www.ytn.co.kr/_comm/pop_mov.php?s_mcd=0103&s_hcd=&key=201101220959002865
- ^ Jang, Sung-eun. "Beloved Korean Novelist Dies At 80," Wall Street Journal (US). January 26, 2011.
