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Djuna

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Djuna
Pen nameLee Youngsoo
OccupationWriter
LanguageKorean
NationalitySouth Korean
Period1994~
Genrescience fiction
Notable worksThe Pacific Express

Djuna (Korean듀나) is a South Korean pseudonymous science fiction writer and film critic. Djuna is managed by Greenbook Agency.[1]

Life

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The identity of Djuna is unknown, and Djuna prefers the personal pronoun "they."[2] They publish all their works under the name Djuna, and interviews are done by e-mail correspondence or online chats.[3][4] For some of their early works, they used the name Lee Youngsoo, but it is generally taken as a pseudonym, because Lee Youngsoo is one of the most common names in Korea.[5]

They explain the name Djuna as coming from writer Djuna Barnes and a character in a work by the pseudonymous Ellery Queen.[6] The capitalization was due to Djuna's belief that using lowercase letters for proper nouns was "awkward".[7]

In 2020, Djuna succeeded Soyeon Jeong as the second president of the Science Fiction Writers Union of the Republic of Korea, leaving office in 2021.

Works

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Djuna debuted in 1997 with the anthology Butterfly War.[6]

In 2023 their first major work has been translated to English (the novel Counterweight).[6][8]

Reception

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Since the 1990s, Djuna has been one of the most prolific and important writers in the South Korean science fiction field.[9][10] Djuna been described as "a literary giant in Korea".[6]

Selected works

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They have published seven short story collections, six novels, and two essays.

Short story collections

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  • Butterfly War (나비전쟁) 1997
  • Duty Free Area (면세구역) 2000
  • Pacific Express (태평양 횡단 특급) 2002
  • Proxy War (대리전) 2006
  • Teeth of the Dragon (용의 이) 2007
  • Bloody Battle on the Broccoli Field (브로콜리 평원의 혈투) 2011
  • Not Yet a God (아직은 신이 아니야) 2013

Novels

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  • Molok (몰록) 2001
  • The Shadow of Spiderweb (거미줄 그늘) 2009
  • Jezebel (제저벨) 2012
  • The World of Mint (민트의 세계) 2018
  • There I Existed In Arcadia (아르카디아에도 나는 있었다) 2019
  • Counterweight (평형추) 2021.

Film criticism

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  • Complaining over the Screen (스크린 앞에서 투덜대기) 2001
  • Film Shakespeare (필름 셰익스피어) 2005
  • Genre Encyclopedia: SF Film (장르백서 2: SF영화) 2015

Non-fiction

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  • Possible Spaces of Dreams: Djuna Essay (가능한 꿈의 공간들:듀나 에세이) 2015

References

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  1. ^ "Greenbook Literary Agency: Djuna". dgugspress.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ "정체불명의 가면을 쓰고 이야기하는 듀나 – 동국대학교 대학원신문". dgugspress.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ "[촉ㆍ감] 얼굴 없는 평론가 듀나…문학 갈등 사이에 끼다". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). 22 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ www.etnews.com (14 July 2010). "[박성원의 미래사회]한국에 과학소설이 희귀한 이유". 대한민국 IT포털의 중심! 이티뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. ^ "얼굴없는 사이버 작가 DJUNA". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d Knibbs, Kate (11 July 2023). "Djuna, South Korea's Enigmatic Sci-Fi Legend, Opens Up About Their New Book". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ^ "DJUNA는 무슨 뜻이고 왜 듀나라고 발음되나요?" [What does DJUNA mean and why is it pronounced as Dunna?] (in Korean). 24 April 2004. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  8. ^ Kunzru, Hari (9 July 2023). "In Djuna's Space-Elevator Sci-Fi, Corporate Conspiracies Abound". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  9. ^ "[커버스토리]21세기 상징 대중문화분야 SF소설가 듀나". Weekly Kyunghyang (in Korean). 23 September 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. ^ "듀나 | 문학과지성사". moonji.com. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
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