Choe Inho (, 17 October 1945 – 25 September 2013) was a South Korean writer."최인호 " Author Database: Choi Inho
, KLTI.

Life

Born in Seoul, Choe Inho graduated from the Department of English Literature at Yonsei University and debuted as a writer in 1967 with the short story “Patient Apprentice” (''Gyeonseup Hwanja'', ), which was selected as one of the winners of the New Spring Literary Contest sponsored by The Chosun Ilbo. In his youth, Choe was known as a prodigious drinker ("guzzler"), and in 2014 his handprints were memorialized on the sidewalk of Yonsei-ro, where he frequently drank. In 1987, when he was 43 years old, Choe converted to Catholicism, but nonetheless managed to extend his narrative range to include Buddhism in ''Road Without Road''. Choe also taught at Yonsei University and Catholic University of Korea. He died September 25, 2013, at age 68 (Korean age) from salivary gland cancer.

Work

Choe Inho began writing in 1963 at age 17 and took to it naturally. This is clear in his own account of writing two stories, “The Boozer” (술꾼) (1970) and “A Stranger’s Room” (타인의 방) (1971), which earned him a reputation as one of the most controversial novelists of the 1970s. According to Choe, “The Boozer” was completed in only two hours, while “A Stranger’s Room” was written overnight for the first issue of ''Literature and Intelligence''.LIST Magazine, "A Stranger's Room" Vol.20 Summer 2013 (Page 59) A handful of his early stories gained notice when they won competitions sponsored by local papers (

The Hanguk Ilbo ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

in 1963, the Chosun Ilbo in 1966) and the ''Sasanggye Magazine'' (1968).Land of Exile, p. 102 His early stories (Including "The Boozer," widely anthologized in English, which created general awareness of his career in 1970, though written earlier) depicted harsh and satirical landscapes of the results of consumerism. Choe focused on the people caught in the middle of a rapidly industrializing Korea, presenting a satirical picture of burgeoning consumerism and the resultant dehumanization. In the mid-1970s, Choe generalized his focus to that of alienation and wrote "Deep Blue Night," which told of the harsh and alienated "road trip" of two Koreans in California. It won the prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award in Korea in 1982. It was translated into English by Bruce Fulton and his wife Ju-Chan Fulton for the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and Jimoondang Publishing. Among his works, ''

The Merchant of Joseon ''The Merchant'' () is a South Korean historical television drama, based on ''The Merchant of Joseon'', a novel written by Choi In-ho (2000). It tells the story of Im Sang-ok (1779–1855), a legendary merchant who lived in the Joseon Dynasty. ...

'' (Sangdo, 상도) and '' Emperor of The Sea'' (Haeshin, 해신) were dramatized and aired by MBC and KBS in 2001 and 2004, respectively, which won popularity not only among Koreans but also viewers across the globe.

Awards

Choe's "Deep Blue Night" won the prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award in Korea in 1982. Besides winning the Yi Sang Literary Award, Choe was also awarded the 1972 Contemporary Literature (Hyundae Munhak) Award.

Works in translation

;English * "Deep Blue Night," Jimoondang Press (May 31, 2008) * "Tower of Ants," Hollym International Corporation (December 31, 2004) * "The Boozer," ''Land of Exile'' * "Another Man's Room," ''Modern Korean Fiction an Anthology'' ;German *''Koreanische Literatur Band 3 detail'' (한국문학 사화집 제3권 -전후 중단편선), Bouvier, translated by Ku Ki-Seong *''Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Koreanische Kultur. 1984/5 detail'' (<한>誌 (84.5월호) - 한국문학특집호), Institut für Koreanische Kultur *''Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Koreanische Kultur. 1984/7 detail'' (<한>誌 (84.7월호) - 한국문학특집호), Institut für Koreanische Kultur ;Japanese * 他人の部屋 detail (타인의 방), コールサック (Coal Sack)社 * 夢遊桃源図 detail (몽유도원도), コールサック (Coal Sack)社 ;Polish *''Maski detail'' (가면무도회), Nobilitas ;French *''Une nuit bleue et profonde'' (깊고 푸른 밤), Actes Sud

References

External links

A short biography and a translation of ''The Boozer'' (Called ''The Drunkard'' here)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choe, Inho Seoul High School alumni 1945 births 2013 deaths Deaths from cancer in South Korea Deaths from salivary gland cancer Converts to Roman Catholicism South Korean Roman Catholics South Korean writers Yonsei University alumni Academic staff of the Catholic University of Korea Academic staff of Yonsei University