Gong Seon-ok (born 1963) is a modern South Korean writer.

Life

Gong was born in

Gokseong Gokseong County (''Gokseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Climate Attractions * Taeansa TempleCin Woo Le"Simply stunning: 33 incredible Korean temples" ''CNN Go''. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-12 * Neungpa Towe ...

County,

South Jeolla South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...

Province,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Her father, who abandoned the family early on, led a wandering existence in order to evade creditors, and her mother suffered from weak health. Although Gong was accepted into university, she was ultimately forced to leave because she could not afford the tuition and made a living by working as a factory hand and long-distance express bus attendant.

Work

Gong portrays traditional life in rural areas in reflection of her hometown in the southern Jeolla province Gong debuted in 1991 with her novella "Seeds of Fire." Gong's female characters reside at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, including the girl in "That’s Life," a squatter living in a freezing derelict apartment building without heat or electricity who ultimately loses her life in a butane gas accident. The city of

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

is another reoccurring motif in Gong's work. Her husband is a survivor of the

Gwangju uprising The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (Ma ...

, a pro-democracy movement suppressed by the South Korean government in 1980. Gong lived not far from the scene of the protest and the university she briefly attended was also in Gwangju. Gong's debut work "Seeds of Fire" portrays the harrowing experience and resulting trauma of the men who had taken part in the

Gwangju Democratization Movement The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (Ma ...

. Her key works including the short stories "A Thirsty Season," "Alibi for the Next Season," and the novel ''When I Was Most Beautiful'' are also set in Gwangju. In her work, Gong portrays the sorrow and loss of Gwangju citizens who have personally experienced these atrocities. Nevertheless, hope can still be found in Gong's work—not vague optimism, but hope in the fierce will of people who try to live cheerfully in the midst of pain.

Works in translation

* «Приходите на поле гаоляна» (Russian) * 《请到玉米地来》 (Chinese) * "The Flowering of Our Lives" () (in ''The Future of Silence: Fiction By Korean Women'') * "Wandering Family" () * "La familia itinerante" (Spanish)

Works in Korean (partial)

* ''My Thirties Left Behind in Oji-ri'' (; 1993) * ''Bloom, Daffodil'' (; 1994) * ''The Flowering of Our Lives'' (; 1994) * ''Alibi for the Next Life'' (; 1998) * ''A Wonderful World'' (; 2002) * ''Come to the Sorghum Field'' (; 2002) * ''Wandering Family'' (; 2005) * ''Merrily Through the Night'' (; 2007) * ''When I Was Most Beautiful'' (; 2009) * ''Flowery Days'' (; 2011)

Awards

* Women News Literature Prize (1992) * Shin Dongyeop Writing Award (1995) * Today's Young Artist Award (2004) * This Year's Literary Prize (''Olhaemunhaksang'' 2005) * Baek Sangae Literature Prize (2008) * Manhae Literature Prize (2009) * Oh Yeongsu Literature Prize (2009) * Catholic Literature Prize (2009) * Yosan Literature Prize (2011)

References