Hyun Ki Young ( ko, 현기영) is a South Korean author from
Jeju
Jeju may refer to:
* Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea
* Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo
**Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo
**Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo
** Jeju l ...
, specializing in the modern history of Jeju island.
["현기영" biographical PDF available at: ]
Life
Hyun Ki-Young was born on
Jeju Island in 1941 and graduated from
Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
. He has served as the Managing Director of the National Literary Writers Association (2000–2001) and as the President of the Korean Arts & Culture Foundation (2003). Hyun was also the director of the Committee for the Investigation of the 3 April Jeju Uprising as well as the President of the Jeju Institute for the Investigation of Social Problems.
[현기영 Hyun, Ki-young, Changbi Publishers. ]
Work
Hyun is an expert on the history of
Jeju Island in the modern era, particularly the
April Massacre of 1948 in which islanders were killed en masse by the Korean police in the latter's attempt to exterminate communist sympathizers. The event is the subject of much of his writing. Hyun began his writing career in 1975 with "Father" (Abeoji), published in ''
The Dong-a Ilbo
The ''Dong-A Ilbo'' (, literally ''East Asia Daily'') is a newspaper of record in Korea since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.2 million and opinion leaders as its main readers. ''The Dong-A Ilbo'' is the parent company of Dong-A M ...
'', and strove to depict the psychological trauma experienced by Jeju islanders.
Hyun is best known in the English-speaking world for his story "Aunt Suni", which was released in English in 2010 and panned for its poor translations. The story has since been re-translated as "Sun-I Samch'on" in a bilingual (English and Korean) volume. The story was the first published writing in South Korea about the Jeju massacre, and shortly after its release in 1978, Hyun was arrested and tortured for three days by the South Korean authorities. The government claimed his arrest was due to his presence at an anti-government protest, but upon release he was warned against ever writing about the massacre again, which revealed the government's true motives behind his arrest.
Recognition
Hyun is extremely well known in South Korea having won a number of literary prizes, including the 5th Sin Dong-yeop Prize For Literature in 1986, the
Manhae Prize
The Manhae Prize is a series of awards in the following categories: Peace, Social Service, Academic Excellence, Art, Literature, and Buddhist Missionary Work awarded by The Society for the Promotion and Practice of Manhae's Thoughts in memory of Bu ...
in 1990,
the Oh Yeong-su Literary Prize in 1994,
[Aunt Suni, p. 6] and the 1999 Hankook Ilbo Literature Prize.
Works in Korean (partial)
* ''A Bird Crying in the Periphery'' (, 1983)
* ''Windy Island'' (, 1989)
* ''The Last Horse Herder'' (, 1994)
* ''One Spoon on This Earth'' (, 1999)
Translated works
* ''Uncle Suni'', (1979) Gakbook, 2008 .
* ''Dead Silence. Stories on the Jeju Massacre'', EastBridge Signature Books, 2007 .
* ''Sun-i Samch’on'' Asia Publishers, 2012 .
* ''One Spoon on This Earth'', Dalkey Archive Press, 2013 .
References
External links
Review of Aunt Suni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyun, Ki-young
1941 births
Living people
South Korean novelists
Seoul National University alumni
People from Jeju Province