Jang Jeongil is a

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 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

Life

Jang Jeongil was born in

Dalseong Dalseong County (Dalseong-gun) is a ''gun'' occupying much of south and western Daegu, South Korea. A largely rural district lying along the Nakdong River, it makes up nearly half of Daegu's total area. It is divided in half by a narrow piece o ...

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

in 1962. He embarked on his literary career in 1984 when four of his poems including “Gangjeong ganda” were published in volume 3 of ''The World of Language''.

Work

Jang Jeongil kicked off his literary career in 1984 with the publication of four poems including ''Going to Gangjeong'' in ''The World of Language'' and was quickly labeled a "masochistic terrorist," and a poet who "exposes pretensions of wickedness in society with devilishly puritanical spirit". In 1987, his play ''Interior Drama'' (Sillaegeuk) was chosen as the winner of the New Spring Literary Contest sponsored by

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 ...

and his poetry collection ''A Meditation on Hamburger'' (Haembeogeoae daehan meongsang) won the

Kim Su-yeong Kim Suyeong was a Korean poet. Life Kim Soo-young (1921–1968) was a Korean poet and translator whose poetry explored love and freedom as poetic and political ideals. Kim was born in Gwancheol-dong, Seoul on November 27, 1921. After gradua ...

Literature Prize. Despite the fact that his formal education ended after he graduated from Seongseo Middle School, Jang Jeong-il possesses encyclopedic knowledge of poetry, music, drama and culture, which heightened public fascination with the author. Jang’s ''

When Adam Opens His Eyes ''When Adam Opens His Eyes''(Korean:아담이 눈뜰 때) is a Korean novel written by Jang Jung-il Jang Jeongil is a South Korean poet, playwright, and novelist. Life Jang Jeongil was born in Dalseong, Daegu, South Korea in 1962. He embark ...

'' (Adami nuneul tteulttae) contains stories of many different genres. Much of Jang Jeongil's work has been adapted into movies or plays, including his A Journey with Oedipus. Jang’s work relies on the innovative technique of communicating through self-destruction. Exposing the destructive evil lying underneath the seemingly wholesome exterior of the society, the author purposely stimulates a feeling of discomfort in the readers while revealing himself fully and without shame. Jang was arrested when the court judged his novel, ''Try Lying to Me'' (Naegae geojinmareul haeboa, 1996) to be pornographic."Jang Jeong-il" LTI Korea Datasheet available at LTI Korea Library or online at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do#

Works in Translation

* The Shampoo Fairy (1987) - This work was later the inspiration for the 1990 song '샴푸의 요정(Fairy of Shampoo)' by the band Light & Salt, Jang Kee-Ho & Park Sung-Sik. Further eliciting a 2020 remake of the same name by

Tomorrow X Together Tomorrow X Together (, ; Tomorrow by Together, stylized TOMORROW X TOGETHER), commonly known as TXT ( ), is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment, now known as Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin ...

* Voices in Diversity: Poets from Postwar Korea (전후시선 ) * When Adam's Eyes Opened (November, 2013)

Works in Korean (Partial)

Poetry Collections * A Meditation on Hamburger (Haembeogeo-e daehan myeongsang, 1987) * Catching a Cab in the Road (Gil aneseo taeksi japgi) (1988) Short-Story Collections * I Send Myself To You (Neo-ege nareul bonaenda, 1992) * Do You Believe in Jazz? (Neohiga jaejeureul minneunya?, 1994) * Try Lying To Me (Naege geojinmareul haebwa, 1996) Collection of Plays * A Long Journey (Gin yeohaeng, 1995).

Awards

Literature Prize

References

* *"Yi Mun-Yol" Biographical PDF, LTI Korea, p. 3 available at LTI Korea Librar
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Jeongil 1962 births Korean writers Living people Jang clan of Asan