Jung Chan (; born 1953) is a South Korean writer.
["정찬" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: http://library.klti.or.kr/node/352]
Life
Jung Chan was born in 1953
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 ...
with a degree in Korean Education.
He debuted in 1983 when his novella ''The Tower of Language'' (Marui tap) was published in The World of Language.
Jung is a popular artist, having appeared at
LTI Korea
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea ( ko, 한국문학번역원, LTI Korea, formerly known as Korean Literature Translation Fund) was founded in 1996 by the Government of South Korea with the aim of promoting Korean literature and cultu ...
2010 Seoul International Writers’ Festival under the theme “Fantasy + Empathy”.
Work
Jung was profoundly influenced by 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 ...
, which occurred while he was working as a reporter for 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 ...
. What intrigued Jung was not so much the political issue, but the issues of men confronting death and redemption.
In ''Perfect Soul'' (Wanjeonhan yeonghon), barbarity of those in power is contrasted against the simplicity and passivity of innocent souls.
Another concern in Jung's work is the relationship between power and language. The power here is the end product of the corruption of language or language turned ideological.
Jung's ''Ice House'' (Eoreumui jip) and ''Song of Sadness'' (Seulpeumui norae) offer a careful meditation upon the language of novels and ''Owl'' focuses on the tension between God's silence and the language of corrupt power.
In Ice House (Eoreumui jip), what the powerful pursues so relentlessly is ultimately identified as the place of God. While delving into the interchange between the essence and the manifestations of essence, Jung also investigates the problem of fictional language revealed in the novel itself. For this reason, his work is often seen as occupying a middle ground between poetics and novels.
Works in translation
* The Cozy Path ()
Works in Korean (partial)
Novels
* The Evening of the World (1998)
* Gold Ladder (1999)
* Under the Broom Tree (1999)
* A Shadow Soul (2000)
* Short Story Collections
* The River of Memory (1989)
* A Perfect Soul (1992)
* Cozy Road (1995)
* Dead in Venice (2003)
Awards
*
Dong-in Literary Award The Dong-in Literary Award ( ko, 동인문학상) is a South Korean literary award named after novelist Kim Dong-in, established in order to praise the literary achievement of The Republic of Korea. In commemoration of the Korean modern literatu ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Chan
1953 births
Living people
South Korean writers
Seoul National University alumni