Life
Kim was born in Hwacheon on November 11, 1968. He moved from place to place as a child, since his father was in the military. As a child, he suffered from gas poisoning from coal gas and lost memory before ten. He was educated at Yonsei University in Seoul, earning undergraduate as well as graduate degrees in Business Administration from Yonsei University, but he didn't show much interest in it. Instead he focused on writing stories. Kim, after graduating from Yonsei University in 1993, began his military service as an assistant detective at the military police 51st Infantry Division nearWork
His first novel, published in Korean in 1996, was ''I Have the Right to Destroy Myself''. It has been translated into English, French, German, Czech, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese , Mongolian and Croatian. His historical novel ''Black Flower,'' which won the Dong-in Literary Award in 2004, tells the story of Korean migrant workers in Mexico later involved in a Pancho Villa-led military uprising. Sources of inspiration for this novel came from classical '' Bildungsroman'', stories of sea trips as illustrated by the popular film Titanic, ethnography of religion, as well as Korean histories of exile and immigration. Another instance of Kim's mixed style is found in ''Your Republic Is Calling You'', his fourth novel, in which he raises the question of human identity in a democratic and consumerist Korean society by presenting a North Korean spy and his family in Seoul in the manner of a crime fiction combined with a truncated family saga and naturalist depiction of everyday life. It has been translated into seven languages including English (US title: ''Your Republic Is Calling You''). Kim Young-ha is often judged as a writer skilled in rendering 1990's urban sensibilities. Featuring a professional suicide assistant as a protagonist, ''I Have a Right to Destroy Myself'' pioneers a new realm in the genre of fantasy literature; stories contained in ''Summoning'' and ''What Happened to the Man Caught in the Elevator Door?'' tackle computer games, plastic art, cult movies, hostage situations, homosexuality, and other subject matters not commonly explored in Korean literature, which are becoming a part of modern reality. Kim's stories utilize unfamiliar or even strange settings to explore the by-product of modern capitalism and urban culture, such as alienation and inability to communicate, extreme narcissism and its limitations. His second novel, ''Why Did Arang'', centers on the legend of Arang. Murdered by her nanny, Arang becomes a ghost haunting all Miryang deputies in an attempt to expose her killer. The terrified deputies, however, die of fear as soon as they see the ghost, and Arang remains a woeful spirit until a deputy brave enough to stand the sight of her is assigned to Miryang region and finally avenges her. The ancient legend of Arang unfolds simultaneously with the story of two present day characters, hairdresser Yeongju and writer Park; and the narrator takes up the dual role of a storyteller recounting the legend of Arang as well as a detective providing hints and evidence necessary for solving the mysteries presented in the novel. Employing the devices of a detective novel, and at the same time parodying an ancient legend, ''Why Did Arang'' reveals that the author's interest in the art of fiction extends beyond mere plot or characterization to the function of narrator and the very definition of storytelling. Two films have already been based on his fiction: ''Personal life
He married Jang Eun-soo while he was working for Yonsei University language school in 1996. Kim revealed he was anWorks (partial)
Novels
* ''I Have the Right to Destroy Myself'' (''Na-neun na-reul pagoehal gwolli-ga issda'' 1996) * ''Why, Arang'' (''Arang-eun wae'' 2001) * ''Black Flower'' (''Geomeun kkot'' 2003) * ''Short stories
* ''The Pager'' (''Hochul'' 1997) * ''The Vampire'' (Heup-hyul-gwi 1998) * ''Whatever Happened to the Guy Stuck in the Elevator?'' (''Ellibeiteo-e kkin geu namja-neun eotteoke doe-eossna'' 1999) * ''Brother has Returned'' (''Oppa-ga dolawassda'' 2004) * ''Nobody What Happened'' (2010) * ''Only Two Person'' (2017)Essays
* 《Gulbi Fishing》(Gulbi-nakksi, 2000) * 《Kim Young-Ha, Lee Woo-il's Movie Story》(Kim-yeongha iu-il-ui yeonghwa iyagi, 2003) * 《Daily Life》(Il-sang, 2001) * 《Post-it》(2002)Works in Translation
English
* ''Your Republic Is Calling You'' (2006), winner in 2007 of the Manhae Literary Award * ''Black Flower'' (2003), winner in 2004 of the Dong-in Literary Award * ''Brother has Returned'', (collection of short stories) winner in 2004 of the Yi Sang Literary Award. * ''Photo Shop Murder'' (English translation 2003) * ''I Have the Right to Destroy Myself'' (1996; English translation, 2007) * ''Diary of a murderer and other stories'', translated by Krys Lee (collection of stories, 2019) contains 4 stories: ** ''Diary of a murderer'' (novella, translation of ) ** ''The origin of life'' (short story, translation of ) ** ''Missing child'' (short story, translation of ) ** ''The writer'' (short story, translation of )Other languages
I Have the Right to Destroy Myself (나는 나를 파괴할 권리가 있다) * Tengo Derecho a destruirme (Spanish) * Kendimi yıkmaya hakkım var (Turkish) * Ik heb het recht mezelf te vernietigen (Dutch) * Mám právo se zničit (Czech) * Həyatımı məhv etməyə haqqım var (Azerbaijanian) * Pravo na samouništenje (Croatian) Whatever Happened to the Guy Stuck in the Elevator?(엘리베이터에 낀 그 남자는 어떻게 되었나?) * Kas gi nutiko lifte įstrigusiam vyriškiui (Lithuanian) * Hur gick det for mannen som satt fast i hissen? (Swedish) * Wampir i inne opowiadania (Polish) Your Republic Is Calling You (빛의 제국) * L'empire des lumieres (French) * L'IMPERO DELLE LUCI (Italian) * 光之帝国 (Chinese) * Říše světla (Czech) * Schwarze Blume 은 꽃 (German) Quiz Show (퀴즈쇼) * Chơi Quiz Show (Vietnamese) * Quiz Show (French)Awards
* Munhakdongne New Writer Award (1996) ''I Have the Right to Destroy Myself'' * Hyundae Literature Award (1999) *See also
*References
Further reading
* ''Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture'' (2007), vol. 1 has three translated short stories by Kim as well as an interview with him. * Lee, Kwang Ho (2007) "Cultural Hybridity in Contemporary Korean Literature," ''Korean Journal'' Spring 2007: 28–49; see pp. 35?36. * Lee, Hye Ryoung (2007) "The Transnational Imagination and Historical Geography of 21st Century Korean literature," ''Korean Journal'' Spring 2007: 50–78; see pp. 50?51, 58-60 and 63–69.External links