Yi Seungu (, born 21 February 1959) is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n writer.

Life

Yi Seungu was born in Jangheung County,

South Jeolla Province 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 ...

in 1959.The Globalizing World and the Human Community, The Seoul International Forum of Literature 2011, p. 392 After graduating from Seoul Theological University, Yi Seungu studied at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in th ...

Graduate School of Theology.Korean Literature Translation Institute, Author Introductions.
Widely considered to be one of the most outstanding writers to have emerged in

after the political repression of the 1980s, he is today a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Korean literature at

Chosun University Chosun University () is one of the oldest private universities in South Korea. Its campus is situated in Gwangju metropolitan city, in southwestern South Korea. Around 33,000 students are enrolled. Academics Undergraduate courses are offered ...

. Yi Seungu's literary career started with his novel ''A Portrait of Erysichton'', inspired by his shock at the

attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and ...

in 1981. This work received the New Writers Award from ''Korean Literature Monthly''.Park Hae-hyun, "Lee Seung-u, a Korean Author Beloved in France"
In 1993 Yi Seungu's ''The Reverse Side of Life'' was awarded the first Daesan Literary Award. Other literary awards received by Yi Seungu include the East West Literature Prize (for ''I Will Live Long''), the Contemporary Literature Award for Fiction, and the

Hwang Sun-won Hwang Sun-wŏn (March 26, 1915 – September 14, 2000) was a Korean short story writer, novelist, and poet."황순원" biographical PDF available at LTI Korea Library or online at: Life Hwang was born while Korea was under Japanese colonial ...

Literary Award. In 2021 he won the

Yi Sang Literary Award The Yi Sang Literary Award (이상문학상) is a South Korean literary award. It is one of South Korea's most prestigious literary awards, named after Yi Sang, an innovative writer in modern Korean literature. The Yi Sang Literary Award was estab ...

, one of the most prestigious Korean literary awards.

Career

In ''Portrait of Erysichton'', ''In the Shadow of Thorny Bushes'', and ''The Reverse Side of Life'', Yi Seungu focuses on the notion of Christian redemption and how it intersects with human life, demonstrating how tension between heaven and earth are revealed in quotidian life.Naver-Modern Korean Literature Dictionary, http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=333769&cid=958&categoryId=1992#career Other works, including ''A Conjecture Regarding Labyrinth'' and ''To the Outside of the World'' face up to disillusionment pursuant to the corruption and devaluation of language. Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, the 2008 Nobel Laureate for Literature, has a deep affection for Korean literature. During his year-long stay in Korea as a visiting professor at

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational inst ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, he held book readings with Korean authors on several occasions. At the press conference after the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

Award Ceremony, he stated that “Korean literature is quite worthy of the

Nobel Literature Prize ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 ...

,” and that “Personally, I would say that Lee Seung-u is one of the likely Korean candidates for the prize.”_list Books from Korea, Among Yi Seungu's works, only full-length novels have been translated into English and French, although he has published a great number of short story collections in the past three decades, due in part to the climate of the Korean literary world in which a writer's capacity is evaluated mostly through short stories published in literary journals.

Works

Works in translation

* ''Die Ruckseite des Lebens'' (Horlemann, 1996)
''The Reverse Side of Life''
(Peter Owen Publishers, 2005) * ''La vida secreta de las plantas'' (Ermitano, 2010) * ' (, 2012) * ''Тайная жизнь растений'' (Hyperion, 2013)
''Magnolia Park''
(

ASIA Publishers ASIA Publishers () is a Seoul-based book publisher best known for producing multi-volume series of translated Korean literature in bilingual format, generally at novella length and usually featuring a short biography of the author, a background of ...

, 2013)Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Magnolia-Bi-lingual-Modern-Korean-Literature/dp/899400680X/ * ''Ici comme ailleurs'' (

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, 2013)
''Prywatne Życie Roślin''
(Kwiaty Orientu, 2016)

Works in Korean (partial)

Novels

* ''A Portrait of Erysichton'' (''Erysichton-ui chosang'' 1981) * ''In the Shadow of Thorny Bushes'' * ''Warm Rain'' (''Ttatteuthan bi'') * ''Gold Mask'' (''Hwanggeumgamyeon'') * ''The Reverse Side of Life'' (''Saeng-ui imyeon'' 1992) * ''The Private Life of Plants'' (2000) * ''The Old Diary'' (2008) * ''The Gaze of Meridian'' (2009) * ''The Song of the Ground'' (2012)

Short story collections

* ''Mr. Koo Pyeongmok's Cockroach'' (''Gu pyeongmok-ssi-ui bakwibeollae'' 1987) * ''About Eclipse'' * ''To the Outside of the World'' (''Sesang bakkeuro'' 1991) * ''A Conjecture Regarding the Labyrinth'' (''Mingung-e dachan'' 1994) * ''Magnolia Park'' (''Mongyeon gong-won'' 1998)

Awards

* New Writer's Award, given by Korean Literature (1981) * 1st Daesan Literary Award (1993) * Dong-seo Literary Prize (2002) *

Lee Hyo-seok Yi Hyoseok (, February 23, 1907 – May 5, 1942) was a Korean writer. Life Yi Hyoseok, who wrote under the pen-name 'Gasan' (가산) was born February 23, 1907 in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. Yi was deeply impressed by Chekhov and Thomas Mann a ...

Literary Prize (2003) *

Contemporary Literature (Hyundae Munhak) Award The company Contemporary Literature (“Hyundae Munhak” in Korean), founded in South Korea in 1954, is one of the leading publishing companies in the literary field and has been publishing the nation's most prestigious monthly literary magazine ...

(2007) *

Literary Award (2010) *

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 ...

(2013) *

(2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Seungu 1959 births South Korean novelists Living people Yonsei University alumni Chosun University faculty Incheon Lee clan