Yi Mun-yol

Korean spelling
Hangeul	이문열
Hanja	李文烈
Revised Romanization	I Mun-yeol
McCune- Reischauer	Yi Mun-yŏl
See also : Korean name

Yi Mun-yol (born May 18, 1948 in Seoul , South Korea ) is a South Korean writer . Yi is one of the most important and widely read Korean writers today. His novels and stories have been translated into many languages.

Life

Yi Mun-yol was born shortly before the outbreak of the Korean War . In 1951 the father left the family and ran over to the north. This was to have a decisive influence on Yi's biography, because from then on the family was politically stigmatized and was often under police surveillance, which also made his academic career more difficult. He broke off attending high school in Andong and graduated after a period of homelessness and prolonged illness. In 1968 he passed the entrance examination of the Seoul National University (Seoul National University) and studied until 1970 Korean studies . In 1970 he left the university as he was no longer able to keep his post as tutor, which had secured him the necessary living expenses. He decided to become a civil servant. But he failed the necessary exams several times and finally began his military service in 1973.

After three years of military service, he works as a lecturer and journalist. In 1977 he won the Taegu Daily literary competition with the short story "Do you know Nazaré?" ( 나자 레 를 아십니까 ). Two years later he won the Dong-a Ilbo literary competition with his short novel “Frontlied”. In the same year “ Son of Man” ( 사람 의 아들 ) was published. In 1979 he had his breakthrough as a writer with the story "Saehagok" ( 새 하곡 , 塞 下 曲 ). He received the award for young writers and created other short stories and novels that have received multiple awards. In the following years he published "Estuary" ( 하구 ), "The sweet days of our youth" ( 우리 기쁜 젊은 날 ), "That winter" ( 그해 겨울 ), and the three-volume work "Jugendjahre" ( 젊은 날 의 초상 ), and 1983 "Lethes Liebeslied" ( 레테 의 연가 , 戀歌 ). In 1988, “What falls has wings” followed ( 추락 하는 것은 날개 가 있다 ). The early works, which dealt with the dilemma of life and the idea of ​​romantic love, were particularly popular with younger readers.

From 1994 to 1997 he taught Korean language and literature at Sejong University and has been director of the Puak Literature Center since 1999. Yi Mun-yol's literary work has won several awards. So he got u. a. In 1987 the Yi Sang Literature Prize and in 1992 the French Order of Merit for Culture and Literature . Later he built a small academy where he trains poets.

Works (excerpt)

• 사람 의 아들 ( Son of Man ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1979
• 그해 겨울 ( winter that year ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1980
• ( You will never return home ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1980
• 젊은 날 의 초상 ( Adolescent Years ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1981
• 황제 를 위하여 ( The Emperor ) Seoul: Tonggwang 1982
• ( The Bird with Golden Wings ) Seoul: Tongsŏ Press 1983
• 레테 의 연가 ( 戀歌 ) ( love song by Lethe ) Seoul: JoongAng Ilbo 1983
• 영웅 시대 ( Age of Heroes ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1984
• 아가 ( 雅歌 ) ( Heldengesang ) Seoul: The Open Books 1987
• 추락 하는 것은 날개 가 있다 ( What falls has wings ) Seoul: Chayu munhaksa 1988
• 여우 사냥 ( The Fox Hunt ) Seoul: Sallim 1995
• 선택 ( selection ) Seoul: Minŭmsa 1997

Film adaptations

• 근초고왕 ( King Kŭnch'ogo ) 2010
• 굿바이 서울 신파 ​​( Goodbye Seoul Sinp'a ) 1993
• 우리들 의 일그러진 영웅 ( The Disfigured Hero ) 1992
• 젊은 날 의 초상 ( teenage years ) 1990
• 황제 를 위하여 ( To the Kaiser! ) 1989
• 추락 하는 것은 날개 가 있다 ( Everything that falls has wings ) 1989
• 구로 아리랑 ( Kuro Arirang ) 1989
• 레테 의 연가 (Rete's love song ) 1987
• 다른 시간 다른 장소 ( Another time, another place ) 1983
• 안개 마을 ( Village in the Fog ) 1982
• 사람 의 아들 (Son of Man ) 1980

Translations

German

• The disfigured hero . Pendragon, Bielefeld 1999, ISBN 3-929096-73-0 , made into a film in 1992
• Adolescent years . Pendragon, Bielefeld 2004, ISBN 3-934872-74-3
• To the emperor! Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8353-0362-1
• The bird with golden wings . Bonn: Bouvier Verlag Herbert Grundmann 1986
• Philon's pig . In: the hear . Journal for literature, art and criticism, 41st year, 4/96
• The poet (kor. 시인 ) Frankfurt a. M .: Suhrkamp 2010

Some of his stories are available in compilations, including a .:

• Fortified singing . In: Friedhelm Bertulies (ed.): The sympathy of goldfish. New stories from South Korea . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-518-41719-3
• The bird with golden wings . in: Kuh, KS (Ed.): Koreanische Literatur III , Bouvier Verlag, Bonn 1986 ISBN 3-416-01965-2

English

• Hail to the Emperor! Seoul: Si-sa-yong-o-sa 1986
• The Poet London: The Harvill Press 1995
• Our Twisted Hero Seoul: Minumsa 1995
• The Golden Phoenix: Seven Contemporary Korean Short Stories Boulder: Lynne Rienner 1999
• An Appointment with My Brother Seoul: Jimoondang 2002
• Twofold song Seoul: Hollym 2004

Spanish

• El poeta Barcelona: Editorial Norma 1994
• Nuestro frustado héroe Madrid: Editorial Universidad Complutense 1995
• El poeta Barcelona: Ediciones B 2000
• El Invierno de aquel año Barcelona: Ediciones B 2002

French

• L'hiver cette année-là Arles: Actes Sud 1990
• L'oiseau aux ailes d'or Arles: Actes Sud 1990
• Notre héros défiguré Arles: Actes Sud 1990
• Chant sous une forteresse Arles: Actes Sud 1991
• Le Poète Arles: Actes Sud 1992
• Notre heros défiguré. L'oiseau aux ailes d'or. L'hiver cette année-là Arles: Actes Sud 1993
• Le fils de l'homme Arles: Actes Sud 1995
• Pour l'Empereur Arles: Actes Sud 1998
• L'ille anonyme Arles: Actes Sud 2003

Italian

• Il nostro eroe decaduto Firenze: Giunti 1992
• L'inverno di quell'anno Firenze: Giunti 1993
• Il poeta Firenze: Giunti 1993
• L'uccello dalle ali d'oro Firenze: Giunti 1993

Dutch

• De Dichter Meerbeke-Ninove: Meulenhoff 1996

Swedish

• Ett Ungdom Portrait Stockholm: Tranan 2001

Awards

• 1979: 오늘 의 작가상 ( today's author's award )
• 1982: 동인 문학상 ( Tongin Literature Prize )
• 1983: 대한민국 문학상 ( Literature Prize of the Republic of Korea )
• 1984: 중앙 문화 대상 ( Chungang Culture Prize )
• 1987: Yi Sang Literature Prize
• 1992: 프랑스 문화 예술 공로 훈장 수 훈장 ( French Order of Merit for Art and Culture )
• 1992: 대한민국 문화 예술상 ( Art and Culture Prize of the Republic of Korea )
• 1992: 현대 문학상 ( Prize for Contemporary Literature )
• 1998: 21 세기 문학상 ( 21st Century Literature Prize )
• 1999: Ho Am Prize
• 2009: 대한민국 예술 원상 ( Republic of Korea Art Prize )
• 2012: 동리 문학상 ( Tongni Literature Prize )

literature

• Christof Siemes: Everything for the future . In: Die Zeit , No. 42/2005

Web links

• Literature by and about Yi Mun-yol in the catalog of the German National Library
• Yi Mun-yol in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Short biography ( memento from September 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on pendragon.de
• "You don't need to worry about me repeating myself". The narrator Yi Mun-yol and his novel forms . Interview with Yi Mun-yol
• Short biography and reviews of works by Yi Mun-yol at perlentaucher.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Naver people search: 이문열 (Korean) Retrieved January 26, 2014.
2. ↑ Author Database of LTI Korea: http://eng.klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do (link not available)

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Yi is the family name here, Mun-yol is the first name.