Paik Gahuim

Paik Gahuim
Hangeul	백가흠
Hanja	白佳欽
Revised Romanization	Baek Ga-heum
McCune- Reischauer	Paek Ka-hŭm
See also : Korean name

Paik Gahuim (born July 26, 1974 in Iksan , Chŏllabuk-do ) is a South Korean writer .

Life

Paik Gahuim was born on July 26, 1974 in Iksan, North Chŏlla Province . He made his debut in 2001 when his short story Flatfish (광어) won a literary competition. His stories usually leave the reader with an uncomfortable feeling, as is the case with his debut work, which begins with detailed instructions on how to fillet a flatfish and then turns into a depiction of the narrator having sexual intercourse with a bar hostess while he is on the inside of the stomach his mother thinks. The story The pear blossoms wither (배꽃 이 지고) describes the shocking abuse of disabled children. In another work, Welcome, Baby (웰컴, 베이비), a child in a wardrobe in a motel watches a couple having intercourse, an infant without eyes and ears is abandoned, and a man tries his hand at a ceiling fan hang up. In Here comes the cricket (귀뚜라미 가 온다) a mother who is abused by her own son decides to commit suicide together with this one, and in shoes (구두) a father murders his whole family and then takes his own life. While all of these ruthless stories may make the reader uncomfortable, they are not too far-fetched as newspapers, television, and the Internet are full of such stories.

Paik's characters tend to be neglected and repressed - characters who are both socially and economically at the bottom of society: prostitutes, migrant workers, sailors fleeing the law, mentally and physically disabled, homeless seniors in abandoned buildings, and women who have been physically or sexually abused. Much of his characters suffer from speech disorders or lack the sanity to grasp how serious the situation is they are in. Those who fully understand their situation have not received enough education to express themselves.

In his prose he illuminates the darkest spots of society by describing these horrific pages. While readers may find it difficult to deal with these negative aspects that one would prefer to ignore, Paik reminds us that recognition and acceptance are the prerequisites for solving the problems.

Fonts

Korean

• 광어 Flatfish (2001)
• 배꽃 이 지고 The pear blossoms fade (2005)
• 귀뚜라미 가 온다 Here Comes the Cricket (2005)
• 배 (船) 의 무덤 The Ship Grave (2005)
• 웰컴, 베이비 Welcome, Baby (2007)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The spelling of the name preferred by the author according to the Korean Literature Authors Name Authority Database: 백가흠 ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on June 11, 2014 
2. ↑ 네이버 인물 검색: 백가흠 Retrieved June 11, 2014 (Korean)
3. ↑ Author Database of LTI Korea: Paik Gahuim ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on June 11, 2014 

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Paik is the family name here, Gahuim is the first name.