Seo Hajin

Seo Hajin
Hangeul	서하진
Hanja	徐 河 辰
Revised Romanization	Seo Ha-jin
McCune- Reischauer	Sŏ Ha-jin
See also : Korean name

Seo Hajin (born November 9, 1960 in Yŏngch'ŏn , Kyŏngsangbuk-do ) is a South Korean writer .

Life

Seo Hajin was born on November 9, 1960 in Yŏngch'ŏn , North Kyŏngsang Province . Hajin is a stage name, her maiden name is Sŏ (Seo) Tŏk-sun (서덕순). As attorney general and director general of the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) (국가 안전 기획부), her father held a very influential position during the military regime of the 1980s. Although she rejected the right-wing ideology of her father, her childhood and youth were characterized by a relative freedom from conflict without protests on her part. However, despite her outward obedience, she admits she has a dark side too, claiming that her best friends were her aunt's books. These books ultimately made her want to be a writer.

Seo debuted in 1994 when her short story Shadow Excursion (그림자 외출) was published in the journal Modern Literature (현대 문학). In 1995 she attracted more attention with her work The island of Chebu (제부도), a mysterious island connected to the mainland by a path that only appears at low tide. This story deals with the tragic consequences of a love affair and was shortlisted for the Yi Sang Literature Prize . It eventually drew more attention than the work that won the award. Much of her early works have "shadows" as a theme and deal with marital problems and extramarital relationships. Though their stories deal with conventional subjects, their subtle psychological descriptions and frugal literary style captivate all readers.

Recently she has gone a step further and deals with the importance of family. Her works are not about families that have joined or dissolved, but about the normal community to which we all belong, and all of which are either parents, children or siblings. Seo proves to be a talented writer who knows how to observe conflicts and arbitrations within the family well.

Work

Korean

Short story collections

• 책 읽어 주는 남자 The Reader (1996)
• 사랑하는 방식 은 다 다르다 Everyone loves in a different way (1998)
• 라벤더 향기 Lavender scent (2000)
• 비밀 Secret (2004)
• 요트 Yacht (2006)
• 착한 가족 The good family (2008)

Novels

• 다시 사랑한다 말 할까 Should I say again that I love you? (2005)
• 나나 Nana (2011)

Translations

English

• Hong Gildong , Jimoondang (2007) ISBN 978-8988095911

Awards

• 2009 - 제 02 회 백신애 문학상 ( Paek Sin-ae Literature Prize )
• 2004 - 제 10 회 한무숙 문학상 ( Han Mu-suk Literature Prize )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The spelling of the name preferred by the author according to the Korean Literature Authors Name Authority Database: 서하진 ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 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 12, 2014 
2. ↑ 네이버 인물 검색: 서하진 Retrieved June 12, 2014 (Korean)
3. ↑ Author Database of the LTI Korea: Seo Hajin ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was 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 12, 2014 

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