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Hyun Jin-geon

Hyun Jin-geon scrap

현진건

  • Category

    Literary Fiction 순수소설

  • Target User

    Adult 성인

  • Period

    Modern 근대

Author Bio 작가 소개

Hyun Jin-geon (1900 – 1943) was a Korean author. 

1. Life

Hyun Jin-geon was born in Daegu in 1900. His pen name was Bing-heo. He was educated in Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai, where he studied German at Shanghai Hogang University. In China, Hyun and fellow Korean writers Yi Sang-hwa and Baek Gi-man published the literary magazine Geohwa. His first work was published in 1920. His official literary debut came with `Huisaenghwa` (희생화 Sacrificial Flowers) published in Kaebyok in November 1920. The work was not favorably received, but his subsequent works fared much better: he established his reputation as a major realist writer with `Bincheo` (빈처 Poor Man`s Wife) and `Sul gwonhaneun sahoe` (술 권하는 사회 The Society that Drives You to Drink), both of which were published in 1921. In 1922, with Park Chong-hwa, Hong Sa-yong, Park Yeong-hui, and Na Do-hyang, Hyun founded the literary journal Baekjo. After six years as a fiction writer, he then switched to journalism, working for the Chosun Ilbo, the Shidae Ilbo, and the Dong-a Ilbo. In 1940 he returned to fiction, serializing Heukchi Sangji (흑치상지 Heukchi Sangji), a novel about a Baekje general who fought against Tang invaders. This was deemed improper by Japanese censors and the work was never completed. Hyun died on April 25, 1943. 

2. Writing

Hyun devoted himself to creating realistic works. Beginning with `Unsu joeun nal` (운수 좋은 날 A Lucky Day), he spurned the confessional mode of the first-person narrative and instead wrote in the third person perspective in his attempt to portray life vividly and without subjectivity. Working in this manner he wrote some of his most popular works: `Bul` (불 Fire), `B-sagamgwa leobeu leteo` (B 사감과 러브레터 Proctor B and the Love Letter), and `Gohyang` (고향 Hometown). In 1931, he published his final short story, `Yeonaeui cheongsan` (연애의 청산 Giving up Love) in the November issue of Sin Dong-a, and moved to writing long historical novels, including Jeokdo (적도 Equator), Muyeong tap (무영탑 The Shadowless Pagoda), and Heukchi Sangji.

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