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조경란

Jo Kyung Ran scrap

조경란

  • Category

    Literary Fiction 순수소설

  • Target User

    Adult 성인

  • Period

    Contemporary 현대

Author Bio 작가 소개

Jo Kyung Ran (born 1969) is a South Korean writer. 

1. Life

Jo Kyung Ran was born in Seoul in 1969. She studied creative writing at Seoul Institute of the Arts, initially thinking she would become a poet, but switched to fiction upon the recommendation of her teacher, the poet Kim Hyesoon. Jo made her literary debut in 1996 winning the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer`s Contest with the short story `Bullanseo angyeongwon` (불란서 안경원 French Optical). The same year, she won. The Munhak Dongne New Writer Award with Sikppang gumneun sigan (식빵 굽는 시간 Time for Baking Bread). She is the author of the short story collections Bullanseo angyeongwon, Naui jajutbit sopa (나의 자줏빛 소파 My Purple Sofa), Kokkirireul chajaseo (코끼리를 찾아서 Looking for the Elephant), Gukja iyagi (국자 이야기 About a Ladle), Pungseoneul sasseo (풍선을 샀어 I Bought Balloons), Iryoirui cheolhak (일요일의 철학 Sunday Philosophy), Eonjenga tteonaeryeoganeun jibeseo (언젠가 떠내려가는 집에서 From the House that will Wash Away Someday), Gajeong sajeong (가정 사정 Family Circumstances); the novels Sikppang gumneun sigan, Gajogui giwon (가족의 기원 Origin of Family), Urineun mannan jeogi itda (우리는 만난 적이 있다 We Have Met Before), Hyeo (혀 Tongue), Bogeo (복어 Blowfish); a collection of microfiction, Huhuhuui Sup (후후후의 숲 Huhuhu`s Forest); and three collections of essays. Jo is the recipient of the Hyundae Munhak Literary Award and the Dong-in Literary Award. 

2. Writing

Jo`s work is famous for taking trivial, mundane, and everyday occurrences and delicately describing them in subtle emotional tones. Jo tends to dwell on the impressions things make, and with precision and sensitivity, describes their effect on the inner world of the protagonist. Often, she describes her characters minimally or presents them like objects lacking personality, thereby accentuating human alienation and difficulty of communication in the modern world. The author, nonetheless, suggests a possibility for meaningful human relationships by shedding light on those aspects of life that has not been corrupted by merely consumeristic or sexual interactions. The neighborhood of Bongcheon-dong in Seoul, where Jo has lived for most of her life, is inseparable from her fiction, providing the setting for various works such as `Kokkirireul chajaseo,` `Nan jeongmal giriniranikka` (난 정말 기린이라니까 I Really am a Giraffe), `Naneun bongcheondonge sanda` (나는 봉천동에 산다 I Live in Bongcheon-dong), `Bongcheondongui yuryeong `(봉천동의 유령 The Ghost of Bongcheon-dong), and many of the works collected in Eonjenga tteonaeryeoganeun jibeseo. The other central motif underlying Jo`s work is a tragic incident that occurred before her birth, the death of her paternal grandmother by suicide. On her birthday, Jo`s grandmother prepared blowfish soup and drank it in front of her family, including Jo`s father, who was nine years old at the time. In the author`s note to Bogeo, Jo wrote, `Sadness, beauty, fear, and death. I write about these things that overpower me. These things that hold me in thrall and will not let go...Ever since I became a writer, I have been waiting to write this novel. A story I could only ever tell once. I did not want to tell it too soon.`

Reference

조경란(1969~)은 대한민국의 소설가다. 

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Works 작품

Time To Bake

식빵 굽는 시간

By Jo Kyung Ran

Looking for the Elephant

코끼리를 찾아서

By Jo Kyung Ran

I Bought a Balloon

풍선을 샀어: 2008 동인문학상 수상작

By Jo Kyung Ran

Tongue

혀

By Jo Kyung Ran

I Live in Bongcheon-dong

나는 봉천동에 산다

By Jo Kyung Ran

Foreword

일러두기: 제47회 이상문학상

By Jo Kyung Ran

From the House that Will Wash Away Someday

언젠가 떠내려가는 집에서

By Jo Kyung Ran

Translations 번역서

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