Hahn Moo-Sook (1918-1993) was a South Korean writer.
1. Life
Hahn Moo-Sook was born into a progressive yet very traditional old Korean family. Han, whose artistic talent was discovered and nurtured from her early childhood, first pursued the career of a painter. An extended illness in her young adulthood and her marriage in 1940 to Kim Jin-Heung, a banker from an extremely conservative family, forced her to switch to writing to satisfy her artistic desires. [1] In 1942, she won first prize in a contest sponsored by a leading monthly magazine, Sinsedae, for her novel Deungbul deuneun yoin (등불 드는 여인 A Woman with a Lantern). Soon afterwards, Han received first prizes in drama competitions with a one-act play, Maeum (마음 Heart) in 1943, and a four-act play, Seori kkot (서리꽃 Frost Flowers), in 1944. In 1948, she received first prize with another full-length novel, Yeoksaneun heureunda (역사는 흐른다 And So Flows History), in a competition sponsored by the Kukje Sinbo. She won the Asia Foundation`s Freedom Literature Award for her short story `Gamjeongi inneun simyeon` (감정이 있는 심연 Abyss with Emotions), in 1957, and the Republic of Korea National Literature Award for her novel, Mannam (만남 Encounter), in1986. Since 1995, the Hahn Moo-Sook Foundation has endowed the Hahn Moo-Sook (HMS) Colloquium at George Washington University`s East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL) Department, an annual meeting for the discussion of Korean humanities. [2]
2. Writing
Hahn Moo-Sook is known for her description of human dilemmas resulting from the conflicting worlds of consciousness and conventional reality. Critics have identified Han as a perceptive literary mediator, who sought harmony and balance between the contrasting forces. Her themes varied from universal concerns including love and suffering to issues specific to the Korean context, including her portrayal of the anguish of a generation that witnessed the brief democratic euphoria of the 1960 April 19 Revolution. All her works, however, reveal her multitude of literary skills including vivid description of customs, precise language, and skillful representations of inner consciousness. One of the most traumatic experiences in Han`s life was the tragic accident that killed her third child, a promising young medical doctor as well as a concert cellist whom everyone adored. Through this experience she met death in a most personal and intense way. She injured her back shortly after the funeral. Heart-broken, she lay paralyzed physically and mentally for a while. When she finally recovered, her literature seemed to show maturity that only such extreme experiences could bring. `Urisai modeun geosi` (우리사이 모든 것이 Everything Between Us) is a heart-rending story told in a form of letter addressed to her departed son. [1]
Reference
[1] http://anthony.sogang.ac.kr/klt/99summer/hahnmoosook.htm
[2] https://eall.columbian.gwu.edu/hahn-moo-sook-colloquium
