Kim Kyung-uk (born 1971) is a Korean author.
1. Life
Kim Kyung-uk was born in Gwangju. He completed his undergraduate degree in English literature and master's degree in Korean literature at Seoul National University. His career as a novelist began when he won the 1993 Best New Writer Award from the quarterly Writer's World for his novella Autsaideo (아웃사이더 Outsider.) In 2013, he participated in the International Writing Program (IWP) at the University of Iowa.
Kim has published some 16 works of fiction, including the short story collections Wiheomhan dokseo (위험한 독서 Risky Reading), Sinegeneun sonjaga eopda (신에게는 손자가 없다 God Has No Grandchildren), Nugunga nae daehae malhal ttae (누군가 나에 대해 말할 때 When Someone Talks About Me), the novels Donghwacheoreom (동화처럼 Like a Fairytale), Yaguran mueosinga (야구란 무엇인가 What Is Baseball), Gaewa neukdaeui sigan (개와 늑대의 시간 The Hour Between Dog and Wolf), and Naraga dangsin geosini (나라가 당신 것이니 Does This Country Belong to You?). He is the recipient of the Hyundae Literary Award and the Dong-in Literary Award, among others. Kim teaches creative writing at the Korea National University of Arts School of Drama.
2. Writing
Kim's debut novella, Autsaideo, published in 1993 while still in university, follows a first-person narrator passing several stops on the Seoul subway while recalling memories concerning a high school student he had once taught. While depicting the expressions of anonymous crowds in the urban subterranean world, the narrator continuously mulls over movie scenes and bars of pop music. His first novel, Akeuropolliseu (아크로폴리스 Acropolis), depicts university campus life in the early 1990s when interest in ideology abruptly waned.
Kim Kyung-uk not only had a great interest in music but, responding to the visual era, has published many works that explore his interest in movies and his cinematic imagination. His first short story collection, Bageudadeu kapeeneun keopiga eopda (바그다드 카페에는 커피가 없다 There’s No Coffee at the Bagdad Cafe) takes its title from the Percy Adlon film, Bagdad Café. His second novel, Moriseun hotel (모리슨 호텔 Morrison Hotel) takes its title from the Doors album released in 1970, while the short story collections Nuga keoteu kobeineul jugyeonneunga (누가 커트 코베인을 죽였는가 Who Killed Kurt Cobain) and Janggugyeongi jugeotdago? (장국영이 죽었다고? Is Leslie Cheung Really Dead?) need no explanation. The cultural icons and tastes of the 1990s function as certificates of authentication in Kim Kyung-uk’s stories, depicting the self-discovery and maturity of the author’s generation that occurred along with popular culture. In other words, Kurt Cobain and Leslie Cheung are culture itself as well as mediums that expressed in the form of culture a sense of loss and loneliness deep within the generation. [1]
More recently, the world of Kim's fiction has been moving away from the sphere of popular culture. His third novel, Hwanggeumsagwa (황금사과 The Golden Apple), is inspired by Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, while Cheonnyeonui wangguk (천년의 왕국 Kingdom of a Thousand Years) is about the Dutch sailor Weltevree who was shipwrecked on the shores of Joseon in 1627. Gaewa neukdaeui sigan is based on the April 1982 mass murder incident of police officer Woo Bum-kon, depicting the tragedy strictly through the eyes of the victims. Naraga dangsin geosini, his latest novel, features an elderly spy who is called back to service in a more light-hearted return to form.
Reference
[1] Korea Literature Now. Vol.12, Summer 2011. https://kln.or.kr/lines/essaysView.do?bbsIdx=1562
