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전경린

Jon Kyongnin scrap

전경린

  • Category

    Literary Fiction 순수소설

  • Target User

    Adult 성인

  • Period

    Contemporary 현대

Author Bio 작가 소개

Jon Kyongnin (born 1962) is a South Korean novelist. 

1. Life

Jon was born in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province. After graduating from Kyungnam University with a degree in German literature, she worked as a music producer and broadcasting scriptwriter at KBS Masan. She debuted in 1995 when her novella Samagui dal (사막의 달 Desert Moon) won the Dong-a Ilbo New Writer`s Contest. In 1996 she won the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award for the short story `Yeomsoreul moneun yeoja` (염소를 모는 여자 A Woman Driving a Goat), and the following year the Munhakdongne Novel Award for her first novel, Amu gosedo eomneun namja (아무 곳에도 없는 남자 Nowhere Man). Jon has published twelve novels including Ijungyeonin (이중연인 Double Lovers), nine short story collections including Gutbai R (굿바이 R Goodbye, R), four essay collections, and fairy tales for adults. Her novel Nae saenge kkok haruppunin teukbyeolhan nal (내 생에 꼭 하루뿐인 특별한 날 A Very Special Day in My Life) was made into the film Ardor in 2002. Jon has received the Hyundae Literary Award, the Yi Sang Literary Award, and the 21st Century Literature Award. The English edition of her novel Nan yuriro mandeun baereul tago natseon badareul tteodone (난 유리로 만든 배를 타고 낯선 바다를 떠도네 I Drift on Unknown Waters in a Glass Boat) was published in 2010. 

2. Writing

The driving force behind many of Jon`s works is the desire to discuss women`s sexuality in an open and frank manner. Her protagonists tend to be women in their thirties who feel an inner emptiness that cannot be filled within the given structure of marriage and the nuclear family. Thus, the sexual encounter in these works occurs in extraordinary circumstances outside the bounds of marriage. Nae saenge kkok haruppunin teukbyeolhan nal is a tale of infidelity that expresses female psychology regarding sex and sexual desire with blunt honesty. Another characteristic of Jon`s writing is pessimism towards life. While maintaining a psychological distance from their difficult or mundane life, Jon`s characters obsess over changes. Stories such as `Meri go raundeu seokeoseu yeoin` (메리고라운드 서커스 여인 Merry-Go-Round Circus Woman) feature protagonists who tend to immerse themselves in dreamy and fantastic atmosphere without any particular goal in real life. Social conventions, in Jon`s work, function as fetters that curb women`s sexuality which is seen as being dangerous or unruly. The search for fulfillment of passion often brings tragic results, and thus Jon`s work underscores the difficulty of women finding liberation from the forces that constrain their lives. Notable examples include `Yeomsoreul moneun yeoja,` in which the protagonist turns her back on her apartment complex at night and departs in search of her very own “forest” with nothing but a suitcase and a goat in tow. In `Bamui naseonhyeong gyedan` (밤의 나선형 계단 Night-time Spiral Staircase), a woman stands completely alone at a bus stop, exhausted by family relations in which nothing but obligation remains and housework repeats in an endless cycle. On the surface there is the tedium of everyday life, but brimming within is an adulterous sexuality that floods into everyday existence. With these two conflicting worlds as the starting point, Jon’s fiction has a tendency to push her characters to the far limits of longing and desire.[1] 

Reference

References [1] Korean Literature Now. Vol. 28, Summer 2015. https://kln.or.kr/lines/essaysView.do?bbsIdx=1503

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Works 작품

I Drift on Unknown Waters in a Glass Boat

난 유리로 만든 배를 타고 낯선 바다를 떠도네

By Jon Kyongnin

A Special, Just One Day In My Life

내 생애에 꼭 하루뿐일 특별한 날: 전경린 장편소설

By Jon Kyongnin

Hwang Jinyi

황진이

By Jon Kyongnin

Minimal love

최소한의 사랑

By Jon Kyongnin

Seoul, night walkers

서울, 밤의 산책자들

By Jon Kyongnin

Mom's House (Tentative name)

엄마의 집

By Jon Kyongnin

Translations 번역서

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